CarL1 Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Myrtle Beach Pelicans: Game Notes, June 2 vs. Down East

Published on June 2, 2018 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Myrtle Beach Pelicans News Release


The Myrtle Beach Pelicans battle the Down East Wood Ducks in Saturday's 6:05 p.m. contest from TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark. RHP Keegan Thompson (2-3, 3.61 ERA) pitches for the Birds against Wood Ducks RHP Steven Bruce (1-0, 1.54 ERA). Television coverage begins at 6 p.m. on The CW21 and MiLB.tv. A radio broadcast begins at 5:50 p.m. on MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Broadcast, the MiLB First Pitch app and TuneIn.

PELICANS TAKE SERIES OPENER 4-1

Matt Swarmer fired six innings of one-run ball, and the Pelicans took advantage of a pair of Down East miscues Friday in a 4-1 Myrtle Beach win. Connor Myers opened up the scoring with an RBI double in the second inning. Matt Whatley popped a solo home run in the fifth to knot the score at one. That was the extent of the damage against Swarmer, who yielded just a run on two hits with six strikeouts. Errors on consecutive plays brought in two Birds runs in the sixth, and later in the frame, Austin Upshaw laced an RBI single to make it 4-1. Ryan Kellogg pitched two scoreless innings out of the bullpen before Tyler Peyton did the same in the ninth for his fifth save.

KEEGAN & KEL

Myrtle Beach right-hander Keegan Thompson was sterling in his last start, teaming with Tyler Peyton on May 26 in a one-hitter of Carolina. Thompson ceded a single to Keston Hiura with two outs in the first inning before he and Peyton combined to retire the final 25 Mudcats to come to the plate. That one baserunner yielded is the fewest in a nine-inning game for the Pelicans since at least the 2005 season. Thompson's 4.7 percent walk rate is the third-best in the Carolina League, with his 23.8 percent strikeout rate placing ninth. Meanwhile, when his pitches are put into play, no one has seen a greater percentage of fly balls (49.2 percent). Consequently, Thompson's 34.1 percent ground ball rate is the fourth-lowest in the circuit, with his line drive rate of 16.7 percent registering as the seventh-lowest.

PITCH (CLOSE TO) PERFECT

On April 19, Myrtle Beach entered play with a woeful 5.85 ERA that ranked dead last in the Carolina League. The Birds had surrendered 93 runs (6.6 per game) through the first 14 contests of the season to that point. Since then, the Pelicans, who were 3-11 (.214) to start 2018, have gone 22-18 (.550) mainly behind their pitching. In their last 40 games, Myrtle Beach has yielded just 155 runs (3.9 per game). The Pelicans' 3.24 ERA during this stretch places second in the Carolina League, third in High-A and 14th throughout Minor League Baseball. Meanwhile, the Birds have allowed just 273 hits (13th in MiLB) and walked 103 batters (T-20th in MiLB) since April 19, helping Myrtle Beach to a WHIP of 1.177, the sixth-best in the minor leagues.

ZERO SUM GAME

Over the last nine games, Myrtle Beach has seen their starting pitching catch fire, with the club's rotation ceding just eight runs, six earned, on 35 hits in 52.0 innings for a 1.04 ERA. Pelicans starters have whiffed 51 while walking only nine during this stretch. Meanwhile the Birds' bullpen has been thriving for even longer. Over the past 32 contests dating back to April 28, Pelicans relievers have posted 2.04 ERA thanks to 37 runs, 25 earned, on 84 hits (6.9 H/9) in 110.1 innings. Myrtle Beach's relief pitchers have also whiffed 113 (9.2 K/9) over this span. The last time a member of the Birds' bullpen ceded a run was in the sixth inning of the club's game on May 27 at Carolina. Since then, Pelicans relievers have worked 19 consecutive scoreless innings.

YOUR FRIEND AND MINE

Pelicans outfielder Connor Myers struggled offensively in 2017, batting .188/.234/.245 (34 wRC+). In comparison, the Middletown, Md., native has raised his offensive game significantly this season, slashing .277/.335/.393 (103 wRC+). Myers has registered two or more hits in five of his last eight games, and his 16 multi-hit games on the season are three more than the next closest Myrtle Beach position player. Over these past eight contests, Myers is 11-for-30 (.367) with five doubles, four RBIs and one walk. Myers, who admittedly is riding a .375 BABIP, has increased his line drive rate from 17.9 percent in 2017 to 25.6 percent this year. He has also show a more discernible eye at the plate, cutting down his strikeout rate from 29.2 percent to 26.3 percent and raising his walk rate from 4.8 percent to 7.4 percent.

PELICAN POINTS

Myrtle Beach has won seven of nine games heading into play on Saturday, their best stretch of the season. One more win in this set with Down East would mark the Birds' fourth straight series win... P.J. Higgins has reached base in 17 of his last 19 games, going 19-for-66 (.288) with three doubles, six RBIs and 11 walks for a .390 on-base percentage over this stretch... Pelicans reliever Casey Bloomquist has gone 11 appearances in a row since April 18 without allowing a run. Over this stretch, the right-hander has struck out 23 against three walks with 14 hits allowed in 21.1 innings.

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