SAL Bowling Green Hot Rods

Hot Rods Game Notes

Published on May 8, 2021 under South Atlantic League (SAL)
Bowling Green Hot Rods News Release


The Hot Rods are going for their fifth-straight win and have a 20-inning shutout streak heading into tonight's game.

So nice they did it twice... The Hot Rods secured their fourth straight win of the season in a 8-0 victory over the Greenville Drive on Friday night at Fluor Field. The pitching staff was sterling once again, led by starter Jayden Murray in his BG debut. The righty tossed four innings while holding the Drive to two hits in what became the Hot Rods second-straight shutout. BG secured a series win while also moving to 10-7 all-time against Greenville.

Fireworks on and off the field... Bowling Green has homered in all four games of the series, three of which have been multi-homer efforts. Ahead of Greenville's Friday night postgame firework show, Ruben Cardenas joined in the fun with his first homer of the season while Grant Witherspoon became the third Hot Rods hitter to have two long balls for the year. That shot, a three-run blast, carried over the center-field batters' eye and way out of Fluor Field.

RISP = RIP... Through the first four games of the season, Greenville has had 13 at-bats with runners in scoring position. They've managed one hit for one run in the series: a double against Miller Hogan in game one Thursday's doubleheader.

Hot Rods are Hot... The Hot Rods offense has put the pressure on Greenville in the series with runners in scoring position for themselves. The team is batting .385 (15-for-39) with RISP, with three homers, four doubles, and nine walks. BG has scored 30 of their 38 runs with runners in scoring position and are getting on base 50 percent of the time so far in 2021.

The Jordan Year... There are currently eight Hot Rods on the roster that are starting the 2021 season at the age of 23. With 28 players on the roster, the average age of all players comes out to 23.39. The oldest on the roster being Cristofer Ogando, 27, and the youngest is Pedro Martinez, 20.

Last Night's Notes... Hunt had his first hit of the season on Friday... He finished with two hits on the night... Three Hot Rods had multi-hit games: Hunt, Hollis, and Alvarez... Hollis has a three-game hit streak... Cardenas has reached base in all for games this season... BG has won three of their four games this season by 4+ runs... eight Hot Rods had hits... Bowling Green has hit at least one home run in every game this season... This is the third game of the year where they've hit more than one... Bowling Green is 10-7 against Greenville all-time... They're now 5-5 in Greenville...

Now pitching: Michael Mercado... Michael Mercado is making his first start since 2018, after missing the 2019 season due to injury. The last time out for Mercado was with the Hudson Valley Renegades on August 20, 2018. He finished that season with a 1-2 record and 5.22 ERA. During his first season in the MiLB, Mercado shined with the GCL Rays. He hurled a 1.69 ERA over eight starts and 21.1 innings pitched at the rookie ball level.

Lockdown on the Mound... Hot Rods pitching has kept pace with their offense, keeping the Greenville Drive to just seven runs over the first four games of the series. Since letting up three runs in the third inning in game one of Thursday's double header, the pitching staff as a whole has mounted a streak of 20 scoreless innings.

Staying in the Zone... Hot Rods starting pitching have made batters earn their way on base to start games. Starters have issued just five walks in four starts and struck out 18. The first four pitchers to start have averaged 11.57 K/9, excelling at getting swings and misses.

Check out the Bowling Green Hot Rods Statistics

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South Atlantic League Stories from May 8, 2021


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