CarL1 Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Myrtle Beach Pelicans: Game Notes, May 2 vs. Carolina

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


The Myrtle Beach Pelicans vie for their fourth straight win with Wednesday's 7:05 p.m. contest against the Carolina Mudcats from TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark. RHP Tyson Miller (2-2, 3.15 ERA) makes the start for the Birds against LHP Cam Roegner (2-0, 0.83 ERA). Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. on MiLB.tv, MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Broadcast, the MiLB First Pitch app and TuneIn.

PEREDA WALK-OFF LEADS PELICANS IN SET OPENER

Down 4-2 in the ninth inning Tuesday, Jhonny Pereda laced a bases-clearing double for the Pelicans to walk-off over Carolina in their series opener. The Mudcats jumped out to a big advantage with two runs in the first inning and two more in the second to go up 4-0. Myrtle Beach got on the board with a Vimael Machin RBI single in the third inning. The score remained 4-1 until the sixth, when Tyler Alamo bashed a solo home run to cut the deficit to 4-2. Thanks to the solid relief work of Tyler Peyton, who struck out three to work around three hits in two innings, and Jordan Minch, who whiffed three more Muddies in two perfect frames, the Pelicans kept the game close until Pereda's heroics in the ninth.

BECAUSE YOU'RE MINE, WE WALK THE LINE

Myrtle Beach walked a staggering 11 times in Tuesday's series-opening win over Carolina. The Birds, who had a high of just eight free passes in a game last season, last posted 11 walks in a game on April 11, 2016 against Winston-Salem. The Pelicans mustered just six hits in their contest against the Mudcats, but due to their parade down the first base line, the club's on-base percentage rose six points from .318 to .324. Myrtle Beach's season walk rate ballooned from 9.8 percent to 10.5 percent, and the Birds went from second-to-last in the Carolina League in free passes to fifth.

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 (4.73, 9th), hits allowed (223, second-most) and runs allowed (135, 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 3.13. The huge gulf in the Birds' FIP and ERA can partially be explained by poor luck: Opposing hitters are posting a .341 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 15 games since, including 10 contests with multiple trips on the basepaths. Over this 15-game stretch Machin is for 17-for-49 with seven doubles, two home runs, 10 RBIs and 18 walks, slashing .347/.522/.612 (1.134 OPS). Impressive considering his batting average on balls in play (BABIP) is just .281, well below the baseball-wide average of .300, Machin leads the Pelicans in both wRC+ (143) and wOBA (.398). He has walked 19 times this season against only 13 strikeouts. Behind this contact-oriented approach is a 6.5 percent swinging strike rate, the sixth-lowest in the Carolina League, with a 28.6 line drive percentage that places as the seventh-highest in the circuit.

CLEAR EYES, FULL HEARTS, CAN BARELY LOSE

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 7-3, their best 10-game stretch of the season, outscoring their opponents 47-36. Not coincidentally, the only two series Myrtle Beach has won have come over this 10-game run, with one more victory in this set against the Mudcats netting the Birds another series win. Over this span, the Pelicans rank in the top 10 in High-A in fewest walks (21, 2nd), runs allowed (36, T-6th), ERA (3.39, 7th) and hits allowed (71, T-7th). The Birds' offense is slashing .249/.345/.350 over the past nine games, which ranks 15th, 11th and 20th, respectively.

YOUR FRIEND AND MINE

Myrtle Beach outfielder Connor Myers is riding a six-game on-base streak, just one shy of a career-high. Over this current run, Myers is 7-for-19 (.368) with a double, two home runs, seven RBIs and three walks. In 2018, Myers has more than doubled his walk rate from last season (4.8 percent to 10.1 percent) while also swinging and missing at fewer pitches (14.6 swinging strike rate in '17 vs. 12.4 this season). The Middletown, Md., native is also making quality contact, with his 32.5 line drive percentage placing second in the Carolina League, just ahead of teammate Jhonny Pereda's 31.1 percent rate.

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