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SAL Bowling Green Hot Rods

Hot Rods Game Notes

June 29, 2021 - South Atlantic League (SAL)
Bowling Green Hot Rods News Release


The Hot Rods are four games up on the 'Hoppers in the standings heading into this six-game series.

Sunday... Evan Edwards and Jordan Qsar both homered twice in Bowling Green's come from behind win against the Crawdads on Sunday, 13-9. Qsar's second homer of the day tied the game at 9-9 in the eighth inning, and the Hot Rods added four runs to secure the 13-9 victory. Trevor Brigden tossed 1.1 innings out of the bullpen, picking up his first win with the Hot Rods this season.

Amongst the Best... Hot Rods pitching has done an incredible job this season in keeping mistakes to a low. Bowling Green has the second-lowest WHIP in all of the minors, only behind the Charleston Riverdogs, the Rays Low-A affiliate. They have also posted the lowest walk tota in the MiLB. The staff has also uncorked the third-lowest wild pitch total and are, of course, have one of the highest win totals in the minors this season. The Hot Rods also sit at fourth in the MiLB with 81 homers. Bowling Green is the only team in the top six in home runs that isn't in AAA, where they use the MLB ball.

899 and Counting... Jeff Smith is in his first season as Hot Rods manager and second with the Tampa Bay Rays but it's his 13th season managing a minor league team. The BG skipper has compiled 899 career wins dating back to 2006 when he managed the Beloit Snappers, then Class-A affiliate to the Minnesota Twins. Smith owns a 416-316 record at the A-Advanced/High-A level, having managed the Twins A+ teams in Fort Myers ('08, '09, '15, '16) and the Charlotte Stone Crabs ('19) where he skippered the club to an 82-53 record, the most wins for a club under his charge in his career.

Home Sweet Home... While at Bowling Green Ballpark the Hot Rods have been hard to beat. Through their first three home series, they have posted a 15-3 record, losing no more than one game in each series. The Hot Rods have a +42 run differential at home, outscoring their opponents 116-74 in their 18 home games this year. Coming off of their last series at home against Aberdeen, they have won five straight games at Bowling Green Ballpark.

Quick Impact... Since being promoted on June 15th, Hill Alexander has shown his skills at the plate. Over his seven games played, Alexander is 9-24 (.375) with two doubles, three homers, and six RBIs. Also over that span, he has collected three multi-hit games, including a two-homer game on June 26th at Hickory.

Sunday's Notes... Edwards hit two homers in a game for the second time in his career... Qsar did it for the third time in his career and second time this season... All three two-homer games have come as a Hot Rods player for Qsar... Edwards and Qsar went back-to-back in the fourth... It's the third time this season BG hitters have hit back-to-back homers... The last was Ruben Cardenas and Niko Hulsizer two weeks ago... Alexander had his third multi-hit game of the season... Edwards had his fifth... Qsar had three hits for the third time this season, which is his season-high... He also tied a career-high with four RBIs... It was Edwards' fourth multi-RBI game of the season... Hulsizer had two hits, making Sunday his ninth multi-hit game of the season... Alexander has a four-game hit streak... Edwards has a three-game streak... Trageton allowed a walk for the first time since May 29... Bowling Green has a total of 13 players who have recorded four RBIs in a game this season... BG is 13-7 when their opponents score first in 2021... They're also 9-11 when outhit... The bullpen has a record of 20-9 when earning a decision this year...

Now pitching: Michael Mercado... The Hot Rods righty is coming off of his shortest start of the 2021 season, where he gave up two runs in 2.0 innings of work against the Hickory Crawdads. This was his first start under 4.0 innings since his first start of the season in Greenville, South Carolina, against the Drive, giving five runs one three homers in 2.1 innings pitched. Over his four starts and 15.0 innings pitched in June, Mercado has posted a 5.40 ERA with 17 strikeouts compared to just three walks. This surpasses his strikeout total of 14 in the month of May while dealing one less walk.

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South Atlantic League Stories from June 29, 2021


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