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CarL1 Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Pelicans Game Notes: 7:00 at Carolina - June 23, 2014

June 23, 2014 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Myrtle Beach Pelicans News Release


LAST TIME OUT: The Pelicans fell 6-1 in the series and road trip opener to the Carolina Mudcats on Sunday afternoon...The Birds were held silent by Ryan Merritt until the eighth inning, and a five-run seventh inning dashed the chances of a rally. Myrtle Beach mustered just three-hits, a season low....Pelicans starter VICTOR PAYANO matched zeros with Merritt in the first two frames. He allowed three hits and a walk in the first two innings but kept the Mudcats off of the scoreboard...Carolina however, scratched across a run in the third.

LeVon Washington and Todd Hankins collected back-to-back singles to open the frame. A ground ball double play ball off the bat of Erik Gonzalez got Payano one out away from working a scoreless third, but Yandy Diaz came through for Carolina with an RBI single over the shortstop head...Payano surrendered a one-out double in the fourth inning, but CODY BUCKEL entered and got out of the jam, keeping the score 1-0 through four...Merritt was sensational on Sunday. He allowed just two baserunners in the first seven innings: a first inning single to PRESTON BECK and a walk of Beck in the fourth. After walking Beck, he set down 13 straight...Myrtle Beach kept the game close until the seventh. Buckel faced the minimum in the fifth and sixth, but the Mudcats scraped together a rally in the seventh inning. Two singles and a Buckel wild pitch put the Mudcats up 2-0...After a walk of Hankins, Buckel was lifted for left-handed reliever CODY EGE. He walked the first man he faced to load the bases. He then got ahead of Diaz 0-2 before the cleanup batter worked the count full and roped a double down the left field line, clearing the bases to extend the lead to 5-0...Joe Sever added another run on a bloop single to right field...

With Carolina leading 6-0 in the eighth, Merritt returned to the hill. He set down the first two Pelicans he faced. JOSE CARDONA managed an infield single off of the starter, the first hit allowed since the first inning. LUIS MENDEZ followed with the only extra-base hit of the contest for the Birds, a double off of the left field wall, scoring Cardona, and putting Myrtle Beach on the scoreboard...The run was the sole score the Pelicans would post, as they went on to lose 6-1. Jacob Lee tossed a perfect ninth to complete the contest. Merritt (7-2) earned the win, while Payano (3-4) suffered the defeat.

LOOKING UP: For the first time in 64 days, the Pelicans are not in first place in the half. Although the club still has the best overall record in the eight-team circut, they are in second place in the second half standings of the Southern Division. The last time that the Pelicans weren't in at least a share of first place was following a doubleheader defeat to the Potomac Nationals on April 16. They were in second for a grand total of one day. Including today, the Birds have been in second for two days this season, third for four days, and fourth for five days.

They have had at least a share of first for 65 days this season. FAILURE TO REBOUND: Myrtle Beach consecutive games in just three stretches over the season's first two months. They have lost two or more in a row three times this month, however. The club is 15-10 in games following a loss on the year but just 4-4 in such games in June. RARE ROAD WOES: The Pelicans were the final team in full-season minor league baseball to suffer a road defeat, opening the year with eight straight road wins, but the team is current in the midst of the longest road losing streak of the year. Until three straight losses at Frederick last weekend, the Birds had never lost more than two road games consecutively but have lost four in a row now including Sunday afternoon's defeat in Zebulon.

BULLPEN BLISTERED: For all of the attention that offense has recieved this sason, the pitching staff, especially the bullpen, has been phenomenal. That has not been the case over the last three series, however. Since the beginning of the Frederick series that completed the first half, the bullpen has a 6.90 ERA (22 ER / 28.2 IP) with two of the team's seven blown saves on the year. The 'pen still has a sub-3.00 ERA on the season, posted a 20-12 record and a 2.97 ERA on the year. OH NO MONEGRO: Entering Saturday with a 13-inning scoreless streak to start his year with the Pelicans, reliever JOSE MONEGRO allowed three runs on two homers in the eighth and ninth. The runs snapped the streak and saddled the right-hander with the loss.

KNOCKING OFF THE RUST: Friday marked NICK VICKERSON's first game since June 9, and yet he homered in his first plate appearance back. The home run was his first as a Pelican and fifth in the 2014 campaign; he collected four with Hickory. Vickerson played five innings on Friday, and was replaced by Luis Mendez in the sixth as a defensive replacement. He played all nine innings on Saturday, and got the day off on Sunday. NICK WILLIAMS, also hobbled by a hamstring injury, returns to the Pelicans today.

HAMMERIN' HANSER: When HANSER ALBERTO hit his first home run of the season on May 20 at home against Salem, it was his first home run in nearly 300 at-bats. The 21-year-old shortstop launched homers in back-to-back games Friday and Saturday-the first time in his career that he has done so. The closest together that Alberto has hit two home runs previously was over a five game stretch, hitting two homers in five games with Class-A Hickory in 2012 and also last season with Double-A Frisco. Just coming off of a thirteen game hitting streak, Alberto has hit safely in 16 of 18 contests.

SHUFFLE UP AND DEAL: Counting the announcement of the initial roster as a transaction, the Pelicans had just 23 total transactions through the end of May. The club has had 24 moves this month alone, most recently on Friday. MARTIRE GARCIA, a left-handed pitcher, joined the team, and NICK VICKERSON was activated off of the disbaled list. SAM STAFFORD was placed on the DL, and ELIO CASTILLO was transferred to the Arizona League.

(ONE OF) THE BEST AROUND: The Birds possess the sixth-best record in full-season MiLB. They trail the Florida State League's Dunedin Blue Jays (48-25), the South Atlantic League's Savannah Sand Gnats (46-24), the Southern League's Huntsville Stars (48-26), the Midwest League's Kane County Cougars (48-25), and the Eastern League's Portland Sea Dogs (49-26).

STRUTTING THEIR FEATHERS: The Pelicans roster currently features four players highlighted in Baseball America's list of the Rangers' Top 30 prospects, including two of the top 5, and two in the overall top 100 in MiLB. Catcher JORGE ALFARO (ranked No. 2 in the Rangers Top 30, No. 54 in the overall Top 100) and NICK WILLIAMS (3, 97) rank in the top 100. The other two players in the Texas Top 30 are RHP JOSE LECLERC (16) and LHP ALEXANDER CLAUDIO (27).

Unranked in the top 30, CHRIS GARIA is the "Fastest Baserunner" and PRESTON BECK has the "Best Outfield Arm." CHRISTOPHER BOSTICK, traded from Oakland in December, was ranked No. 18 in the Athletics' top 30 by BA. Third baseman JOEY GALLO (4, 60) and RHPs ALEX "CHI CHI" GONZALEZ (5) and KEONE KELA (18) were all on the Pelicans' Opening Day Roster and are now with the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders.

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