SAL Bowling Green Hot Rods

Hot Rods Game Notes

Published on September 9, 2021 under South Atlantic League (SAL)
Bowling Green Hot Rods News Release


The Hot Rods magic number to clinch a playoff berth is one: if they win, they're in.

Yesterday... The Dash earned a 9-8 walkoff victory on Tuesday in the series opener, but last night's game was rained out, causing today's twin bill.

Four Hit Performances... Grant Witherspoon collected four hits on Tuesday against Winston-Salem. It was his first four-hit game of the season, and just the fifth all year four Bowling Green. He joins Jonathan Aranda (2X), Connor Hollis, Blake Hunt, and Pedro Martinez as the only Hot Rods hitters to reach the mark this season.

Three's Company... Grant Witherspoon hit his 20th bomb of the season in Saturday's win over Hickory for Bowling Green. The homer makes him the third player on this year's squad to reach the 20 homer number. Jordan Qsar is also at 20 while Evan Edwards leads the team with 22. Edwards is also tied for the franchise record for single-season homers with Derek Dietrich, who hit 22 in 2011.

Dashing to WS... This week is the Hot Rods first appearance at Truist Stadium in Winston-Salem in the club's history. The Dash were a part of the A-Advanced Carolina League for over 75 years. They've been affiliated with the Chicago White Sox since 1997, with players like Hall of Famers Wade Boggs (1977) and Earl Weaver (1950) donning the Winston-Salem uniform.

The Magic Number... Despite Bowling Green being out of action on Wednesday due to rain, the club's magic number is down to one. The Hudson Valley Renegades were swept by the Brooklyn Cyclones in a doubleheader, drawing the Hot Rods magic number to 1. Greensboro won another game in decisive fashion against Jersey Shore, keeping BG's number to clinch the one-seed at seven games. The Grasshoppers are 9-1 over their last 10 games.

Tuesday's Notes... Williams had his third multi-hit game with Bowling Green... It was also his second multi-RBI game and first three-RBI game since coming to Bowling Green... Witherspoon had his 23rd multi-hit game of the season... It was also his 18th multi-hit game... His four hits were a season-high... It tied his career-high... Mead had his 17th multi-hit game of the season with Bowling Green... Martinez had three hits in a game for the fifth time this season... It was his 12th multi-hit game of the year... Doxakis tied his season-high with seven strikeouts... The Hot rods are 48-19 when scoring first... They're 13-6 in the first game of a series... BG is 7-5 in games that the Hot Rods have the same number of hits as their opponents... The Hot Rods were 7-for-10 with runners in scoring position... They're 6-1 against Winston-Salem this season... Tuesday's loss marks their first in the month of September this season...

Game 1: Evan McKendry... Over 2021, McKendry has held right-handers to a .189 batting average while opponents have a BABIP of .257. The righty is getting ahead of hitters, dealing a strike on the first pitch 66.1% of the time. His opponents are swinging at strikes (15.0%) almost as often as they're looking (14.8) while hitting ground balls 52% of the time they make contact. The righty's weak spot has been allowing homers, with opponents owning a homer every nine innings.

Game 2: Michael Mercado... Mercado makes his 18th start of the season and 21st appearance for BG this year. Mercado entered the season having last pitched in 2018 thanks to Tommy John surgery and the lost season of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The righty has been burned by the long ball this season, with opponents hitting 2.1 hr/9 while Mercado's HR/FB rate is 21.4%, each of which are amongst the highest on the team. Mercado throws 57.3% first pitch strikes while his 16.3% called strike percentage is the fourth-highest on the active roster. As a starter in 2021, Mercado is 1-5 with a 5.92 ERA, striking out 69 in his 59.1 innings of work. Out of the bullpen he's 1-0 with a 2.84 ERA in three outings, with eight K's in 6.1 innings.

Check out the Bowling Green Hot Rods Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



South Atlantic League Stories from September 9, 2021


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central