Hot Rods Game Notes
August 22, 2019 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Bowling Green Hot Rods News Release
Bowling Green leads the Eastern Division second-half standings by two games over South Bend, who currently sits in the Wild Card spot.
About Last Night... The Bowling Green Hot Rods were able to stave off the Lake County Captains for their third-straight win in a 5-4 victory on Wednesday. Jordan Qsar homered in the first, a three-run shot to compound to walks and give the Hot Rods a 3-0 lead, but the Captains got a run back in the bottom of the inning on Matthew Liberatore who made his first start since being reinstated from the IL. Bowling Green added another run in the third while Liberatore wrapped up his outing in the bottom of the frame while Chris Muller entered from the bullpen in relief. The righty allowed a run in the fifth but otherwise pitched well, striking out four over two innings. The Hot Rods plated another run in the seventh to make it a 5-2 game, but Nathan Witt saw two unearned runs scored in the seventh to make it a one-run game at 5-4. Joel Peguero was tasked with getting a six-out save and he came through for his 13th of the season.
Playoff Race Update... Bowling Green's win on Wednesday kept them two games ahead of the South Bend Cubs for the top available playoff spot, as well as the lead in the Eastern Division second-half standings. The Cubs began a three-game series with the Lansing Lugnuts, winning in walk-off fashion while dropping the Lugnuts to five games out of first. While the Great Lakes Loons don't factor into the second-half postseason race, their loss to the West Michigan Whitecaps drops them three games out of first place. Following the conclusion of the three-game series with Lake County, the Hot Rods return to Bowling Green for a four-game series against South Bend and still have seven of their 12 remaining games against the Cubs.
Tight Rope Walking... The Hot Rods are 3-2 on their current road trip, but all five games have been close. Four of the five contests have been separated by just one run, including all three of BG's wins over that stretch. The one outlier: August 18th's 4-2 loss to the TinCaps, a game that was tied until a two-run eighth inning proved to be the difference.
(Almost) All Wins with Alvarez... Roberto Alvarez began the 2019 season as a 19-year old playing with his first full-season affiliate, and at times it showed. Since August 2nd, not only has Roberto lowered his catcher's ERA below 4.00 (it's 3.76 after Tuesday's game) but the Hot Rods have won nine of Robbie's last 10 starts behind the plate.
Aranda horn... Jonathan Aranda has led the charge for the BG offense and extended his hitting streak to 13 games, a new season-high for the infielder. It's Aranda's third hit streak of seven or more games this year while the 13-gamer is the second-longest this season for a Hot Rods hitter. He trails Osmy Gregorio (15 games in June-July) and is tied with West Michigan's Nick Ames for the longest active streak in the MWL. Since August 8, Aranda is 16-48 with two triples and two doubles, posting a .333 batting average with a .396 OBP. He's struck out eight times while collecting five walks over that stretch. The Hot Rods are 9-4 since August eighth, as well.
Qsar Said So... Jordan Qsar isn't a "qualified" hitter as far as league leaders are concerned and his batting average (.227) isn't the highest on the team over his 51 games played. But the lefty's month of August stands out upon closer examination. Qsar has hit five homers this month and is leading the team in RBIs with 13. Look beyond your standard triple crown stats, and Jordan is standing out on the roster. He's posted the second-highest OPS this month (.831) while working the fourth-most walks to post an OBP (.316) that's .104 points higher than his batting average. He's leading the team in slugging, as well, with nine extra-base hits for a .515 SLG.
Single Season Record Watching... HR: Betts has 18 homers (4th most in a single season) and is one behind Moises Gomez (3rd, 19, 2018), three behind Ronaldo Hernandez (2nd, 21, 2018) and four behind Derek Dietrich (1st, 22, 2011)... RBIs: Betts' 68 are four behind Jake Hager (72, 2012) for fifth place... Walks: Betts (65) and Proctor (64) trail Taylor Walls (66, 2018) for fifth-most... Hits: Proctor (122) trails Tim Beckham (135) for fifth and Drew Vettleson (139, 2012) for fourth... Strikeouts: Betts (123) is six behind Adrian Rondon (129, 2017) for fifth-most... Wins: Sampen and Strong (9) are one win away from moving into a five-way tie for fourth most... Saves: Peguero (13) is one away from tying Scott Shuman (14, 2010) for fourth-most... Team Strikeouts (pitching): BG has 1162 K's as a staff ahead of Thursday's game. The club record is 1196 in 2018...
Midwest League Stories from August 22, 2019
- First Baseman Brodt Is Promoted to Double-A - Lansing Lugnuts
- Rattlers Stay Hot with 6-2 Win over Bees - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
- Roederer's Multi-Home Run Performance Fuels 8-1 Cubs Win - South Bend Cubs
- Big 1st Helps Cubs Drop Lugnuts - Lansing Lugnuts
- McCarthy Fans 10 in Blowout Loss - Lake County Captains
- 10th Inning Houdini Act Clinches Series for Cougars - Kane County Cougars
- Clinton Shuts Out Cedar Rapids in Second Straight - Clinton LumberKings
- Beloit Falls in Extras to Kane County 2-1 - Beloit Sky Carp
- Loons Ride the Wave - Great Lakes Loons
- Lloyd, Hernandez Key Dragons Third Straight Win - Dayton Dragons
- Missed Opportunities Haunt Bandits in 2-1 Loss - Quad Cities River Bandits
- Chiefs Win Second Straight, Clinch Series v. Bandits - Peoria Chiefs
- Williams-Sutton Homers, Fort Wayne Falls - Fort Wayne TinCaps
- Cedar Rapids Experiences Deja Vu at Clinton - Cedar Rapids Kernels
- TinCaps Game Notes: August 22 at Dayton (Game 127) - Fort Wayne TinCaps
- J.T. Perez placed on 7-day Injured List; Alex Schick activated from 7-day Injured List; LaMonte Wade assigned to Pensacola - Cedar Rapids Kernels
- Hot Rods Game Notes - Bowling Green Hot Rods
- Dragons Notes for Thursday - Dayton Dragons
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