DEFENDING LEAGUE CHAMPIONS TAKE CONTROL QUICKLY AGAINST TOURISTS
They’re coming off a championship season, but there’s been considerable turnover, which is the way it works in minor league baseball.
No matter.
The Bowling Green Hot Rods got out of the chute at high throttle on Friday night, and they did it in style, despite weather better suited for the NHL Winter Classic at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.
This is a team that knows how to win, which Hot Rods manager Jeff Smith attributes to the organizational approach of the team’s parent club, the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Hot Rods rolled past the Asheville Tourists 9-2 on a damp, brutally cold night at Bowling Green Ballpark, opening their defense of the South Atlantic League championship in impressive fashion.
And they did it with top-flight prospect Zach Trageton on the mound, taking charge with a four-run first inning before Trageton struck out seven batters over the course of the game’s first four frames. Addison Moss, the first of four Hot Rod relievers, earned the victory with two solid innings pitched, and it was a pitching performance reminiscent of the team’s triumphant moment last September.
That’s when the Hot Rods claimed the second championship in franchise history, with a 6-3 victory over the Greensboro Grasshoppers in a decisive Game 5 at the Ballpark. The Hot Rods closed the door on an amazing 82-36 season, the best in minor league baseball, and they did it with Trageton in a closing role on the mound.
Jeff Smith says it’s all about establishing a winning culture, and that’s what the Hot Rods emphasized going into Opening Night.
“Every single year, in minor league baseball, you have a new team,” Smith said afterwards in the Hot Rods clubhouse. “With the Rays organization, you come into a season looking to build some confidence. An identity. I think we have a good mix of guys, experience from last year’s team and some newcomers from the FCL (Florida Complex League) team in Port Charlotte. Some other veterans.
“I was extremely happy for Zach Trageton. I really liked seeing his confidence out there. It’s going to be a fun team, to watch them compete, watch them grow.”
Trageton didn’t allow a hit in his four innings, allowing just one walk while taking a no-decision. The Hot Rods made a couple sensational plays behind him, in the field, including third baseman Tanner Murray’s stop of a hard-hit grounder inside the base line to end the fourth.
Trageton stayed ahead in the count, pitching aggressively after the Hot Rods put up a four spot in the bottom of the first inning. Matt Dyer, the Hot Rods’ talented 23-year-old catcher, said Trageton’s outing served as an inspiration for the entire team.
And the Hot Rods needed to heat things up on an Opening Night game played in damp, 39-degree weather. In fact, a light rain/snow mix fell for an inning or two late in the game, before reliever Andrew Goss finished the task at hand and the fireworks were set off along the warning track in center field.
“Zach was phenomenal, really,” Dyer said. “He was the one who set the tone for us. The four runs helped, sure, but Zach was pitching in tough conditions. We were able to build off his performance and get the win.”
Dyer, who played his college ball at the University of Arizona, had a big night at the plate, too. He scored the game’s first run, reaching safely on a one-out bloop single to left field before Heriberto Hernandez’s bases-loaded double to center field made it 3-0. The Tourists bungled a double-play grounder that could have ended the inning without any damage, and Hernandez made them pay with a double to the center-field.
Hernandez scored himself on Tanner Murray’s fielder’s choice, scoring from third before the throw arrived to Asheville catcher Neira Rodriguez.
That put the Hot Rods in the fast lane to Opening Night success.
“I’d say this team has a really good chemistry,” Dyer said. “We know how to work, but we really just want to go out and have fun, too. It’s a lot easier when you’re winning, of course.
“It kind of runs through the whole organization. The biggest thing is attacking the zone, offensively and defensively. You work the count, look for the pitch to hit and put it to the biggest part of the field.”
Dyer did that himself, with a wind-blown, two-run triple to left field in the bottom of the eighth inning. Trageton joined forces with fellow Hot Rods pitchers Addison Moss, Sean Mullen and Andrew Goss to finish the task at hand.
The Bowling Green pitchers finished the game with an impressive 13 strikeouts, and the Hot Rods had a no-hitter intact until the Tourists’ cleanup man, Will Wagner, lined Mullen’s pitch for a one-out single in the top of the seventh.
The Hot Rods will play host to the Tourists again at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, followed by an afternoon game against Asheville on Sunday and the team’s first road trip of the season.
