SAL Bowling Green Hot Rods

Hot Rods Game Notes

Published on September 10, 2021 under South Atlantic League (SAL)
Bowling Green Hot Rods News Release


Yesterday the Hot Rods clinched their eighth playoff berth in team history with a win in the doubleheader, and now look to secure the one-seed.

Yesterday... The Hot Rods split a doubleheader against the Winston-Salem Dash, securing their eighth playoff birth in franchise history with a 3-2 win in game one. Alika Williams homered for the second-straight game while Evan McKendry and Angel Felipe combined to hold the Dash to two runs on six hits with eight combined strikeouts in the win. In game two, the Hot Rods held the lead from the third inning through the sixth, but the Winston-Salem offense got the bullpen for the second time in the series, putting up six runs in the sixth en route to a 9-4 win in game two.

September... Despite a 7-2 record to start September, the Hot Rods have struggled in spots. While Grant Witherspoon (.393), Hill Alexander (.333), Logan Driscoll (.333), Jacson McGowan (.417), and Alika Willaims (.333) are all boosting the Hot Rods team average to .278, the pitching staff has posted an ERA of 4.27 through nine games. The bullpen has blown four saves while the staff has allowed 11 homers over nine games. One leading the minors, the Hot Rods are now third in WHIP behind the Durham Bulls (1.13) and Somerset Patriots (1.15) with a 1.16 WHIP.

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... The season series is preparing to wrap up between the Bowling Green and Winston-Salem, and the Dash are taking it to the Hot Rods this week. While BG has suffered two losses to WS so far, the Hot Rods are ahead in the season series with a 7-2 win already in the books. BG is also batting .292 with 11 homers and 56 runs scored, while the Dash have a .240 team average against the Hot Rods with nine homers and 34 runs. BG is holding down a 4.02 ERA in the series compared to Winston-Salem's 7.39.

Magic Number SZN... The Hot Rods clinched a postseason berth on Thursday with a win in game one of the doubleheader, but their work isn't done. BG can clinch home-field advantage as the one-seed with a magic number of five. Greensboro's magic number to eliminate Hudson Valley from contention is four and those two teams have a six-game series at Dutchess Stadium, the home of the Renegades, to close out the season next week.

Yesterday's Notes... Williams has homered twice in the first inning of a game this season... He homered in back-to-back games as well... Driscoll had his third multi-hit game of the season... Witherspoon had his team-leading 24th multi-hit effort this year... Mead had his 18th... Alexander had multiple RBIs in a game for the 12th time this year... The sixth inning of game two saw the Dash knock out six hits, the most in any inning this season... BG is 19-13 in one-run games this season... The Hot Rods are 3-0-3 in doubleheaders this season... BG has made the playoffs eight of the 12 seasons they've existed... They've also made the playoffs in five consecutive seasons...

Now Pitching: Carlos Garcia... The big righty began the season in the bullpen prior to transitioning into the rotation in late August. In his four starts this season for the Hot Rods, Garcia is 1-1 with a 5.14 ERA. Opponents are batting .208 against him while the righty has 13 strikeouts over 14.0 innings of work. Garcia throws a strike 62% of the time on the first pitch and gets more called strikes (15.4%) than swinging (14.7%). He comes into Friday's game with an 8.5 K/9 for the Hot Rods as well.

Check out the Bowling Green Hot Rods Statistics

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South Atlantic League Stories from September 10, 2021


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