Hot Rods Game Notes
August 10, 2019 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Bowling Green Hot Rods News Release
About Yesterday... In the rubber game against West Michigan, the Hot Rods jumped out quickly, scoring twice in the first on a Jordan Qsar double and a wild pitch. The next two innings, Bowling Green added single tallies, with a Ford Proctor RBI single bringing home a run in the second and a bases-loaded walk to Erik Ostberg driving home a third-inning run, which staked the Hot Rods to a 4-0 lead. However, the Whitecaps battled back, scoring twice in the third and once in the sixth to cut the deficit to one run. The BG bullpen was able to hold the lead, though, and Bowling Green added a crucial run in the ninth as Seaver Whalen brought home Qsar with a sacrifice fly, giving Cristofer Ogando a two-run lead that he successfully held, preserving a 5-3 victory, securing a series win for the Hot Rods.
A Much-Needed W... Following a lull that saw the Hot Rods drop 8 of 12 games and fall out of first place, Bowling Green finished the series in West Michigan with consecutive wins, securing their first back-to-back victories since winning three-straight over Fort Wayne on July 24-26, while also winning their first series since the sweep of Fort Wayne. Also, Bowling Green won a series on the road for the first time in over a month, dating back to a three-game sweep at Lansing on June 29-July 1. In the bigger picture, the series victory allowed the Hot Rods to remain one game back of Great Lakes for the second half lead, while extending their lead over South Bend for the top second-half playoff spot to three games.
This Ford's on Fire... Ford Proctor has enjoyed a hot start to August, stroking 12 hits in 30 at bats, good for a .400 average. He went 3-for-5 with an RBI on Friday, posting his third multi-hit game in his last four contests, and extending his hitting streak to six games. Over a longer period of time, Proctor has hit a scorching .379 in 21 games dating back to July 15, lining eight doubles, scoring 16 times, driving in seven runs and posting a .937 OPS. That stretch has raised Proctor's batting average on the year to .295, his highest mark since April 9.
Let's Get Loony... The top two squads in the East Division, both in the second half and the full season, square off as Bowling Green and Great Lakes match up for their final series of the regular season. The Hot Rods have fared well against the Loons, posting a 7-3 record, highlighted by a series victory at the Dow Diamond on April 18-20 and a four-game sweep in Bowling Green on June 25-28 that catapulted the Hot Rods into first place, beginning a 41-day stay atop the standings. Great Lakes currently leads Bowling Green by one game for the second half divisional lead, though of course, the Loons already have a playoff berth secured by winning the first half division title.
Franchise Single-Season Record Chasers... Chris Betts is currently tied with Phillip Wunderlich ('11) with 17 home runs for fourth most in a single season in Hot Rods history. The lefty is two behind Moises Gomez ('18) for third place, four behind Ronaldo Hernandez ('18) for second with 21, and five behind Derek Dietrich for first, who hit 22 in 2011. Betts is also six RBIs behind Jake Hager's ('12) total of 72 in a season, which is fifth in franchise history. Ford Proctor has 26 doubles, which is six behind Tyler Bortnick ('10) in fifth and 10 off the franchise record. Joel Peguero is tied for fourth place for single-season saves (10) with Austin Hubbard ('11), and would move into a tie for third with Scott Shumann ('10) with four more saves to total 14. Nick Sprengel is tied for fifth in team history with five holds this season and could tie for fourth with his sixth along with four others. Cristofer Ogando has four holds and would enter the top-five with one more.
The Tools to Succeed... Baseball America released their "Best Tools" list on Wednesday. Former Hot Rods shortstop Wander Franco picked up three wins, taking home "Best Batting Prospect", "Best Strike Zone Judgement", and "Most Exciting Player" categories. Right-handed starter Alan Strong was voted as having the best control for any pitcher in the league as well. In total, 14 categories were won by current or former Hot Rods for the 2019 version of the list, which polls managers from every league in the minors who vote to elect winners in each category.
Yesterday's Notes... Proctor extended his hit streak to six games... He also logged his 10th three-hit game of the year... He leads the team with 31 multi-hit games... Cardenas tied a season-high with two walks... Whalen tied a career high with two walks... It's just the second time in his career he's had a multi-walk game, joining his July 2nd game against Dayton... Qsar had his fifth multi-hit game of the season... It was his first three-hit game of the year... His three hits set a personal season-high... BG tied their season-high, taking 11 walks in Friday's game... It ties their April 7th total against Dayton... Jonathan Aranda pinch ran for Ostberg in the sixth inning... The Hot Rods are 28-29 on the road this season... They finish the season series 12-2 against West Michigan... BG is 8-4 in the rubber game of a three-game set... They're 15-9 in two-run games... Friday was the team's 46th night win of the year... BG is 15-16 in games against left-handed starters...
Midwest League Stories from August 10, 2019
- Justin Jones Beats Cougars with Long Ball Again - Kane County Cougars
- Ninth Inning Run Lifts Hot Rods to 4-3 Win over Loons - Bowling Green Hot Rods
- Bees Cool off Cougars - Burlington Bees
- Connor Smith Tallies Three RBI as Captains Defeat Whitecaps 6-4 - Lake County Captains
- Singles Send Kernels Past Snappers - Cedar Rapids Kernels
- LumberKings Hold on for Series Opening Win - Clinton LumberKings
- Chiefs Fall 4-3 in Front of Sellout Crowd - Peoria Chiefs
- 4-Run 7th Costs Beloit in 5-4 Loss to Cedar Rapids - Beloit Sky Carp
- Bandits Blank Timber Rattlers 8-0 on Saturday Night - Quad Cities River Bandits
- Quad Cities Shuts Down Timber Rattlers - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
- 'Caps Drop Series Opener - West Michigan Whitecaps
- Cubs Blank TinCaps 3-0 to Start Series - South Bend Cubs
- Dark Side Finds Loons - Great Lakes Loons
- Nearly Perfect Lugnuts Shut out Dragons - Lansing Lugnuts
- Lugnuts Shutout Dragons Before Huge Crowd at Fifth Third Field - Dayton Dragons
- TinCaps Game Notes: August 10 at South Bend (Game 116) - Fort Wayne TinCaps
- Hot Rods Game Notes - Bowling Green Hot Rods
- DaShawn Keirsey, Jr. activated from 7-day Injured List - Cedar Rapids Kernels
- Dragons Notes for Saturday - Dayton Dragons
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