SAL Bowling Green Hot Rods

Hot Rods Game Notes

Published on July 7, 2021 under South Atlantic League (SAL)
Bowling Green Hot Rods News Release


Yesterday... Grant Witherspoon crushed a homer in his fourth consecutive game, supplying half of the Hot Rods offense in a 5-2 loss to the Braves in their series opener. Connor Hollis had an RBI single, knocking in Witherspoon in the top of the second frame. Jacob Lopez tossed 5.0 innings, giving up three runs and striking out six while walking two in his first loss of the season. Bowling Green still leads in the season-series 11-6, but have a record of just 6-5 at Rome this year.

Familiar Foes... Bowling Green and Rome are in the middle of their fourth series this season. The Hot Rods are 11-6 against the Braves, blasting 19 homers while batting just .205 in the season series. They've struck out 204 times against Rome pitching, but the Hot Rods pitching staff has made a huge difference in the series. BG pitching has posted a 2.70 ERA with 154 strikeouts of their own while limiting the Braves to 12 homers and 55 runs, 25 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.

Yesterday's Notes... Witherspoon homered for the fourth straight game... Witherspoon is the fourth Hot Rods hitter to have 10 homers this season... The others are Niko Hulsizer (13), Ruben Cardenas (10, promoted to AA Montgomery), Jordan Qsar (10)... He also logged his sixth multi-hit game of the season... Lopez threw a season-high 86 pitches... The Hot Rods are 19-10 when scoring first... They're 9-15 when out-hit by their opponent... BG is 1-3 in games decided by three runs...

Double-Digit Long Balls ... With his 10th homer last night, Grant Witherspoon is the fourth Hot Rods hitter this season to reach double-digit long balls. Niko Hulsizer, Jordan Qsar, and Ruben Cardenas (promoted to AA Montgomery) all launched double-digit homers first. These four-baggers have helped the Hot Rods reach the top five in the MiLB for home runs. Bowling Green sits in fourth place in all of the minors with 92 homers and are the only team in the top five that aren't in AAA.

Now pitching: Jayden Murray... Fresh off of a High-A East Pitcher of the Month, Murray has continued to flash his consistency. During the month of June, he posted a 4-0 record with a 2.70 ERA. He tossed a total of 20.0 innings, striking out 14 batters while walking just three. Through his last eight outings, he has accumulated eight straight starts of 5.0 innings, including all six of his wins during that span. His lone loss came against Greensboro in his last start at home. During that start, he struck out a season-high eight batters, giving up four unearned runs.

Check out the Bowling Green Hot Rods Statistics

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South Atlantic League Stories from July 7, 2021


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