SAL Bowling Green Hot Rods

Hot Rods Game Notes

July 6, 2021 - South Atlantic League (SAL)
Bowling Green Hot Rods News Release


This will be an eight-game series between the two teams, who suffered rainouts on consecutive days on the weekend to close out the final meeting of June.

Sunday... Erik Ostberg, Grant Witherspoon, and Niko Hulsizer all homered in a 13-5 loss in the series finale against the Greensboro Grasshoppers on Sunday at Bowling Green Ballpark. Greensboro forced a series split with the win, cutting the Hot Rods lead in the High-A East South Division to 4.0 games in the process. The loss also dropped BG to second in the league in run differential (+69) behind Greensboro who is now +70.

Familiar Foes... The Hot Rods and Braves are about to play an eight-game series at State Mutual Stadium in Rome, GA starting on Tuesday. The clubs are slated to play a total of 36 games in 2021 and have completed 16 contests so far. The Hot Rods are 11-5 against Rome, blasting 18 homers while batting just .207 in the season series. They've struck out 192 times against Rome pitching, but the Hot Rods pitching staff has made a huge difference in the series. BG pitching has posted a 2.54 ERA with 146 strikeouts of their own while limiting the Braves to 11 homers and 50 runs, 18 fewer than the Hot Rods have scored.

Former Hot Rods in the Olympics... Joe Ryan and Shane Baz have been named to the U.S Olympic Team for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Ryan, pitched in six games with Bowling Green in 2019, posting a 2-2 record with a 2.93 ERA. Baz played the entirety of his 2019 season with the Hot Rods, finishing with a 3-2 record with a 2.99 ERA over 81.1 innings pitched. Both pitchers are currently playing at the AAA level with the Durham Bulls and open the Olympic Games on Friday, July 30, against Isreal.

Sunday's Notes... Witherspoon had his fourth multi-hit game of the season... McGowan collected his eighth multi-hit game of the year... Hulsizer captured his eighth multi-RBI game of 2021... Hulsizer and Witherspoon have homered in three consecutive games... Their back-to-back homers were the second of the series after Witherspoon and Qsar did it on Thursday... Ostberg's homer was his first since June 3rd... The loss gives Bowling Green their second series tie this season... The first tie was a series against the Rome Braves between May 18-23... The Hot Rods are 15-9 this season when their opponents score first... BG is 9-14 when being outhit... Bowling Green is 24-14 this year against right-handed pitching...

Players of the Month... Bowling Green swept the monthly awards for June. Niko Hulsizer earned the player of the month, while Jayden Murray received pitcher of the month honors. Hulsizer led the High-A East with 10 homers, 30 RBIs, a .779 slugging percentage, and posted an OPS of 1.220. He also placed second in the league in runs scored with 25 runs scored and a .441 OBP. Jayden Murray made four starts in June, finishing with a 4-0 record and a 2.70 ERA. He kept opponents to a measly .141 batting average, allowing just 10 hits over 20.0 innings. Hulsizer was also named the Rays Minor League Player of the Month on Monday while former Hot Rods pitcher Shane Baz (AAA) was the system's Pitcher of the Month.

Now pitching: Jacob Lopez... Lopez makes his -- start of the season and fifth appearance (third start) against the Braves this year on Tuesday. The southpaw will take the mound twice in this series and is holding the Braves to a .226 batting average with a 1.26 ERA in the season series. Lopez works off a fastball with sinking action, aiding him in a 43% ground ball percentage and is one of the team leaders in swinging strikes (20.2%) and is the active leader in CSW% (called/swinging strike percentage) at 37.2%. Even with his impressive stats, opponents are finding green grass, owning a .369 BABIP. Left-handed hitters are the largest benefactor in BABIP, with 50% of their balls in play falling for hits. The lefty is leading all starters with a 15.2 K/9.

Check out the Bowling Green Hot Rods Statistics



South Atlantic League Stories from July 6, 2021


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