CarL1 Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Pelicans Game Notes: 7:00 p.m. at Winston-Salem - July 10, 2014

Published on July 10, 2014 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Myrtle Beach Pelicans News Release


LAST TIME OUT: The Pelicans scored the final ten runs of the game to win 12-3 over the Dash at BB&T Ballpark in Winston-Salem on Wednesday night. NICK WILLIAMS paced the offense with a season- high four hits, including three for extra bases, and LEWIS BRINSON doubled and knocked in three runs in his Pelicans debut...After a scoreless first inning, one of four Winston-Salem errors opened up the Pelicans second-inning rally. PRESTON BECK reached on a blunder by Dash second baseman Joey DeMichele. With two on, EDWIN GARCIA flared a single to left field to plate Beck and to give the Pelicans the lead...LUIS MENDEZ then bunted his way on to load the bases, and CHRIS GARIA notched an infield single to add a second run...Winston-Salem, however, would soon take the lead. They loaded the bases but failed to score on Pelicans starter CHAD BELL in the second. In the third, Jacob May opened the frame with a double and stole third base, setting things up for Keenyn Walker who drove him home with an infield single. Three batters later, Keon Barnum doubled to deep center field to tie the game...The Dash added another run in the fourth to pull ahead 3-2...Myrtle Beach knocked around Dash right-hander Tony Bucciferro in the fifth. The first four batters all picked up hits in the inning, which included Brinson's first Pelicans hit, an RBI double to put the Birds ahead 5-3. The Pelicans scored four in the inning and led 6-3...Bell tossed a scoreless fifth to finish his night. In his fifth outing, he allowed three runs, all earned, on seven hits and two walks en route to his fourth win as a Pelican this season.

He struck out a season-high four batters...The Pelicans tacked on two more runs in the sixth and another four runs in the seventh. Myrtle Beach had a hit in all but one inning. Six of the nine Pelicans batters had two or more hits, all nine had at least one hit, and eight of the nine scored runs. Williams had four hits and Garia, CHRISTOPHER BOSTICK, and Mendez all smacked three hits...RYAN BORES tossed four scoreless innings to close the game out and pick up his first save of the season...He faced just one over the minimum, allowing three hits and no walks and inducing two double plays. He struck out one...

Bell (4-0) earned the win, his fourth in five outings with the Pelicans.

Bucciferro (6-8) suffered a loss for the third straight outing.

RIVALRY RENEWED: After taking each of the first three series, the Pelicans can, at best, split the four-game set with the Dash. If Winston- Salem wins today, they win their first series over Myrtle Beach this season.

NO RUST FOR THE WILLIAMS: Since his return from the disabled list on June 23, NICK WILLIAMS is third in the Carolina League in hitting (.394) with 14 extra base hits, including five of his ten home runs. He leads the circut with a .500 batting clip over the last seven days with seven extra base hits and 10 RBI.

THEY CALL HIM MR. BOOM-BOSTICK: The Pelicans second baseman Christopher Bostick hit just .163 in June, including a 9-for-76 (.118) stretch to close out the month. The Rochester, New York product, however has wiped the slate clean in July and is on a tear. Bostick has hit safely in all nine games this month and is hitting .333 (12-for-36) with three doubles, two triples, and four RBI. The current hitting streak is the longest for him this year.

DON'T MISS THE HIT PARADE: In the first seven games of this month, the Pelicans had seen a total of 37 runs scored between them and their opponents. The last two games have had 37 runs and 51 hits combined. The team batting average jumped from .239 to .278 for the month, and the club's July ERA ballooned from 2.09 to 3.49. Yesterday, the Pelicans clubbed 20 base hits, the second-most by the team this year. All nine players got a hit and six of the nine had mutliple hits.

LIGHTS OUT LECLERC: Flamethrower JOSE LECLERC picked up two saves in the series at Potomac, retiring all seven batters he faced over two outings, including five on strikes. He has retired 12 batters in a row and Carolina Leaguers are 0-for-their-last-15 against him with three walks. If he retires the next two batters he faces, he will match KEONE KELA for the longest stretch of consecutive batters faced by a Pelicans reliever this season. ANDREW FAULKNER has the longest such overall streak, 15 batters retired straight, set in his May 31 start against the Carolina Mudcats.

THE AIKEN ACE: Southpaw ANDREW FAULKNER tossed another five scoreless frames on Sunday en route to his seventh win. He is one of just two Carolina Leaguers to qualify for the ERA title with only one loss (Frederick's Mark Blackmar, 5-1, is the other). Faulkner is second in the league in ERA (2.22) trailing only Ryan Merritt (1.65), and has still yet to allow a home run, now in 89 1/3 innings. Faulkner starts again tomorrow night in the series opener against Lynchburg.

TRIPLE-THREAT: Pelicans outfielder CHRIS GARIA is in the midst of a breakout season, picked up a season-high four hits on Sunday and is now hitting .303, good for eighth in the league and the highest mark of his career outside of his All-Star Season in the Dominican Summer League in 2011 when he hit .315. With his triple last week, he now has the most triples in the Carolina League since Alex Presley knocked 11 triples in 2009 for the Lynchburg Hillcats. The ten triples is also a career-high for Curaçao native. He is now just two stolen bases shy of his career-high in steals as well and is only two steals back of the active leader in the league, former Coastal Carolina Chanticleer Jacob May of Winston-Salem.

THE BEST CATCHER IN THE WORLD?: Just like 2013, Rangers farmhands JORGE ALFARO and JOEY GALLO were named to the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game. Neither participated last year due to injury but are both currently on their respective active rosters at the moment. Alfaro and Braves minor leaguer (and former Hillcat) Christian Bethancourt are the two catchers on the World Team. The game will be played before the on Sunday, July 13 at Target Field at 5:00 p.m. and will air on MLB Network.

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 players in the Texas Top 30 are OF LEWIS BRINSON (15) and RHP JOSE LECLERC (16).

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), KEONE KELA (18), and LHP ALEXANDER CLAUDIO (27) were all on the Pelicans' Opening Day Roster and are now with the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders.

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Carolina League Stories from July 10, 2014


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