Myrtle Beach Pelicans: Game Notes, May 19 at Frederick
May 19, 2018 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Myrtle Beach Pelicans News Release
The Myrtle Beach Pelicans begin a three-game series at the Frederick Keys with Saturday's 6 p.m. first pitch. RHP Matt Swarmer (3-2, 2.51 ERA) starts for the Birds against Frederick RHP Cristian Alvarado (4-3, 4.28 ERA). Coverage begins at 5:45 p.m. on MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Broadcast, the MiLB First Pitch app and TuneIn.
MYRTLE BEACH NIPPED 3-1 IN RUBBER MATCH
Nick Heath's two-run inside-the-park home run in the eighth inning Thursday lifted the Wilmington Blue Rocks over the Myrtle Beach Pelicans 3-1 at Frawley Stadium. The score was knotted at one in the eighth when Chris DeVito singled to start the frame. Two batters later, thanks to a collision in the outfield, Heath notched a two-run inside-the-park home run to put Wilmington ahead 3-1. The Blue Rocks plated the first run of the contest in the third on a D.J. Burt RBI double. Myrtle Beach tied the score in the fifth when Connor Myers doubled in Aramis Ademan. Pelicans starter Alex Lange yielded just one run on two hits in five innings for a no-decision. He struck out two and walked only one in the Pelicans' sixth loss in their last nine games.
THE CHICKS DON'T DIG THIS
After ranking in the top half of the Carolina League in home runs each of the past four seasons, the Pelicans have seen several fly balls come up just a short of home run territory in 2018. The club's 19 dingers this season are ninth in the circuit, and the Birds have mustered just four home runs thus far in their 16 games played in May. In comparison, the Birds whacked 22 home runs in May of last season, and the fewest home runs the club has hit in any May over their recorded history (through the 2005 season) are the 11 they popped in May of 2012. Outside of Tyler Alamo homers on April 28, May 1, May 8 and May 12, Jhonny Pereda, who went yard on May 13, is the only Pelican to launch a roundtripper since April 28.
PEREDA, PEREDA, PEREDADISE
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the season offensively for Myrtle Beach, Jhonny Pereda leads the Pelicans in average (.313) and on-base percentage (.383). Over his last 28 starts, the native of San Sebastian, Venezuela is hitting .336/.398/.439 with three doubles, one triple, two home runs and 24 RBIs. Pereda ranks fourth in the Carolina League in average due to a contact-oriented approach that has seen him whiff at just 7.9 percent of pitches, the 11th-lowest in the circuit. Pereda's frequent contact is often strong, as his 26.6 percent line drive rate places 11th in the league. He has sprayed his batted balls to the opposite field (42.3 percent, second-most in the league) and up the middle (25.8 percent) a combined 68.1 percent of the time.
REMEMBER THE ALAMO
Over 13 games from April 16 through May 7, Pelicans first baseman Tyler Alamo went just 8-for-46 (.174), drawing just three walks with one hit-by-pitch for a .240 on-base percentage. However, the Cypress, Calif., native has notched a hit in each of his seven games since, including three multi-hit efforts. Over these last seven contests, Alamo is 12-for-25 (.480), lashing three doubles and two home runs to drive in seven runs. He has also drawn four walks. Perhaps the biggest change for Alamo in 2018 has been his ability to get the ball in the air. After hitting 31.5 percent of his batted balls in the air in 2017, his fly ball rate of 43.0 percent in 2018 ranks as the 12th-highest in the Carolina League.
FRIENDS CLOSE, ENEMIES CLOSER
Myrtle Beach's 3-1 loss to Wilmington on Thursday only continued a trend for the Birds. Of Myrtle Beach's last 17 games, 12 have been decided by three runs or fewer. The Pelicans have gone 7-5 in those contests, and the club is 9-13 in these close games over the course of the 2018 season. Interestingly enough, Myrtle Beach's Achilles' heel has come in two-run contests, in which the Birds have posted just a 1-9 record.
ERROR 503: SERVICE UNAVAILABLE
Myrtle Beach made a pair of errors Thursday, continuing the club's defensive struggles in 2018. The Pelicans' 58 errors on the season are nine more than Lynchburg, the next-closest Carolina League team. In fact, the Birds' total is nearly triple that of Buies Creek's 22, which is the best mark in the circuit. Myrtle Beach has made 33 errors in the 20 games since April 26, the second-most in MiLB over that span.
PELICAN POINTS
Thanks to a loss in Thursday's rubber match at Wilmington, Myrtle Beach has now gone four sets in a row without a set win. That matches the Birds' longest drought of the season... Over the past 18 games, the Pelicans' bullpen has pitched 58.0 innings, giving up 27 runs, 18 earned, on 53 hits (8.2 H/9) for a 2.79 ERA. Birds relievers have whiffed 62 (10.2 K/9) over this span... Matt Swarmer, who starts Friday's contest in Frederick, sports the best FIP (1.39) in the Carolina League by nearly a full-run over second-place Brandon Bielak of Buies Creek (2.32).
Carolina League Stories from May 19, 2018
- Hillcats Beat P-Nats, Rain in Series-Opener - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Potomac Suffers Largest Defeat of Season in SeriesOpener - Potomac Nationals
- Sox Snag 6-5 Win over Wilmington Saturday - Salem Red Sox
- Roegner Reels off Another Scoreless Start as Mudcats Win 6-3 - Carolina Mudcats
- Errors Prove Costly in Keys Loss to Pelicans - Frederick Keys
- Three-Run Seventh Pulls Pelicans to Series-Opening Win - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Four-Run Third Costs Rocks Road Trip Opener - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- May 19 - Carolina Mudcats Game Information - Carolina Mudcats
- Wood Ducks and Dash Postponed on Saturday - Down East Wood Ducks
- Saturday's Scheduled Game at Down East Postponed - Winston-Salem Dash
- Gonzalez and Kline Promoted to Double-A Bowie - Frederick Keys
- Myrtle Beach Pelicans: Game Notes, May 19 at Frederick - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
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.
