Hot Rods Game Notes 9322
September 3, 2022 – South Atlantic League (SAL) – Bowling Green Hot Rods News Release
Attached are the game notes for tonight’s game notes for the 5:05 PM CT first pitch between the Bowling Green Hot Rods and the Asheville Tourists at McCormick Field in Asheville, NC.
Offensive Firepower… Bowling Green and Asheville combined for 27 hits and 21 runs on Friday, but the Hot Rods came out on top in an 11-10 extra-inning battle to earn their second win of the series. Mason Auer continued his Hot streak, going 3-6 with two runs scored and an RBI, including a crucial steal and insurance run in the tenth. Tanner Murray went yard twice, with a grand slam in his second two-homer game of the season. The final two Hot Rods relievers didn’t allow an earned run, with Matthew Peguero sending the game to extras in a scoreless ninth to earn the win and Evan Reifert earning a save with an unearned run allowed and a strikeout in the tenth.
Yesterday’s Notes… Murray had the second multi-homer game of his career and season… He also hit his second career grand slam… It was his second of the season with BG and the third by a Hot Rods hitter in 2022… It was also BG’s ninth multi-homer game of the year for an individual… He’s the fourth BG player with more than one multi-homer game… The 11 hits against Molina is a new career-high… Auer has seven hits over his last two games… He locked in his 15th multi-hit game of the year with Bowling Green… It was his fourth three-hit effort… Lopez had multiple hits for the seventh time this season… Murray has 16 multi-hit games in 2022… Soria had two hits for the seventh time this year and it was his 10th multi-hit game… Murray had five RBIs, which ties his career-high… Bowling Green is 53-20 when scoring first… They’re 5-4 in extra-inning games…
Record Tracker… A few Hot Rods players are closing in on club records entering in to the last two weeks of the 2022 season. Heriberto Hernandez is tied with Jordan Qsar (2021) for the team’s single-season home run record (23), and second in RBIs (83). Hernandez is three behind 2011 Hot Rods lefty Philip Wunderlich for the team record of 86. After Wednesday’s doubleheader, Hernandez now owns the Franchise strikeout record, previously held by Josh Lowe (2017, 144). Anthony Molina is one win shy of tying the franchise win record of 13, set by George Jensen (2011).
It’s been a long week… The Hot Rods lost three of four games to the Asheville Tourists to start the series, despite three solid hitting efforts. BG tallied 31 hits in the first four games while the Tourists have tallied 27 hits. Asheville has scored 14 to BG’s 13, while Asheville has homered in all but one game, while the Hot Rods have gotten just one long ball thus far. BG has also struck out 32 times compared to Asheville’s 27.
Potential Playoff Preview… With 13 games left in the regular season, Bowling Green and Rome seem destined to meet in the playoffs in 2022. Bowling Green locked up their playoff spot with a First-Half South Division Championship back in June, but Rome has been red-hot in the second half of the season. The Braves are a league-best 34-22 in the second half, 2.0 games ahead of Bowling Green in the second half standings. BG began the series with a 1.0 game edge on the Braves in the overall South Division standings. The two teams are fighting for the best overall record in the SAL as well, with Bowling Green owning the second-best mark at 74-49 and Rome has the third-best record at 70-52. BG and Rome split the series at Bowling Green back in April, and each team won four of six once in the two series played at Rome.
Playoff Ready… With the Hot Rods clinching their spot in the 2022 SAL Playoffs, tickets for the postseason games at Bowling Green Ballpark have gone on sale. The Divisional Round will begin on Tuesday, September 13 at the second-half South Division Champion’s ballpark before game two of the series will be at Bowling Green Ballpark on Thursday, September 15. If game three is necessary, the Hot Rods will host that game on Friday, September 16. In the event the Hot Rods advance to the League Championship, they’ll host game-one on Sunday, September 18 before finishing the series on the road on Tuesday, September 20 and Wednesday, September 21at the North Division’s winner.
Clinched!… BG finished the first half leading their division for the third time in club history, clinching a playoff spot with 2018’s Midwest League Champions and again in 2011. (there were no halves in 2021). The 2011 team finished the first leg of the season with a 41-29 record while the 2018 Hot Rods set a franchise record with 47 wins in the first half and a record of 47-22. The 2022 club became the third Hot Rods team to the 40-win mark in a half.
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