MWL1 Bowling Green Hot Rods

Hot Rods Game Notes

June 5, 2019 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Bowling Green Hot Rods News Release


Tonight's tilt features a total of 13 Midwest League All-Stars, including eight Hot Rods who were selected to the Eastern Division squad. One of which, Shane McClanahan, will start the game for BG.

About Last Night... The Hot Rods found themselves playing catch-up throughout the majority of Tuesday night's series opener in South Bend, but they could never draw even. South Bend took the lead in the second inning, denting Caleb Sampen for a pair of runs to take a 2-0 lead. Bowling Green was no hit for the first 3.1 innings, but got a run back in the fourth as Kaleo Johnson launched a solo homer, his seventh of the year, to end the no-hit bid. South Bend promptly got the run right back in the bottom half of the frame. However, the Hot Rods again responded in the fifth, as Beau Brundage doubled home Ford Proctor to cut the deficit to 3-2. An inning later, the Hot Rods put runners on the corners with one out, but could not push home the tying run. In the bottom of the sixth, though, Sampen gave up a two-run home run to Brennen Davis, giving South Bend a 5-2 lead that stayed unchanged until the ninth. The Hot Rods began the frame with four straight hits, but the rally was hindered when Kaleo Johnson was thrown out at the plate on a Proctor hit. Regardless, Bowling Green cut the lead to 5-4 and had the tying run at first base, but Brundage struck out to end the game, giving South Bend the victory in the series opener.

Hey Now, You're An All-Star... The Midwest League All-Star Game rosters for the June 18th contest in South Bend were announced on Wednesday morning and the Hot Rods were very well represented on the Eastern Division All-Star team, earning a league-high eight selections. Wander Franco earned the start at shortstop, Chris Betts will serve as the starting catcher, and Roberto Alvarez will be the starting designated hitter. Grant Witherspoon also earned a selection as a reserve outfielder. On the pitching side, four Bowling Green starting pitchers were also picked. Tonight's starter, left-hander Shane McClanahan, was tabbed, as well as right-handed hurlers Easton McGee, Alan Strong, and Caleb Sampen. Previously, Franco and Alvarez earned selections to the Appalachian League Postseason All-Star team in 2018, while Betts earned a New York-Penn League All-Star selection last season. The other five players all earned their first All-Star selections at the professional level. From a team standpoint, this year matches the 2011 Hot Rods for the second-most selections, with eight. Only the 2013 squad earned more All-Star nods, with nine. All-time, the Hot Rods have sent 65 players to the All-Star Game, 63 as a member of the Midwest League.

Kaleo Keeps Hitting... While Bowling Green's offense was quiet for most of Tuesday night's game, Kaleo Johnson continued a recent surge by going 3-for-4, while also smacking his seventh home run of the season. For Johnson, the three-hit night is his team-high sixth game this season with three or more hits. It's also his third-straight multi-hit effort. Over his last eight games, Johnson had gone 14-for-32 (.438) with two homers, four RBI, and five runs scored, raising his batting average on the season to .290. He also has collected multiple hits five times in that stretch, including the first four-hit game of his career on May 26 vs. Dayton.

Sampen's Streaks... All-Star Caleb Sampen has emerged as a key piece in the Hot Rod rotation thanks in part to his remarkable consistency and durability. That continued to an extent on Tuesday night as he worked at least 6.0 innings for the seventh-straight start. However, he did allow five runs, snapping a string of six-straight quality starts. On the season, Sampen has worked 68.0 innings, good for third in the Midwest League.

Yesterday's Notes... Wander Franco's hitting streak ended at nine games... He did extend his on-base streak to 10 games... Johnson collected his 14th multi-hit game and second in a row...He also collected his fifth three-hit night...Sampen worked 6.0 innings for the seventh start in a row...He did have his string of six-straight quality starts snapped...Bowling Green is now 16-14 on the road... They're also 11-7 in series openers this season...BG fell to 9-8 in one-run games...They also fell to 28-16 against right-handed starters...

Check out the Bowling Green Hot Rods Statistics



Midwest League Stories from June 5, 2019


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