Hot Rods Game Notes
August 6, 2019 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Bowling Green Hot Rods News Release
Lansing leads the series 2-1 heading into Tuesday's contest while Bowling Green has already won the season series matchup with 10 wins. Tuesday will also be the finale time Lansing and Bowling Green meet in the regular season, while both clubs remain in post season contention.
About Last Night... The Hot Rods and the Lansing Lugnuts squared off in a doubleheader on Monday night after Sunday's game was washed out. In game one, the contest was an early pitcher's duel between Caleb Sampen and Lansing starter Troy Watson. In the third inning, the Hot Rod struck first, as Ford Proctor doubled home Jordan Qsar for the the first run of the game. An inning later, Ruben Cardenas swatted his first home run as Hot Rod, lining a delivery over the wall in right-center. Lansing scored their first run in the fifth on a sacrifice fly to cut the lead in half, but the Hot Rods got the run back in the sixth on an RBI double by Grant Witherspoon. Cristofer Ogando took over for Sampen in the seventh and threw a perfect frame to secure a 3-1 win. In the second game, both teams struggled to maintain any offense early on. Lansing struck first against Matthew Liberatore in the fourth inning, scoring a run on an errant pickoff toss. Through five innings, the Hot Rods were hitless and Lansing had one run and just one hit. In the sixth, though, Ryan Gold smacked a two-run homer off Nick Padilla, giving Lansing a three-run lead. Bowling Green rallied back and tied the game, though, as Jonathan Aranda lined a two-run homer to left, then Seaver Whalen tied the game on an RBI single that scored Cardenas. The game went into extra innings, where Lansing broke through in the eighth innng, scoring three runs off Michael Costanzo without a single ball hit out of the infield. Lansing took game two 6-3, securing a split of the doubleheader.
Lets's Play Two... Monday marked the fourth true doubleheader (two seven-inning games) for Bowling Green this season, of which they have won one and split three. Including suspended games, the Hot Rods have played seven twin bills this year, winning three and splitting four. With Mondays split, the Hot Rods still haven't lost a doubleheader this year, and haven't dropped a twin bill since May 31, 2018, when they lost a pair in Fort Wayne.
Role Reversal... The Monday nightcap saw a role reversal of sorts amongst the Bowling Green pitching staff. Reliever Nathan Witt earned the starting assignment in game two, after 48 relief appearances to start his pro career. On the flip side, he was relieved by Matthew Liberatore, who was making his first career relief appearance after 22-consecutive starts to begin his career. The swap produced mix results, as Witt retired all six batters he faced in two innings, but Liberatore allowed a run on a hit in his two innings, while also walking two and committing a balk.
Samp's Stamp of Approval... Game one saw Caleb Sampen twirl another quality start, his 12th of the season, while also earning his ninth win of the season. With his 6.0 innings of one-run ball, the right-hander lowered his ERA to 2.64, which ranks second in the Midwest League. His nine wins and 109.0 innings pitched both rank second as well. Sampen has enjoyed an outstanding start to the second half, having gone 5-1 with a 1.29 over 42.0 innings since the All-Star break. Dating back even further, to June 10, he has allowed just six earned runs over his last 51.0 innings, good for a microscopic 1.06 ERA, lowering his season mark from 4.03 to 2.64.
Monday's Notes... Bowling Green has split four double headers this season and won three... The team has not been swept in a double header this season... Cardenas' homer was his first with the Hot Rods... Liberatore appeared in relief for the first time in his career... His two innings pitched ties his lowed outing of the season... Sampen earned his 12th quality start of the year in game one... He owns the team lead... Aranda had his fourth multi-RBI game of the year... The Hot Rods have hit 78 home runs this season... With the game one win the Hot Rods are... 14-8 in two-run games... 44-41 at night... 50-32 against right handed starters... 44-20 when scoring first... 11-36 when the opponent outhits BG... With the game-two loss, Bowling Green is... 2-3 in August... 12-6 in games decided by three-runs... 10-6 against Lansing during the 2019 season...
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