CarL1 Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Myrtle Beach Pelicans: Game Notes, May 4 at Lynchburg

Published on May 4, 2018 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Myrtle Beach Pelicans News Release


The Myrtle Beach Pelicans begin a six-game road trip with Friday's 6:30 p.m. contest at the Lynchburg Hillcats. RHP Alex Lange (1-0, 3.43 ERA) goes for the Birds against Hillcats RHP Micah Miniard (0-1, 4.73 ERA). Coverage begins at 6:15 p.m. on MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Broadcast, the MiLB First Pitch app and TuneIn.

BIRDS BLANKED 7-0 BY MUDCATS

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans were denied a sweep of Carolina Thursday in the Mudcats' 7-0 win from TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark. Carolina got to Birds starter Bryan Hudson in the third inning, plating four runs to take an early lead. The score remained 4-0 until the sixth, when a Pelicans error brought in two Muddies runs to widen the deficit to 6-0. Dallas Carroll knocked in the final run of the game with an RBI single in the eighth to pad the Carolina advantage to 7-0. Carolina starter Connor Harber pitched 4.1 scoreless innings, and Myrtle Beach could not capitalize on three different first-and-second, no-out situations in their shutout defeat. Birds outfielder Connor Myers went 2-for-3 with a walk.

DO OR DO NOT... THERE IS NO TRY

Myrtle Beach Pelicans right-hander Matt Swarmer has been named the Chicago Cubs' Minor League Pitcher of the Month for April, the organization announced Friday. A native of Mohnton, Pa., Swarmer went 2-2 with a 1.74 ERA in four April starts, striking out 26 against just three walks. If he had enough innings to qualify, Swarmer's ERA would place fifth in the Carolina League. His 1.52 FIP is the best in the circuit among pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched. A 19th-round pick by the Cubs in the 2016 draft out of Kutztown University (Pa.), Swarmer will start Saturday's game for the Birds in Lynchburg. Former Pelicans outfielder Jeffrey Baez was named Chicago's Minor League Player of the Month for April after batting .411 (23-for-56) with seven doubles, one triple, three homers and 15 RBIs in 21 contests for Double-A Tennessee.

I FIND YOUR LACK OF FAITH DISTURBING

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 won four of five and eight of their last 12, their best 12-game stretch of the season. Not coincidentally, the only three sets Myrtle Beach has won have come over this 12-game run. Over this span, the Pelicans rank in the top 25 in Minor League Baseball in fewest walks (29, T-14th), hits allowed (85, T-20th), runs allowed (43, T-22nd) and ERA (3.22, 25th). The Birds' offense is slashing .256/.349/.340 over the past 11 games, which ranks 14th, eighth and 22nd, respectively, in High-A.

YOU DO HAVE YOUR MOMENTS

Myrtle Beach outfielder Connor Myers is riding a career-high eight-game on-base streak. Over this current run, Myers is 11-for-26 (.423) with a double, two home runs, seven RBIs and fours 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 2017 vs. 12.2 this season). The Middletown, Md., native is also making quality contact, with his 33.3 line drive percentage placing second in the Carolina League. Teammate Jhonny Pereda's 29.2 percent rate places fifth.

NEVER TELL ME THE ODDS

Myrtle Beach's team ERA sat at a woeful 5.85 when the club began a series with Down East on April 19. In the 13 games since that point, the club has dropped its team ERA all the way down to 4.55. The biggest explanation for this sudden success might be positive regression to the mean, with more still to come as the season wears on. 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 robust 3.07. The still-huge gulf in the Birds' FIP and ERA can partially be explained by poor luck: Opposing hitters are posting a .338 batting average on balls in play (BABIP) against Myrtle Beach, far above the baseball-wide mark of .300, but also several ticks below the .363 mark the club possessed on April 19. Therefore, as the club's BABIP continues to drop down near .300, the Pelicans should see their ERA plunge towards their FIP.

PELICAN POINTS

Myrtle Beach's 7-0 loss to Carolina on Thursday marked the Birds' sixth shut out of the season. The Pelicans were blanked in six games throughout all of the 2017 season. The 2016 campaign saw seven blankings of Myrtle Beach... Pelicans infielder Vimael Machin saw his 16-game on-base streak come to an end with an 0-for-4 line on Thursday. Over the run, the San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico native reached base multiple times in 11 games, slashing .346/.534/.577 with six doubles, two home runs, 11 RBIs and 20 walks... The 19 walks the Pelicans collected in their set against Carolina are their most in any series this season.

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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.

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