BG Game Notes
August 19, 2019 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Bowling Green Hot Rods News Release
The Hot Rods are in first place in the Eastern Division second-half standings by one game, but the South Bend Cubs have closed the gap in the race for the second-half one-seed.
About Last Night... The Bowling Green Hot Rods lost a close game to the TinCaps on Sunday afternoon with Fort Wayne coming up with a two-run rally in the eighth to go up 2-0 in the penultimate installment of the season series. The TinCaps took a 1-0 lead in the second against BG starter Caleb Sampen on a sacrifice fly, but the Hot Rods answered back with a run of their own in the top of the third thanks to Grant Witherspoon's RBI single with two outs to tie the game. Ft. Wayne took a one-run lead in the fourth in Sampen's final inning of work, but BG chased TinCaps starter Ryan Weathers from the mound in the fifth en route to tying the score again at 2-2. The Bullpen and Hector Figueroa held firm for three innings, but in the eighth, the TinCaps scored twice on four hits and a walk to take a two-run lead. While the Hot Rods brought the go-ahead run to the plate twice in the ninth, they were unable to capitalize in the 4-2 loss.
Playoff Race... With the Hot Rods loss on Sunday, they've maintained the narrowest of margins to stay atop the division and in the prime playoff spot available. The South Bend Cubs held off the Great Lakes Loons (who clinched a playoff spot in the first half) on the road, keeping the Loons a game back while moving the Cubs into a tie for second place. The Lansing Lugnuts also got a win against the Dayton Dragons on Sunday and are three games out of BG's top spot and two behind South Bend for the wild card spot. Lansing's elimination number is 14 games with 14 left to play. That number could shrink rapidly is BG wins when Lansing loses.
Aranda horn... Jonathan Aranda has led the charge for the BG offense and extended his hitting streak to 10 games, a new season-high for the infielder. It's Aranda's third hit streak of seven or more games this year and is the four-longest for a Hot Rods batter in 2019. He's behind Tony Pena (11 games in May), Wander Franco (12 games in April) and Osmy Gregorio (13 games in June-July). Since August 8, Aranda is 12-for-36 with two triples and a double, posting a .333 batting average with a .385 OBP. He's struck out just five times while collecting three walks over that stretch. The Hot Rods are 7-4 over that stretch even with back-to-back losses to Fort Wayne in this four-game series.
Ford Tough (on pitchers)... Ford Proctor has been on base in 29-straight heading into Monday's contest with the TinCaps following a 1-for-4 day with a walk on Sunday, the longest streak by a Hot Rods since Jake Cronenworth reached base in a 30-straight game in 2016. His streak is tied for the third-longest in the league this season only behind Otto Lopez's 30-game streak and Ryan Gridley's 33-gamer from April to June. Proctor has posted a .359 batting average while reaching at a .437 clip. Proctor's streak is tied for the third-longest in franchise history, sitting behind Cronenworth in second and Andrew Toles' 31-game streak in 2013.
Yesterday's Notes... Aranda has a 10-game hit streak... Witherspoon had his 28th multi-hit game of the season... Cardenas extended his hit streak to five games... He also had his 25th multi-hit game of the year... Eight of those games are three-hit efforts... Sampen hurled less than five innings for the first time since June 16 in Lansing... Schnell has a hit in each of his first two games as a Hot Rod... BG is 22-9 in day games... They're 30-32 on the road... They have a 9-8 record in August... Sunday was their 10th loss of the season in a two-run game... The team is 16-17 in games started by an opposing southpaw... The bullpen is 26-27 in games of record... They're also 21-32 when the opposition scores first... BG is 10-6 with an even hit total...
Midwest League Stories from August 19, 2019
- Four-Run Fifth Catapults Kernels over River Bandits - Quad Cities River Bandits
- Chiefs Walk off Rattlers Monday - Peoria Chiefs
- Winder Blows Bandits Away in 6-2 Win - Cedar Rapids Kernels
- Beloit Falls in Extras to Bees 5-3 - Beloit Sky Carp
- Chiefs Walkoff Win Denies Wisconsin's Opportunity to Pick Up Ground in Playoff Race - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
- Cougars Come from Behind Twice to Beat Clinton - Clinton LumberKings
- Late Rally Falls Short - Lake County Captains
- Lugs Slip Past Mistake-Prone Dragons - Lansing Lugnuts
- Trageton Shines as Hot Rods Edge TinCaps 4-3 - Bowling Green Hot Rods
- Cougars Zoom Past Clinton - Kane County Cougars
- Hot Start Not Enough as Cubs Fall to Loons 5-3 - South Bend Cubs
- TinCaps' Furious Rally Comes Up Inches Short - Fort Wayne TinCaps
- Back in the Win Column - Great Lakes Loons
- Lansing Edges Dayton 4-3; Road Trip Finale Set for Tuesday at Noon - Dayton Dragons
- BG Game Notes - Bowling Green Hot Rods
- Lake County Captains to Wrap up Inaugural Hispanic Community Outreach Campaign as Picantes de Lake County on August 31 - Lake County Captains
- South Bend Cubs Play Three Games at Home this Week - South Bend Cubs
- Scolamiero Named Player of the Week - Lake County Captains
- Luis Rijo Named Midwest League Pitcher of the Week - Cedar Rapids Kernels
- Dragons Notes for Monday - Dayton Dragons
- TinCaps Game Notes: August 19 vs. Bowling Green (Game 124) - Fort Wayne TinCaps
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