Myrtle Beach Pelicans: Game Notes, May 1 vs. Carolina
Published on May 1, 2018 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Myrtle Beach Pelicans News Release
The Myrtle Beach Pelicans open up a three-game series with the Carolina Mudcats from TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark. Tuesday's 7:05 p.m. series opener pits Birds RHP Keegan Thompson (0-2, 4.19 ERA) against Muddies LHP Nathan Kirby (0-1, 4.66 ERA). Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. on MiLB.tv, MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Broadcast, the MiLB First Pitch app and TuneIn.
FOUR-RUN FOURTH SPURS TRIUMPH, SERIES WIN
A four-run fourth inning and strong pitching from Matt Swarmer and Bailey Clark Sunday led the Pelicans to a 5-3 win and series victory over Salem. The scoring got started with Wladimir Galindo's RBI double and Tyler Alamo's RBI single before Kevonte Mitchell's sacrifice fly made it 3-0 in the fourth. A Red Sox error later in the inning would bring home Alamo to widen the margin to 4-0. In the fifth, Jhonny Pereda socked an RBI triple to make it 5-0. Salem plated a run in the bottom of the fifth inning, but that was the Red Sox's only tally against Swarmer over his five innings. Clark struck out four over three scoreless, and while Salem scored twice in the ninth, the Red Sox could not get any closer in the Birds' 5-3 win.
LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL
Heading into play on April 20, the Pelicans had lost nine of their previous 11 games to drop their record to 3-12. However, since that point, the Birds have gone 6-3, their best nine-game stretch of the season, outscoring their opponents 42-32. Not coincidentally, the only two series Myrtle Beach has won have come over this nine-game run. Over this span, the Pelicans rank in the top 10 in High-A in fewest walks (20, 2nd), runs allowed (32, 6th), hits allowed (61, T-7th) and ERA (3.44, 9th). The Birds' offense is slashing .252/.331/.344 over the past nine games, which ranks 15th, 16th and 23rd, respectively.
WHAT'S LUCK GOT TO DO WITH IT?
Myrtle Beach's staff has gotten off to a slow start, as the club ranks at or near the bottom of the Carolina League in several pitching categories including ERA (4.81, 10th), hits allowed (213, second-most) and runs allowed (131, T-9th). However, there may be a sign for optimism through a tough first month of the year. The Pelicans' Fielding Independent Pitching, or FIP, an ERA estimator based on the factors most within a pitcher's control like walks, strikeouts and home runs, is a strong 3.23. The huge gulf in the Birds' FIP and ERA can partially be explained by poor luck: Opposing hitters are posting a .339 batting average on balls in play (BABIP) against Myrtle Beach, far above the baseball-wide mark of .300. Therefore, as the club's BABIP regresses towards the mean, the Pelicans should see their ERA fall down towards their FIP.
MAN OR MACHIN?
Pelicans infielder Vimael Machin got off to slow start on the season, posting just one hit in his first six games (1-for-23, .043). However, the San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico native has reached base in each of his 14 games since, including nine contests with multiple trips on the basepaths. Over this 14-game stretch Machin is for 16-for-46 with seven doubles, two home runs, nine RBIs and 16 walks, slashing .348/.516/.630 (1.146 OPS). Impressive considering his batting average on balls in play (BABIP) is just .273, far below the baseball-wide average of .300, Machin leads the Pelicans in both wRC+ (141) and wOBA (.394). He has walked 17 times this season against only 12 strikeout. Behind this contact-oriented approach is a 6.6 percent swinging strike rate, the seventh-lowest in the Carolina League, with a 27.8 line drive percentage that places as the 11th-highest in the circuit.
YOUR FRIEND AND MINE
On the final day of the 2016 season, Connor Myers popped a home run for Low-A South Bend. However, it took the Middletown, Md., native 374 at-bats for his next home run, a two-run shot on Thursday at Carolina. After his dinger Saturday in Salem, Myers now has two bombs this week. Heading into play on Tuesday, the Myrtle Beach outfielder has hits in five straight games for the second time in his career, going 7-for-17 (.412) with one double, two home runs and seven RBIs during this span. In 2018, Myers has nearly doubled his walk rate from last season (4.8 percent to 8.0 percent) while also swinging and missing at fewer pitches (14.6 swinging strike rate in '17 vs. 12.3 this season).
GO THE DISTANCE
Another bright sign for Myrtle Beach has been seeing the club's starting pitching work deeper into games. Pelicans starting pitchers have tossed at least five innings in 11 of their last 13 games, yielding 37 runs, 30 earned, on 69 hits in a total of 69.0 frames for a 3.91 ERA (9.0 H/9, 18 BB, 2.3 BB/9, 68 K, 8.9 K/9). In comparison, over the season's first 11 contests, Myrtle Beach starting pitchers recorded five innings in a start just five times, capping out at those five frames. Over that span, they surrendered 42 runs, 31 earned, on 60 hits in 48.0 frames for a 5.81 ERA (10.4 H/9, 18 BB, 3.4 BB/9, 46 K, 8.6 K/9).
Carolina League Stories from May 1, 2018
- Pereda the Hero in Birds' Walk-Off Winner - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Wilmington's Valiant Comeback Falls Short - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- P-Nats Slug Their Way to 6-5 Victory - Potomac Nationals
- Cease's Gem Leads Dash to Series-Opening Win - Winston-Salem Dash
- Cease Dominates, Shuts out Hillcats in Opener - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Salem Clip Keys 5-2 Tuesday Night - Salem Red Sox
- Red Sox Hit Three Home Runs in Win over Keys - Frederick Keys
- Winston-Salem Dash: Game Notes (May 1 vs. Lynchburg) - Winston-Salem Dash
- May 1 - Carolina Mudcats Game Information - Carolina Mudcats
- Myrtle Beach Pelicans: Game Notes, May 1 vs. Carolina - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- LHP Kyle Kubat transferred to Winston-Salem - Winston-Salem Dash
- C P.J. Higgins placed on 7-day disabled list - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Throwback Thursday Jerseys Revealed - Down East Wood Ducks
- Basabe Named White Sox Co-MiLB Player of the Month - Winston-Salem Dash
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
