CarL1 Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Pelicans Game Notes: 6:00 p.m. ET at Carolina Mudcats - July 5, 2015

Published on July 5, 2015 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Myrtle Beach Pelicans News Release


First pitch from Five County Stadium in Zebulon, North Carolina is set for 6:00 p.m. ET

PELICANS: RHP Daury Torrez (5-5, 4.14 ERA) | MUDCATS: RHP Lucas SIms (2-3, 5.20 ERA)

Today's game can be heard on WRNN AM 1450 ESPN Myrtle Beach, online and on mobile devices via TuneIn Radio, or on the MiLB First Pitch App. The broadcast is presented by Courtyard Myrtle Beach at Barefoot Landing. Pregame Show coverage begins at 5:40 p.m. The game is also available with live streaming video on MiLB.tv (subscription required) with the Carolina broadcast feed.

LAST TIME OUT: Behind a season-high 16 runs and 18 hits, the Pelicans clobbered the Carolina Mudcats on July 4th...JEIMER CANDELARIO matched a career-high four hits for the second time in the last week, while JACOB ROGERS matched a career-best four RBI...both finished a hit away from the cycle (Candelario: HR, Rogers 3B)...DANIEL LOCKHART also matched a career-high with three RBI...After just two innings from starter JONATHAN MARTINEZ, the Birds bullpen posted seven innings of one-run ball...MICHAEL HEESCH notched the victory with a season-high four innings.

RED, WHITE, AND BLOWOUT: The Birds won their fourth consecutive July 4th game last night against the Carolina Mudcats, and they did so in stunning fashion. With a 16-4 win, not only did the Pelicans put up their largest first inning all season with a 7-run frame, but the 12-run difference is the club's biggest margin of victory this year. The last time the Birds lost a July 4th was 2011 at Lynchburg. Oddly enough, the Pelicans have played five straight July 4th games on the road. The last time the team played a home game on July 4 was 2010 in a 10-4 loss to the Salem Red Sox. Since 2005, the Birds have lost just four July 4 contests, with three of those coming against the Potomac Nationals (2005, 2007, 2008), all road games. In fact, most of the Pelicans July 4 affairs have been on the road: nine of the last 11 years have been games away from Myrtle Beach. Before last night, the Birds' highest scoring win was a 15-3 romp over Potomac in 2006. In that game, two of the P-Nats' three runs were driven in by current Washington Nationals starting shortstop Ian Desmond.

HE'S THE BEST AROUND (OF JUNE): The Chicago Cubs announced on Friday that Myrtle Beach Pelicans outfielder MARK ZAGUNIS has been named the Cubs Minor League Player of the Month for the month of June. The 22-year-old led Cubs farmhands in runs (23), on-base percentage (.448), and slugging (.538). He hit 326 (31-for-95) during the month in 26 games, scoring 23 runs, smacking six doubles, a triple, and four home runs. He led all Cubs minor leaguers in on-base percentage (.448), slugging (.538), OPS (.986), and runs scored. He was also among the top five in the system in batting average (4th), extra-base hits (3rd), home runs (2nd), RBI (4th), walks (T-3rd), and was hit seven times, second most in the minors. The Pelicans leadoff man also stole four bases in eight attempts during June. This award adds to Zagunis' impressive pile from this season, including Carolina League Player of the Week for the week of June 15-21 and a Carolina League Midseason All-Star selection.

I NEED MORE POWER: The home run from JACOB ROGERS in the seventh inning last night snapped a seven-game homerless streak, the longest of the season. Each of the last two long balls have come in Carolina. Before last night, the most recent homer came from VICTOR CARATINI on June 26 at Carolina, which is surprising, as, before that, the Pelicans had hit only two home runs in nine games at Five County Stadium. The Pelicans have gone homerless in Wilmington and at Frederick but have three or more homers in each of the other five road ballparks with the most in Lynchburg, hitting five home runs in just four games at Calvin Falwell Field. Home runs have been a recipe for success for the Birs who are 21-4 in games in which they hit at least one home run and are 6-0 when clubbing out more than one long ball.

SHAKE AND BAKE: The Pelicans made more roster moves on Sunday, promoting LHP MICHAEL HEESCH to Triple-A Iowa. RHP JASVIR RAKKAR was placed on the temporary inactive list to play for Team Canada in the Pan American Games, beginning with the Americas Baseball Festival this week in Cary, North Carolina. Joining the team is right-hander BRAD MARKEY who will move into the starting rotation and make his debut on Tuesday. CAEL BROCKMEYER was promoted to Double-A Tennessee yesterday and the Pelicans added RHP DAVE BERG from Class A-Short Season Euguene. Myrtle Beach has had 47 different players on the roster (including rehabber CHRIS DENORFIA), only two shy of last season's total for the entire year. The club has already surpassed the different number of pitchers with 26 different arms suiting up the club next to last year's total of 24.

PROSPECT 9-PACK: Nine of players on the roster are ranked in the Cubs Top 30 prospects according to MLBPipeline.com's Prospect Watch and seven in Baseball America's Top 30. The balanced roster has four position players and five pitchers ranked: RHPs PAUL BLACKBURN (No. 24 MLB.com/No. 18 Baseball America), JEREMY NULL (28/NR), DAURY TORREZ (22/30), JEN-HO TSENG (8/11), DUANE UNDERWOOD (6/10), catcher VICTOR CARATINI (16/13), 3B JEIMER CANDELARIO (12/24), 2B DANIEL LOCKHART (No. 29/NR), and OF MARK ZAGUNIS (15/15). Baseball America also lauded a handful of Pelicans players with "Best Tools" labels. Caratini is the "Best Defensive Catcher" in the system according to the 2015 Prospect Handbook, CARLOS PENALVER as the "Best Defensive Infielder," Tseng has the "Best Control" and "Best Changeup," Underwood possesses the "Best Fastball," and Zagunis has "Best Strike Zone Discipline." They also list JUAN PANIAGUA as the top "Sleeper" prospect. Outfielders BILLY MCKINNEY (9/6) and JACOB HANNEMANN (21/17, and BA's "Fastest Baserunner,") were on the roster but have since been promoted. ANDREW ELY, named by BA as the "Best Defensive Player" from the Cubs 2014 draft class, was on the club's Opening Day roster but went down to South Bend.

MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS LINEUP

6 Mark Zagunis RF

3 Chesny Young SS

24 Jeimer Candelario 3B

27 Jacob Rogers 1B

17 Victor Caratini C

20 Pin-Chieh Chen LF

7 Daniel Lockhart 2B

30 Jordan Hankins DH

15 Trey Martin CF

38 Daury Torrez RHP

CAROLINA MUDCATS LINEUP

32 Keith Curcio 2B

34 Connor Lien CF

44 Joey Meneses RF

25 Jacob Schrader 1B

10 Carlos Franco 3B

36 Jose Briceno DH

45 Tanner Krietemeier LF

13 Joe Odom C

2 Johan Camargo SS

27 Lucas Sims RHP

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