Hot Rods Game Notes Doubleheader
May 6, 2021 - South Atlantic League (SAL)
Bowling Green Hot Rods News Release
Grand Opening... After a 600+ day layoff, the Hot Rods were back in action on Wednesday in the season opener against the Greenville Drive, but the bats came alive early. BG scored two in the first, three in the second, and tacked on another run in the third to support starter Peyton Battenfield with a 6-0 advantage. A two-run homer in the sixth against BG reliever Tanner Dodson drew Greenville closer (6-2), but in the ninth Jordan Qsar and Grant Witherspoon, both went deep to close out the game with a final of 9-2.
New League, New High.. BG's nine runs on Wednesday were the most every on opening day for a Hot Rods team. The previous high, eight, had been reached twice: in 2013 against the South Bend Cubs in an 8-2 victory and 2009 against the Hickory Crawdads. That game was the first in club history, an 8-3 victory.
Opening Day Domination... BG is 9-3 on opening day, but the team has scored a ton to start the season since 2009. The Hot Rods have outscored their opponents 56-29 all-time to start the season, a differential of +27 runs.
Return of the Hot Rods... After moving up to High-A, the Hot Rods have some familiar faces on the 2021 squad. With 14 players overall, and 13 from the 2019 team, Bowling Green has filled nearly half of their team with returners. Mikey York is the only returner that wasn't here in 2019, but he played with the Hot Rods during the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Grant Witherspoon and Roberto Alvarez return as well and both earned honors as 2019 Midwest League All-Stars.
Power-Filled Outfield... The Hot Rods are carrying four outfielders on their roster that can all hit long balls. Niko Hulsizer has a total of 36 homers since entering the minor leagues. Ruben Cardenas has 13 career home runs over two seasons, hitting three over 30 games with Bowling Green in 2019. Grant Witherspoon hit 10 for the Hot Rods in 2019, bringing his MiLB career total to 15. Jordan Qsar blasted nine bombs over 59 games for Bowling Green in 2019 to round up the outfield.
The Jordan Year... There are currently eight Hot Rods on the roster that are starting the 2021 season at the age of 23. With 28 players on the roster, the average age of all players comes out to 23.39. The oldest on the roster being Crstofer Ogando, 27, and the youngest is Pedro Martinez, 20.
Last Night's Notes... Battenfield tied a career-high with six strikeouts... His four innings of work also tied a career-high... Cardenas had three hits, which ties a career-high... Hulsizer struck out four times, tying a career-high... Bowling Green had 15 hits... The pitching staff had 14 strikeouts as a whole... The Hot Rods were struck out 17 times by Greenville pitching... The Hot Rods are now 9-3 as a franchise on opening day... BG is now 7-7 against Greenville all-time... They're 2-5 on the road in the all-time series...
Now pitching: Jacob Lopez (Gm1) ... Lopez gets his fourth start as a member of the Rays system after being traded from the San Fransico Giants for former Hot Rods outfield Joe McCarthy. The California native is 5-4 in his career with a 2.41 ERA and has 91 strikeouts in 82 innings of work. The last time Lopez took the mound in 2019 for Hudson Valley (then a part of the New York-Penn League), the southpaw k'd seven in 6.0 innings of work, earning a win while holding the Connecticut Tigers to one run on a hit (a homer) with a walk.
Then Pitching: Zack Trageton (Gm2)... Game 2 offers a familiar face to Hot Rods fans in righty Zack Trageton. The Rays sixth-round pick out of Las Vegas in the 2016 draft has slowly ascended the minors and found himself closing out the season in Class-A during 2019. A pitcher who has excellent command, Trageton walked more than one batter just twice during 2019 and had a 58.0 inning stretch that season where he never issued a free pass. He finished the season 5-0 with a 2.31 ERA while issuing just eight walks over 35.0 innings of work.
South Atlantic League Stories from May 6, 2021
- Ritter Homers, But Cyclones Fall 6-1 - Brooklyn Cyclones
- Drive lose twin-bill to Hot Rods - Greenville Drive
- Santana Flips Tourists to 11-4 Win - Asheville Tourists
- Four-Run Eighth Puts Midweek Game out of Reach - Hudson Valley Renegades
- Stott Homers, Claws Top Renegades 5-1 - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Hot Rods Game Notes Doubleheader - Bowling Green Hot Rods
- Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes (May 6 vs. Rome) - Winston-Salem Dash
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