Myrtle Beach Pelicans: Game Notes, July 20 vs. Potomac
July 20, 2018 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Myrtle Beach Pelicans News Release
The Myrtle Beach Pelicans look to salvage their three-game set with the Potomac Nationals with Friday's 7:05 p.m. first pitch. RHP Cory Abbott (2-4, 4.34 ERA) starts for the Birds against P-Nats RHP Wil Crowe (9-0, 2.43 ERA). Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. on MiLB.tv, MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Broadcast, TuneIn and the MiLB First Pitch app.
EARLY ONSLAUGHT DOOMS MYRTLE BEACH
Potomac plated four runs in the first and one in the second Thursday to spur a 6-3 victory for the P-Nats over the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. Three batters in the game, Ian Sagdal notched an RBI single to make it 1-0. After another single, Rhett Wiseman crushed a three-run home run to add to the advantage at 4-0. Sagdal went yard in the second to make it 5-0. The Birds finally got on the board in the fourth inning thanks to a Potomac error. However, David Masters' RBI single in the fifth tacked a run on for the Nationals at 6-1. Jared Young banged a solo shot to lead off the sixth inning. Later in the frame, Wladimir Galindo registered an RBI double to get Myrtle Beach to within 6-3. Erick Leal pitched three scoreless innings out of the bullpen.
DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS
Heading into play on May 24, Myrtle Beach ranked seventh in the Carolina League in team ERA at 4.50. However, the Birds' FIP, an ERA estimator based on factors most within a pitcher's control like strikeouts, walks and home runs, was more than a run better at 3.44. That, along with the club's .322 batting average on balls in play, which was far above .300 baseball-wide average, indicated some positive future regression towards the mean. Sure enough, in the 52 games since that point, the Pelicans' ERA has come plunging down towards its FIP, with the figures currently at 3.63 and 3.27, respectively. The Birds' defense has played a huge factor in this, along with simply larger sample sizes and better luck. Over these last 52 games, Myrtle Beach has yielded just a .282 BABIP (1,627 AB, 369 H, 23 HR, 392 K, 15 SF). To put that in perspective, that mark would place seventh in MLB.
RACE CARO
In 98 games between Myrtle Beach, Double-A Tennessee and Low-A South Bend in 2017, Roberto Caro hit just .239/.351/.343 (.694 OPS) with 17 extra-base hits and 20 stolen bases. In just 52 contests this season with the Pelicans and Low-A Cubs, Caro is slashing a combined .368/.450/.517 (.968 OPS), logging 26 steals and already surpassing last year's extra-base hits total with 18. The San Cristobal, D.R., native has multiple knocks in six of his 14 games so far with the Birds. Caro has registered at least one hit in nine of the last 10 contests, going 15-for-35 (.429/.474/.514, 3 2B, 5 RBIs, 9 SB).
YOUNG FOREVER
In the first four games following his July 7 promotion from Low-A South Bend to Myrtle Beach, Jared Young went just 2-for-15 (.133) with an RBI and three walks. However, the Prince George, British Columbia native seems to be starting to figure out the High-A level. Young is currently working on a seven-game hitting streak, batting 9-for-27 (.333/.357/.556) with a pair of home runs, four RBIs and a free pass over this run.
THE 'PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD
Myrtle Beach's bullpen has caught fire over the last nine games. During that span, Pelicans relievers have worked 35.0 innings, an average of nearly four per game, and surrendered just six runs, four earned, on 25 hits (6.4 H/9) for a 1.03 ERA. The Birds' bullpen has combined for 29 strikeouts (7.5) against nine walks (2.3) over this span.
BUT THE SWORD IS PRETTY SHARP, TOO
Myrtle Beach has rattled off wins in six of their last eight games, outscoring their opponents 39-22 over this span. The club's recent success can partially be attributed to a resurgent offense. As a team over the last eight games, the Pelicans are hitting .276/.362/.378 (275 AB, 76 H, 10 2B, 0 3B, 6 HR, 30 BB, 7 HBP). Before this eight-game run, the Birds were batting just .234/.311/.327 for the season.
START SPREADING THE NEWS
Though Rollie Lacy surrendered five runs in 4.0 innings on Thursday, Myrtle Beach has still received extremely strong starting pitching of late. Over the last 19 games, Pelicans starters have worked 95.1 innings, yielding only 30 runs, 29 earned, on 78 hits (7.4 H/9) for a 2.74 ERA (84 K, 39 BB). In the seven games prior to this run, Myrtle Beach starters had posted an ugly 7.62 ERA thanks to 27 runs, 24 earned, on 39 hits (12.4 H/9) in 28.1 innings (30 K, 13 BB).
PELICAN POINTS
Myrtle Beach is 25-2 in their last 27 games when scoring at least four runs... Over his last three starts, Birds starter Cory Abbott has allowed five runs on 13 hits in 16.0 innings for a 2.81 ERA... The Pelicans' 358 runs scored is 32 fewer than ninth-place Carolina, which is closer to fifth-place Wilmington (414) than to Myrtle Beach.
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