MWL1 Bowling Green Hot Rods

Hot Rods Game Notes

Published on May 25, 2019 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Bowling Green Hot Rods News Release


Reminder: Tomorrow's (Sunday) game will have a 6:35 PM first pitch and will be followed by post-game fireworks.

About Yesterday... The Hot Rods began a four-game series on Friday night against Dayton and ran into a bit of trouble early. Starter, Alan Strong allowed the first two men to reach to begin the game, but held Dayton off the board in the first. From there, the Bowling Green offense took over. After going down in order the in the first, the Hot Rods got on the board with a Grant Witherspoon single in the second, with a groundout by Roberto Alvarez bringing in a second run to make it 2-0. After Strong allowed a solo home run in the third, the Hot Rods got the run back on another RBI single by Witherspoon. The Hot Rods broke it open in the middle innings as BG plated two runs on a Dayton error in the fourth, then applied the finishing touches with three runs in the sixth. Strong tied a career-high with 7.0 innings pitched, expending just 68 pitches in the outing, earning his fourth win of the year as Bowling Green cruised to an 8-2 victory over the Dragons.

Another "Strong" Start... Though he started the year towards the back of the BG rotation, Alan Strong has pitched like a frontline starter, going 4-1 with a 1.94 ERA in his eight appearances (five starts). After going 5.0 innings in his first start of the season, Strong has gone at least 6.0 innings in each of his last four starts, recording a quality start in each outing. Additionally, he has been the toughest qualified pitcher in the Midwest League to draw a walk off of, issuing just six walks in 46.1 innings this season (1.16 BB/9), while not walking a batter since May 5, spanning 19.1 innings. Strong hasn't limited his success to starting assignments, either. In three relief outings, he is 2-0 with a 1.25 ERA in 16 innings.

Offensive Awakening... After averaging just 2.79 runs per game over the first two weeks (14 games) of May, the Bowling Green offense has experienced a resurgence of late, beginning with the historic 17-0 win over South Bend on May 15. After batting .237 as a team in the first 38 games of the season, the Hot Rods have hit .311 over the past ten contests, averaging 11.8 hits and seven runs per game in that span. Not coincidentally, after starting the month 7-7, the Hot Rods have gone 7-3, improving their overall record to a season-best eight game above .500. On the year, the Hot Rods now boast league-leading totals in batting average (.255) and hits (409), while scoring the second-most runs (228), behind only East Division-leading Great Lakes.

House of Pena... Despite a slow start, Tony Pena has turned things around at the plate recently and is on a eight-game hit streak, capped off with a 4-for-5 effort on Thursday afternoon. The four hits tie a career-high and is the second four-hit game by a Hot Rod this season. Pena's streak began on May 11 and he's 16-33 (.485) over that span with a double, triple, two RBI, seven runs scored, and seven strikeouts. He also has a .514 OBP despite not having earned a walk in that stretch. On April 20th, the righty's batting average had dipped to .091 but has rebounded nicely. He's now batting .264 this season, the highest his average has reached this season.

Yesterday's Notes... Witherspoon had a career-high four hits...It is his 12th multi-hit game this season...The four hits tied a season-high for Bowling Green (also Tony Pena on May 23 and Roberto Alvarez on May 15)...Franco collected his team-high 13th multi-hit game...Smith had his fifth multi-RBI game of 2019...Proctor extended his hitting streak to six games...He also collected his 11th multi-hit game...Brundage extended his hitting streak to five games...He has three multi-hit games...Gregorio extended his hitting streak to four games...It was his seventh multi-hit game of the season...Strong worked 7.0 innings, tying a career-high in innings pitched, while recording the longest start of his career...Strong has won four consecutive decisions...He also has recorded a quality start in each of his last four starts...The Hot Rods tied a season high (done twice previously) with three consecutive wins...The team is 10-5 in series openers this season... They're 18-8 in games they score first...The Hot Rods are 13-2 when collecting double-digit hits...Friday improved BG's record when out-hitting their opponent to 22-6...Bowling Green is 14-8 at home...BG is 23-12 against right-handed starters...

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Midwest League Stories from May 25, 2019


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