Bowling Green Hot Rods Game Notes
May 3, 2019 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Bowling Green Hot Rods News Release
About Yesterday... The Hot Rods earned their first shutout victory of the season in a 2-0 win over the Cedar Rapids Kernels in the series finale. Hot Rods starter Michael Plassmeyer and Kernels starter Andrew Baezas both kept runs off the board over their first four innings of work, while Plassmeyer didn't allow a baserunner over that stretch. In the top of the fifth, the Hot Rods struck with the first run of the game. Grant Witherspoon singled and went to second on a wild pitch, scoring when Tony Pena struck a two-out double to left-center field to make it 1-0. Plassmeyer retired the first 14 batters he faced, but loaded the bases in the seventh before Justin Marsden entered from the bullpen. The righty worked out of the jam with a double play, but the Kernels loaded them again in the eighth with Marsden having to get another double play ball to end the frame with the 1-0 lead intact. BG added an insurance run in the ninth and Chris Muller worked a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the frame to secure the 2-0 win.
On Strike... The Hot Rods are tied with the Quad Cities River Bandits with 290 strikeouts for the lead in all of class-A. The two teams have been going back and fourth all season, but lead the Burlington Bees in the MWL by 42 strikeouts while the next closest A-ball team is the Charleston RiverDogs (NYY) in the South Atlantic League with 282.
The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde... The Hot Rods pitching staff owns the fifth-best staff ERA in the MWL at 3.65 over their league-leading 234.0 innings of work. When you break that down between the starters and bullpen, it's a tale of two totally different entities. The starter's ERA is fourth in the league at 3.19 while their 1.21 WHIP is tied for third. They've induced the second-most double play balls (10) while allowing the sixth-fewest total hits and are tied for the fourth-best batting average against (.214). The bullpen, however, has the fifth-worst ERA in the league at 4.23 while issuing the fourth-highest walk total in the league with 65 and are tied for the third-most runs (64) of any bullpen in the MWL.
We're going streaking... Michael Smith played in his first two games since being activated from the IL yesterday, and extended his team-best on base streak to 13 games by getting a hit in game one and walking in game two. The outfielder is batting .343 with a triple, six RBI, and three runs scored but has an incredible .511 on base percentage. He did not play in Thursday's contest.
Wandering Award... Wander Franco was named the Midwest League Player of the Week on Monday following a seven day tear that saw the shortstop extend his hit streak to 12-games before losing it on Sunday. During the week Franco slashed .429/.500/1.000 over six games, bashing three homers in addition to three doubles, five RBI, seven runs, three walks, and a stolen base. The week included a two-homer performance by the 18-year-old on April 25 in a 6-5 series-opening win.
Yesterday's Notes... Plassmeyer's 6.1 innings of work is a new career-high... It's also the most innings for a Hot Rods starter this season... His eight strikeouts are also a new career-high... It surpasses his previous high of seven which he achieved in each of his previous two starts... Plassmeyer leads the team with four quality starts... The team has seven collectively... Thursday was the first shutout win of the season for Bowling Green... They're 4-0 in the rubber match of a three-game set... The Hot Rods have won six-straight series... They're 7-0 when wearing their orange jerseys... Franco has a three-game hitting streak... Witherspoon also has a three-game hitting streak... He also had his seventh multi-hit game... They're all two-hit efforts... Alvarez had his sixth... The Hot Rods are tied with the Quad Cities River Bandits for the most strikeouts at the Class-A level with 290... The Hot Rods have three pitchers in the top-10 for strikeouts in the Midwest League... RHP Joe Ryan is in second with 36, Plassmeyer is in sixth with 32, and LHP Shane McClanahan is in ninth with 30... Marsden is the third Hot Rods pitcher to earn a hold this season...
Midwest League Stories from May 3, 2019
- LumberKings Take Series Opener 3-1 over Cubs - South Bend Cubs
- Burlington Wins Series Opener over Whitecaps, 5-2 - Burlington Bees
- Siani Homers as Dragons Hold on to Win, 4-3 - Dayton Dragons
- Locos start Copa with a win, 10-5 - Lansing Lugnuts
- Kernels' Comeback Cut Short by Dragons - Cedar Rapids Kernels
- Sampen Shines in 2-1 Loss on Friday - Bowling Green Hot Rods
- 'Caps Caught by Bees in 5-2 Loss - West Michigan Whitecaps
- 10th Inning Barrage Hands Cougars Series Opener - Kane County Cougars
- Snappers fall to Lugnuts 10-5 in Lansing - Beloit Sky Carp
- Pitching Dominates, Schreiber Homers in 2-0 Win at Fort Wayne - Quad Cities River Bandits
- Cantillo Shines In Stellar Start - Fort Wayne TinCaps
- Chiefs Beat Hot Rods 2-1 for Sixth Straight Win - Peoria Chiefs
- Loons WWWWWWWin Another - Great Lakes Loons
- Loons Keep Rolling with Win over Wisconsin - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
- Lugnuts Stars Kirk Promoted, Groshans Placed on IL - Lansing Lugnuts
- TinCaps Game Notes: May 3 vs. Quad Cities (Game 27) - Fort Wayne TinCaps
- Bandits Relocate May 6-8 Home Series - Quad Cities River Bandits
- Bowling Green Hot Rods Game Notes - Bowling Green Hot Rods
- Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Homestand Highlights: May 6-11 - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
- Carlos Martinez to Join Chiefs on Rehab Stint - Peoria Chiefs
- Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Ohio and Dragons Present An Anthem Home Run for Life - Dayton Dragons
- Moises Gomez joins Kernels from Fort Myers - Cedar Rapids Kernels
- South Bend Cubs Announce Upcoming Game/Promotion Schedule - South Bend Cubs
- Dragons Homestand Preview for May 6-11 - Dayton Dragons
- Dragons Notes for Friday - Dayton Dragons
- One-Run Victory Completes Series Win - Kane County Cougars
- Plassmeyer Spins Gem in 2-0 Shutout Win - Bowling Green Hot Rods
- 'Caps Dethrone Kings - West Michigan Whitecaps
- Neal Steals the Show in 10-4 Nuts Romp - Lansing Lugnuts
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