MWL1 Bowling Green Hot Rods

Hot Rods Game Notes: MWL Quarterfinals Game 1

Published on September 4, 2019 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Bowling Green Hot Rods News Release


This evening's Midwest League Playoff matchup will be played at Four Winds Field in South Bend, IN while tomorrow's game (6:35 PM CDT) and (if necessary) Friday's game (6:35 PM CDT) will be played at Bowling Green Ballpark.

The Hot Rods send RHP Caleb Sampen to the hill to make his second career postseason start (and first as a Rays farmhand) against LHP Faustino Carrera for the Cubs, a southpaw the Hot Rods have seen three times during the 2019 season.

Monday Night... The Bowling Green Hot Rods dropped another close game to the South Bend Cubs in the regular-season finale at Four Winds Field in South Bend, IN on Monday. The Hot Rods took a 2-0 lead in the first inning against Cubs starter Zach Mort. Ford Proctor led off with a double off the right-field wall and went to third when Grant Witherspoon reached on an error to put runners at the corners. Witherspoon stole second, but an errant throw in an attempt to catch him stealing moved Witherspoon to third and allowed Proctor to score while making it a 1-0 Hot Rods lead. Jonathan Aranda lifted a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Witherspoon from third and putting Bowling Green ahead 2-0. The Cubs got a two-run homer in the bottom of the third off BG starter Zack Trageton to tie the game. Levi Jordan led off the frame with a single on the first pitch he saw and scored when Clayton Daniel hit his second long ball of the year to left to pull the Cubs even with a 2-2 score. Brennan Davis hit a solo homer in the seventh inning with one out to left field, giving the Cubs a 3-2 edge. Despite getting a runner into scoring position in the eighth, the Hot Rods were unable to come back from the deficit and fell in the final game of the regular season 3-2.

About the Series... The Hot Rods and Cubs will face off in the Eastern Division Quarterfinals beginning on Wednesday with a 6:05 PM first pitch in South Bend, IN. The 2019 postseason marks the first time the two clubs will meet for postseason play after the Hot Rods have faced Fort Wayne and Lake County twice, Lansing, Great Lakes, and West Michigan.

Beginning the Defense... The Hot Rods return to the Midwest League Postseason for the fourth consecutive year, this time to defend their title as reigning Midwest League Champion. The Hot Rods enter the postseason with home-field advantage in the first round. The Hot Rods went 7-1 on their way to the title in 2018, sweeping Lansing in the Quarterfinals, West Michigan in the Divisional Championship, and defeating the Peoria Chiefs in the League Championship 3-1. Five of the eight games BG played in last postseason were separated by two runs or less including all of the games against the Hot Rods Eastern Division Opponents.

Is it Hot in Here, or is it Just Me?... Over the final 16 games of the 2019 regular season, 11 contests were decided by one run. The Hot Rods were 7-4 in those games with three of the losses and two of the wins coming against South Bend.

A Weight Lifted... The 2018 Hot Rods did something no other team in franchise history was able to do: advance past the first round of the MWL postseason. BG was 1-10 in the Playoffs heading into 2018 and is now 8-11 all-time in postseason play.

Not a Lot of (Postseason) Homers... Only five Hot Rods have homered in postseason play heading into the 2019 postseason. Ronaldo Hernandez and Trey Hair (2018) are the only players to have more than one (each have two), while Jim Haley ('18), Jeff Malm ('12) and Landon Cray ('16) have all gone yard.

Playoff Field is Set... In the first round of the 2019 Midwest League Playoffs, Bowling Green will play the first game of their three-game series at Four Winds Field in South Bend while the Great Lakes Loons are at Classic Park in Eastlake, OH to take on the Lake County Captains. In the Western Division, Kane County will begin their three-game series against the Clinton LumberKings in Clinton, IA while the Cedar Rapids Kernels host the Quad Cities River Bandits.

We Are Not Alone on the Bourbon Trail... The Hot Rods weren't the only team in the state of Kentucky to win a Class-A championship in 2018. The Lexington Legends (Royals) were the South Atlantic League Champions last year and have returned to the SAL playoffs, taking on the Augusta GreenJackets (Giants) in a best-of-three series. The winner will advance to the SAL Championship series.

One That's Missing... With South Bend clinching a playoff berth and Bowling Green wrapping up the second-half division crown on Saturday night, the remainder of the regular season for both teams amounts to little more than a tune-up for the playoff series between these two teams, which begins Wednesday at Four Winds Field. As a result, the postponed contest from August 27 at Bowling Green Ballpark will not be made up, meaning that the Hot Rods will only play 139 games this season. This marks the 9th time in the 11-season history of the Hot Rods that the team is unable to play all 140 games of the regular-season schedule, with the 2011 and 2012 teams being the only Bowling Green squads to successfully complete every scheduled contest.

Monday's Notes... BG finishes the season 35-34 on the road... They're 0-2 in September... 27-24 in one-run games... They conclude their day schedule 22-11... The Hot Rods are 61-40 against games started by an opposing right-hander... Their series record for the season is 22-13-6... BG is 11-5 in the rubber match of a three-game series... The team finishes the year 19-42 when out-hit by their opponent... Trageton allowed nine hits, a new season-high... He allowed more than one walk for the second time this season... BG was 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position... They tied their season-low of two runners left on base... It's the third time this season they've done that... South Bend won the season series 10-6...

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Midwest League Stories from September 4, 2019


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