Hot Rods Game Notes
April 5, 2019 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Bowling Green Hot Rods News Release
About Last Night... The Hot Rods started off the title defense in 2019 by winning a close game against the Dayton Dragons, 3-2. Shane McClanahan was a revelation, throwing five shutout innings while striking out nine Dragons in his full-season debut. BG pounded out 10 hits in the game, but needed all three runs thanks to a late charge by Dayton. CF Michael Smith provided the play of the game, cutting down the tying run in the eighth with a perfect throw at home plate to end an eighth-inning rally. Cristofer Ogando earned the save, helping the Hot Rods to a 1-0 record to start the season.
Last Night's Notes... McClanahan's nine strikeouts are a career-high... His five innings of work are also a career-high... He earned the first win of his professional career... Bowling Green is 8-3 all-time on opening day... Hot Rods Manager Reinaldo Ruiz has 299 career wins with the Hot Rods... Bowling Green is now 4-0 against Dayton in the opening game of the season... Johnson tied a career-high with three hits, a mark he's achieved four times... Johnson and Tony Pena have a hit in five consecutive games dating back to last season... Osmy Gregorio has a three-game hit streak that dates back to 2018... The Hot Rods have won as many games on the road against Dayton as they have at home (47)... Bowling Green improved their all-time record against the Dragons to 94-67...
Opening Day History... It's worth noting that Thursday was just the fourth time the Hot Rods went without a home run in the team's 11 opening days dating back to 2009. The team left more runners on base (13) than any of the 10 previous opening days.
Chase for 300... Hot Rods manager Reinaldo Ruiz enters his fourth season as manager (first since 2017) just one win away from being the first manager in team history with 300 wins. He's already the winningest manager, 81 wins ahead of Brady Williams who won 218 games between 2010-2012. Ruiz Managed the Hot Rods from 2015-2017, making the playoffs in his most recent stint with the team. He returns for the 2019 season after spending the summer with the Charlotte Stone Crabs (Port Charlotte, SC), the Advanced-A affiliate in the Florida State League.
The roster... The 2019 Hot Rods are a very different club than the 2018 championship team. Wander Franco, the Rays' top prospect in both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America, earned his first full-season assignment while the only other ranked prospect is opening-day starter Shane McClanahan. Chris Betts and Nick Padilla both embark on their second tour with the team, but it's a club with an average age of just over 21 1/2. The youngest member of the team is Franco (18) while the oldest is Cristofer Ogando (25), who was a Rule Five selection from the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Midwest League Stories from April 5, 2019
- Snappers ride 15 hits to first win of 2019 - Beloit Sky Carp
- Lugnuts Speed to First Win of 2019, 7-3 - Lansing Lugnuts
- Lugnuts Surge Late to Even Series - Fort Wayne TinCaps
- Cubs Sweep Whitecaps to Begin 2019 Campaign - South Bend Cubs
- Kernels Crush Chiefs, 10-4 - Cedar Rapids Kernels
- Rattler Rally Falls Short at Beloit - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
- Whitecaps Shut out in South Bend - West Michigan Whitecaps
- Schuyler's Home Run Helps Dragons to First Win, 7-5 - Dayton Dragons
- Loons Looking Forward to Home Opener - Great Lakes Loons
- TinCaps Game Notes: April 5 vs. Lansing (Game 2/140) - Fort Wayne TinCaps
- Hot Rods Game Notes - Bowling Green Hot Rods
- Roberson Deals and Encarnacion Thrills in 5-1 win - Clinton LumberKings
- LumberKings Pull Away from Cougars - Kane County Cougars
- Unplayable Field Conditions Postpone Friday Game in Burlington - Quad Cities River Bandits
- Game Postponed - Burlington Bees
- 20-Game High School Baseball Program Opens Sunday at Fifth Third - Dayton Dragons
- Dragons Notes for Friday - Dayton Dragons
- McClanahan K's Nine in Hot Rods 3-2 Win - Bowling Green Hot Rods
- Snappers Fall to Wisconsin on Opening Night - Beloit Sky Carp
- Clinton Falls In Season Opener - Clinton LumberKings
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
