CarL1 Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Pelicans Game Notes: 7:00 p.m. at Winston-Salem - July 9, 2014

Published on July 9, 2014 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Myrtle Beach Pelicans News Release


LAST TIME OUT: The Pelicans led 9-3 before a late-inning barrage by the Winston-Salem Dash forced a 13-9 Pelicans defeat on Tuesday night at BB&T Ballpark...The Pelicans got ahead right off the bat against Winston-Salem starter J.B. Wendelken with a two-run home run from NICK WILLIAMS to right field in the first inning to put the Birds ahead 2-0...Winston-Salem came right back to tie it and then take the lead. The first four batters of the bottom of the first collected hits off of southpaw LUIS PARRA. Two runs scored on a triple by Joey DeMichele, and Jason Coats gave the Dash the lead with an RBI single...The next seven runs came from the visiting Pelicans. LUIS MENDEZ slashed a double down the left field line to score the tying and go-ahead runs in the second.

Williams launched his second home run of the game to put the Birds up 5-3 to lead off the third, and Myrtle Beach brought nine men to the plate in a four run fifth inning that included another two RBI for Williams on a single...The 9-3 lead, however, was erased in the sixth inning. Parra allowed the three first-inning runs but finished with four scoreless frames to finish his night...Taking over in the sixth was CODY BUCKEL who faced eight hitters and retired only one batter. Working around an 11-minute weather delay, Buckel allowed four runs on five hits, a walk, and a hit batter, and left the bases loaded with one out in a 9-7 game and turned things over to CODY EGE...All three inherited runners scored off of Ege: one came home on a fielder's choice and another two scored on the second double of the inning by Jason Coats...In total, Winston- Salem brought twelve men to the plate and scored eight runs on seven hits...The Dash added another two runs in the seventh inning...CODY KENDALL made his 2014 Pelicans debut, pitching a scoreless eighth inning. He was the only Pelicans pitcher to not allow a run on Tuesday night...Buckel (2-5) suffered the defeat, while Sean Hagan (1-0) earned the win with 2 2/3 scoreless innings of relief. Brad Golberg (2) fired three scoreless frames for the save.

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.

WE'RE NUMBER TWO!: For most of the season, the Pelicans have had the league's best ERA. Today marks the first time they check in out of first place since May 13.

TWO-HOMER CLUB: In his first two at bats on Tuesday, outfielder NICK WILLIAMS clubbed two home runs. He joined PRESTON BECK (1), JOEY GALLO (5), and ALBERTO TRIUNFEL (1) as Pelicans to notch a multi-homer game this season, and it was the second such game of Williams' career. He slugged two homers as the DH for Hickory on April 20 last season in a 10-9 walkoff win over Charleston. It was the 61st time in the history of the team that a player has posted a multi-homer game.

Williams also had five RBI in the game on Tuesday, a season and career high.

THE BIG INNING: Tuesday's game featured a handful of season- worsts for the Pelicans pitching staff. Never this season had they allowed 13 runs or 18 hits in a game. Furthermore, the eight-run sixth inning was the most runs allowed a single inning and the seven hits in that inning was also a season high. The previous high for runs allowed in a game was 11, set over the weekend in the rain-suspended 11-6 loss to Potomac (June 27/July 5). The most hits allowed previously was 14 to Lynchburg in a 10-7 loss on June 29. Six runs was the most allowed by the club in one inning before Tuesday's eight-run sixth, which occured in the third inning of a 10-3 Opening Night loss to Salem. Myrtle Beach allowed six hits in the second-inning in a May 2 6-4 loss at Frederick, the previous high in hits allowed in a single inning.

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. Yesterday's game featured 22 runs and 31 hits. The Pelicans' nine runs were more than they had scored in the four previous games of on the current road trip combined, yet they lost. Their team batting average jumped from .239 to .256 for the month, and the club's July ERA ballooned from 2.09 to 3.92.

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.

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 .299, 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 three 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 9, 2014


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