Hot Rods Game Notes
June 1, 2019 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Bowling Green Hot Rods News Release
The Hot Rods have tied a season-long three game losing streak on the heels of a season-high seven-game winning streak and look to bounce back as the club is just 2.5 games out of first place in the Eastern Division with 15 games left in the first half.
About Last Night... The Hot Rods got off to a fast start on Friday against the Lansing Lugnuts, but it wasn't enough as Bowling Green dropped their third-straight in a 5-2 loss in the series opener at Cooley Law School Stadium. Ford Proctor led off the game with a four-pitch walk ahead of Wander Franco, who worked the count full before blasting his fifth homer of the season over the right-field wall to give the Hot Rods a 2-0 edge. The Lugnuts got a run back in the bottom of the frame, but BG held the lead until the bottom of the third. Two walks were compounded by errors, allowing both runners to score while giving Lansing a 3-2 edge. They added runs in the fifth and eighth while the Hot Rods scattered four hits from the second inning through the ninth, dropping their third-straight game 5-2 in the series-opener against Lansing.
May in Review... Bowling Green finished the month of May with an 18-13 record, tied the third most wins in the Midwest League behind Great Lakes (22) and Quad Cities (21). The team's staff earned run was also third-best, logging a 3.41 ERA while striking out a league-high 298 batters during May. The hitters sported a league-best .268 batting average, while their 22 homers were fifth-best on the circuit and ranked third in OPS at .743. The Hot Rods improved in every category (except win percentage) from April, sporting a a higher batting average (by .021 points), a lower ERA (by 0.33 points), while hitting one more homer in seven more games.
Road Woes... Bowling Green has put together a 14-13 record away from Bowling Green Ballpark this season while the team's numbers have been below their own averages. They rank seventh in road average in the MWL with a .237 mark while also sticking at seventh in road homers (17) and slugging (.363). They've still managed to score 121 runs as the visitors, fifth best in the league. The pitching staff has struggled away from home, posting a 4.03 ERA (7th) with 120 walks (3rd most)while allowing the six-most home runs on the road with 19 over 27 games.
Active Streaks... Wander Franco's homer in last night's loss extended his hitting streak to eight games. He's batting .485 over that stretch with a homer, four doubles, seven RBI, and nine runs scored. It's his second long hitting streak of the season behind his 12-gamer earlier in the season. While Chris Betts' hitting streak is over, he's got a nine-game on-base streak with a .439 OBP. Seaver Whalen has been on-base in five-straight games.
Streak is Gone... The Hot Rods have lost their last three games, which abruptly ended a seven-game win streak for the team that dated back to May 22nd. The win streak stands as the Hot Rods' longest of the season, surpassing the previous high of three. It included a four-game sweep of the Dayton Dragons, the first by the Hot Rods at Bowling Green Ballpark since August of 2017.
About the Season Series... Saturday continues the second series of the season against the Lugnuts following a 3-1 series win in April. Easton McGee, Caleb Sampen, and Alan Strong all earned quality starts in the first installment of the season series, while Connor Hollis (IL) and Wander Franco each had multi-homer games in that series. Lansing was led by DJ Neal, who has a .364 batting average through four games against BG while Nick Podkul is batting .308 against Hot Rods pitching with a .438 OBP. Jake Brodt has a .333 average through five games including three doubles and a homer. Josh Winckowski led the Lugnuts to their lone win, K'ing eight Hot Rods in seven scoreless frames. Friday night featured a homer by Franco in the first, but Lansing turned the series into a 3-2 affair with BG still ahead by a game.
Yesterday's Notes... Franco extended his hit streak to eight games... He also had his 18th multi-hit game of the season... It was his fifth multi-RBI game of 2019... Smith's two-hit night is his fifth of the season and seventh multi-hit game... Chris Betts' seven-game hit streak was snapped... He did extend his on-base streak to nine games... Tony Pena failed to reach base for the first time in 13 games... The Hot Rods are 11-6 in the first game of a series this season... Friday was their 10th loss of the season when scoring first... Bowling Green falls to 14-13 on the road this season... The current three-game losing streak ties BG's season-high... The team closes out the month of May with a record of 18-13...
Midwest League Stories from June 1, 2019
- Davis and Lorenzo Go Yard as Cubs Power Past Dayton 2-1 - South Bend Cubs
- New Month, Same Team - Great Lakes Loons
- Chiefs Score Six in Win - Peoria Chiefs
- Beloit drops another home series with loss to Kernels - Beloit Sky Carp
- Rattlers Can't Solve Seijas - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
- Early Offense Sinks LumberKings - Clinton LumberKings
- Winder Wins 6-2 Decision at Beloit - Cedar Rapids Kernels
- Garcia and Daniels Baffle Bees in Shutout Win - Quad Cities River Bandits
- Tabor Fans Eight, Cougars Defeat 'Kings - Kane County Cougars
- TinCaps Lose Game Two of Weekend Series - Fort Wayne TinCaps
- South Bend Edges Dragons in Low Scoring Contest - Dayton Dragons
- Hot Rods-Lugnuts Suspended on Saturday - Bowling Green Hot Rods
- Saturday's Captains vs. Whitecaps Game Postponed - Lake County Captains
- Lugnuts and Hot Rods Suspended in 1st, Two Games Set for Sunday - Lansing Lugnuts
- Lugnuts Pitcher Joey Pulido Promoted to Buffalo - Lansing Lugnuts
- Hot Rods Game Notes - Bowling Green Hot Rods
- TinCaps Game Notes: June 1 vs. Great Lakes (Game 54) - Fort Wayne TinCaps
- Dragons Notes for Saturday - Dayton Dragons
- Quad Cities Bests Burlington 13-10 in Extra-Inning Hit-Fest - Burlington Bees
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