CarL1 Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Myrtle Beach Pelicans Game Notes

August 6, 2011 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Myrtle Beach Pelicans News Release


After falling 6-1 last night in the series opener against Potomac, the Pelicans host the middle game of three as they look to avoid dropping four straight at home for the first time in 2011. First pitch at BB&T Coastal Field is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. and game notes are attached.

RHP Erik Davis (5-7, 4.79 - AA) at LHP Miguel De Los Santos (2-3, 3.64)

TROUBLE COMES IN THREES: Last night's loss was the Birds' third straight defeat at home. Myrtle Beach also lost back-to-back games to Winston-Salem July 29-30. This is the second time this year that the Pelicans have dropped three in a row at BB&T Coastal Field. The Pelicans lost the last two games of a series against the Nationals April 27-28 and the Frederick Keys beat the Birds on April 30. Even with the recent losses, the Pelicans still hold the best home record in the Carolina League at 36-17, three games ahead of the Kinston Indians.

BECAUSE SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT, NINE: Tonight's game will features four players that rank in the Carolina League's top ten in batting average. Jared Bolden (.279) and Santiago Chirino (.277) of the Pelicans rank sixth and seventh, respectively. A pair of Nationals round out the top ten with Destin Hood (.276, 9th) and Jeff Kobernus (.275, 10th). and Justin Bloxom (.272, 10th). Five of the next six on the leaderboard are in this series as well: Justin Bloxom (.272, 11th), Jared Prince (.271, 12th), Eury Perez (.268, 13th), Ryan Strausborger (.267, 15th) and Leury Garcia (.265, 16th).

SLUMPING STRAUS: Ryan Strausborger carried the Pelicans' offense for long stretches this season, but he has fallen in a big hole of late. Batting .288 after a 4-for-6 game against Salem on July 16th, the All-Star has gone 7-for-50 (.140) in 15 games since. He's watched his batting average dip from .288 to .267. The slump has even forced a move down in the order for two of his past three games. He batted sixth for the first time this season on Wednesday in Kinston and was back in that spot last night.

HITTING A ‘POT'HOLE: The Pelicans have an eight-game advantage over the Nationals in the overall 2011 standings, but Potomac has had success against Myrtle Beach in the season series, splitting the first 14 games 7-7. Even in the first half, when the Pelicans won the first-half Southern Division title and the P-Nats had the Carolina League's worst record at 29-40, Potomac went 5-5 against a team that was 11 games better overall.

FEAST OR FAMINE: The Pelicans have had trouble scoring runs for long stretches in the second half. After being shut out only once in the first half, the Birds have been held scoreless six times since the All-Star break, over a span of 35 games. As Scott Lucas noted in his Farm Report for the Newberg Report, Myrtle Beach's most common run total in the second half is zero, followed by one, which has occurred five times.

Check out the Myrtle Beach Pelicans Statistics



Carolina League Stories from August 6, 2011


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