Hot Rods Game Notes
July 17, 2021 - South Atlantic League (SAL)
Bowling Green Hot Rods News Release
Fans started lining up at the gates of Bowling Green Ballpark at 9:30 AM this morning for tonight's Wander Franco bobblehead giveaway for the first 750 through the gates.
Yesterday... Curtis Mead, Pedro Martinez, and Evan Edwards all collected three RBIs in the Hot Rods 11-4 win over the Dash. Michael Mercado started and struck out five while tying his season-high with 5.0 innings pitched. The win gives the Hot Rods the series victory, winning the first four games and pushing their win streak to five.
In The History Books... Evan Edwards launched a three-run bomb on Friday for the 106th Hot Rods homer of 2021. Through 64 games, the Hot Rods are tied for the most homers hit in a single-season in franchise history with the 2011 team. The 106 home runs hit in 2011 were spread throughout a 140 game season. The 2021 campaign is shortened to 120 games.
Strong Starts... Through the last four games, the winning pitcher has been a Hot Rods starter. Jayden Murray and John Doxakis earned the wins in Wednesday's doubleheader. On Thursday, Zack Trageton tossed five hitless innings for the win, while on Friday Michael Mercado earned the decision for the fourth straight. Over this span, the rotation has improved the record for Hot Rods starters to 15-9.
Player Movement... OF Niko Hulsizer has been promoted to AA Montgomery after his stellar month of June. He brought home the High-A East Player of the Month award after batting .325 and leading the league in homers (10), RBI (30), and OPS (1.220). OF Michael Gigliotti was activated from the IL and will join Bowling Green this homestand. He ended the 2019 season at the A Advanced level before being traded to the Rays in 2020. INF Osmy Gregorio was released and LHP Joe La Sorsa was transferred to Low-A Charleston, leaving the Hot Rods roster at 28 players.
Top of the League... After a fifth-straight win on Friday, Bowling Green has pulled five games ahead of Greensboro in the High-A East South Division. The Hot Rods have a 43-21 record, which sits them at the top of the High-A East. Hudson Valley is close behind, leading the North Division with their 41-23 record, two games behind Bowling Green and the league lead.
Yesterday's Notes... Mead had his second multi-RBI game of the year... He had three RBI's in both of his multi-RBI games... Mead also had his third multi-hit performance of the year... Edwards had his seventh multi-RBI game of the season... Jones collected his 11th multi-hit game of 2021... Mercado tied his season-high with 5.0 innings pitched... His five strikeouts fall just shy of his season-high six... Mercado earned a win for the first time in over three years... His last win was on July 12, 2018 against the West Virginia Black Bears in the New York-Penn League... Sterner's five strikeouts tie a career-high... Bowling Green tied the franchise record for home runs in a season with 106... The Hot Rods 11 runs are the most scored since bringing in 13 on June 27th... BG is 10-6 in July... Bowling Green starters are 15-5 this season... This is the fourth-straight game a starter has earned the win... The Hot Rods have won five consecutive games, one short of their season-high...
Now pitching: Jacob Lopez... Lopez has tossed 5.0 innings in each of his last two starts, both marking his season-high. He is coming off of a month of June where he finished with a 1.00 ERA and struck out 32 batters over 18.0 innings of work. Lopez has the highest active K/9 at 13.80 and is second overall this season behind Peyton Battenfield who had a 14.00 K/9 before being promoted to AA Montgomery.
South Atlantic League Stories from July 17, 2021
- BG Sets Homer Record; Lopez K's 10 in Sixth-Straight Win on Saturday - Bowling Green Hot Rods
- Dash Fall for Fifth Straight Time as Hot Rods Take Game Five 8-1 - Winston-Salem Dash
- Renegades Win a Semple Game - Hudson Valley Renegades
- Greensboro Scores Seven Unanswered, Wins 8-5 on Saturday Night - Rome Emperors
- Just-In Credible: Lasko Shines as Cyclones Beat 'Claws 6-1 - Brooklyn Cyclones
- Saturday's Game Suspended Due to Storms - Hickory Crawdads
- Drive Game Postponed - Greenville Drive
- Saturday's Tourists Game against the Drive Postponed - Asheville Tourists
- Hot Rods Game Notes - Bowling Green Hot Rods
- Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes (July 17) - Winston-Salem Dash
- Vegan Night Set for Saturday, July 24 - Brooklyn Cyclones
- Free Tickets for Kids this Week with the Cyclones - Brooklyn Cyclones
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