CarL1 Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Myrtle Beach Pelicans: Game Notes, June 16 vs. Carolina

Published on June 16, 2018 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Myrtle Beach Pelicans News Release


The Myrtle Beach Pelicans play a doubleheader against Carolina beginning at 4:05 p.m. on Saturday from TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark. In game one, RHP Erick Leal (0-0, 0.00 ERA) starts for the Birds against Mudcats LHP Cam Roegner (6-3, 1.64 ERA). RHP Casey Bloomquist (1-0, 2.06 ERA) takes the bump in the finale. Coverage begins at 3:50 p.m. on MiLB.tv, MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Broadcast, the MiLB First Pitch app and TuneIn. The finale will be broadcast on The CW21.

PELICANS DROP FIFTH STRAIGHT CONTEST

Two first-inning runs was not enough for Myrtle Beach in Friday's 4-2 loss to the Carolina Mudcats from TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark. The Pelicans opened up the scoring when Andruw Monasterio scampered home on a wild pitch in the first inning. Later in the frame, P.J. Higgins notched an RBI single to make it 2-0. In the third, a Birds error brought in the first Carolina run of the game. Later on in the inning, Tucker Neuhaus and Weston Wilson recorded back-to-back RBI doubles to push the Muddies ahead 3-2. Dallas Carroll went yard in the fifth inning to put the score at 4-2. In relief of Tyson Miller, Jose Paulino pitched 3.1 scoreless innings, ceding just one hit. However, Myrtle Beach did not muster a knock of own after the second inning.

MY HEART'S A MONASTERIO...

Myrtle Beach infielder Andruw Monasterio has reached base multiple times in seven contests during his nine-game on-base streak. Over these last nine contests, the Caracas, Venezuela native is 13-for-37 (.351) with one home run, five RBIs and four walks. After slashing just .241/.313/.287 (75 wRC+) in a brief stint at the High-A level last year, Monasterio is hitting .263/.355/.332 (101 wRC+) this season. Part of his success is a better approach at the plate; after walking in 5.2 percent of his plate appearances in 2016 and 8.3 percent last season, Monasterio is posting a career-best 11.6 percent walk rate in 2018.

...IT BEATS FOR YOU SO LISTEN CLOSE

Under first-year hitting coach Ty Wright, the Pelicans have emphasized contact in 2018. Myrtle Beach has struck out 522 times this year, the fourth-fewest in the Carolina League. There are several underlying numbers that back that up as well. Four of the circuit's lowest 12 swinging-strike rates have been posted by Pelicans, the most of any team in the league. Andruw Monasterio is third in the league by swinging-and-missing just 6.0 percent of the time. Pelicans catchers P.J. Higgins and Jhonny Pereda place eighth and ninth at 7.3 and 7.8 percent, respectively. Austin Upshaw's 8.8 swinging-strike percentage rounds out the circuit's top dozen. Only one Pelican (Wladimir Galindo, 14.6 percent, 16th-highest) ranks near the bottom of the league in swinging-strike rate.

P.J.'S PANCAKE HOUSE

Myrtle Beach catcher P.J. Higgins has been the Pelicans' most productive hitter to this point of the season, as his 120 wRC+, a park and league-adjusted stat that attempts to quantify a player's total offensive value and measure it by runs, leads the club. Higgins has reached base in 26 of his last 30 games, hitting 33-for-104 (.317/.413/.413) with seven doubles, one home run, 13 RBIs and 17 walks. On the season, the Wallingford, Conn., native has shown a discerning eye, increasing his walk rate from 10.6 percent last year to 13.3 percent in 2018. The former Old Dominion Monarch has also hit for more power (.061 ISO in 2017, .104 in 2018) by lacing more line drives this season, upping his line drive rate from 19.1 percent last year to 23.9 percent (11th-best in the Carolina League) in 2018.

NINE STEPS FORWARD, FIVE STEPS BACK

Myrtle Beach won nine straight contests to open up the month of June, executing the club's first nine-game winning streak since 2016. However, the Pelicans have immediately followed that success up by dropping five consecutive games, matching their longest losing streak of the season. In the process, the Birds have seen their divisional deficit plunge from 2.5 games, the closest the club had been to the top of the South since April 8, to 7.5 games, the furthest back Myrtle Beach has been since they were trailing the summit by a season-high 8.0 games back on May 22. The Pelicans need to win their final three games of the half to match their worst first-half record since 2011 at 36-34 (2012, 2016). If they fail to do that, the Birds will record their worst first half since they succumbed to a 26-44 (.371) mark in 2010. Myrtle Beach has not suffered a six-game losing streak since losing six in a row from August 22-27, 2013.

START ME UP

Over the last 22 games, Myrtle Beach has seen their starting pitching catch fire, with the club's rotation ceding just 35 runs, 32 earned, on 116 hits in 124.2 innings for a 2.31 ERA. Pelicans starters have whiffed 114 while walking only 26 during this stretch. Not coincidentally, Myrtle Beach has allowed more than four runs just once in these 22 games. Birds starters are averaging 5.2 innings per start over this stretch, compared to 4.2 prior to this run.

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