CarL1 Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Late Lead Doesn't Hold as Rocks Complete Sweep

Published on May 23, 2010 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Myrtle Beach Pelicans News Release


WILMINGTON, DE - Looking to build off of J.J. Hoover's third straight solid outing, the Pelicans turned the ball over to a taxed but effective bullpen in the late innings Sunday in Wilmington, but it was the relief corps that couldn't stop the bleeding as the Blue Rocks chipped their way to a sweep.

Wilmington sent ten men to the plate in a five-run eighth inning, capitalizing on four walks and three base hits to turn a 3-1 deficit into a 6-3 win in the third and final game of the weekend set that sent the Pelicans to their fifth loss on a frustrating and confounding seven-game road trip.

Myrtle Beach matched its run output from each of the first two games with a first inning run Sunday afternoon. Cole Miles offered up his left elbow for the Pelicans in the opening inning, taking a Chris Dwyer fastball there to put him aboard as a leadoff base runner. Miles swiped second and third and stood 90 feet away when Calvin Culver drove him in with a two-out RBI single to put Myrtle Beach in the lead 1-0 after a half-inning.

In the fourth, Wilmington took advantage of some shaky Pelicans defense to tie things at one. Juan Rivera reached on an error charged to Pelicans shortstop Ryan Barba when a groundball out to short kicked off the side of the mound and, subsequently, the side of Barba's glove on the redirect. With two gone and Rivera at second, Jamie Romak looped an innocent-looking pop-up about midway up the first base line. With some weird English of its own, however, the pop bounced off of Hoover's glove in fair territory, rolling over near the Blue Rocks dugout to bring Rivera home with the tying run.

The Pelicans reclaimed the lead in the sixth when Miles singled and stole second with one out and came around to score on Dan Nelson's double over the head of Wilmington left fielder Jamar Walton. Myrtle Beach added an insurance run one inning later when Samuel Sime hustled out a double on a line drive to center field and scored on a Mike Daniel RBI single back up the middle for a 3-1 advantage.

All three runs went in support of Hoover who turned in another sparkling outing but didn't factor into the decision. Over his six innings of work, the big right-hander surrendered one unearned run on five hits while striking out three and walking two. Hoover's two free passes actually matched his total from his previous two starts as the command specialist continues to reclaim that dominant facet of his game in his second month in the Carolina League. Hoover has now allowed three combined runs over his last three starts.

It was in the eighth, however, when the tide turned. Reliever Angelo Paulino ran into trouble when he walked Rey Navarro and Ben Theriot with one out to put the tying run on base. Enter recently reactivated right-hander Tyrelle Harris who secured a strikeout of J.D. Alfaro before the wheels came off. A Juan Rivera walk loaded the bases before Adrian Ortiz singled a pair home to tie the game at three. After another walk to Patrick Norris, the stage was set, bases loaded in a tie game, for the Carolina League's leading hitter, Eric Hosmer. The Blue Rocks DH on the day didn't need to do much, reaching on an infield single to score Rivera and give the Rocks the lead. Two more runs scored in the inning on a Romak base hit, and the damage was done. Harris (0-1) suffered the blown save and took the defeat while allowing three runs, all earned, in two-thirds of an inning of work. Reliever James Thompson (2-3) picked up the win on the other side after he entered in relief of Wilmington starter Chris Dwyer, who pitched 6.2 innings of three-run ball.

With the loss, the Pelicans drop to 13-31 on the year, and though they limited their opponents to an average of less than three runs per game on their seven-game swing through Winston-Salem and Wilmington, the Birds head home with just two wins on the trip.

The Pelicans return to the Grand Strand on Tuesday, May 25 for the first of a six-game homestand with the Lynchburg Hillcats and Wilmington Blue Rocks. The three-game set against Lynchburg opens up with Dollar Hot Dog Night on the 25th. Fans can enjoy $1 dogs all night long Tuesday along with the next installment of the Pelicans Team Tuesday Poster Series.

For tickets, contact the Pelicans box office at (843) 918-6000 or (877) 918-TIXX or by visiting the Tickets page at MyrtleBeachPelicans.com.

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Carolina League Stories from May 23, 2010


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