CarL1 Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Pelicans Game Notes: 7:05 p.m. ET vs. Salem Red Sox - July 20, 2015

Published on July 20, 2015 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Myrtle Beach Pelicans News Release


First pitch from TicketReturn.com Field at Pelicans Ballpark in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is set for 7:05 p.m.

PELICANS: RHP Brad Markey (1-0, 0.84 ERA) | RED SOX: RHP Teddy Stankiewicz (3-9, 3.82 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 6:45 p.m. The game is also available with live streaming video on MiLB.tv (subscription required).

LAST TIME OUT: The Pelicans picked up their third shutout in a week and fourth in their last eight games with a 4-0 victory on Sunday over the Red Sox...PAUL BLACKBURN (4.2 IP), MICHAEL HEESCH (3.1 IP), and JOSH CONWAY (1.0 IP) combined on the six-hit shutout, the team's eighth shutout this year...Salem put together 11 baserunners and stole four bases but went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and had two runners thrown out at home plate...The Pelicans struck for one run on a single by PIN-CHIEH CHEN in the fourth and put across three more in the seventh on a single by CHESNY YOUNG and a two-run hit by JACOB ROGERS.

OH, TO BE YOUNG AGAIN: CHESNY YOUNG collected a two hits and two walks on Sunday, extending his on-base streak to 38 straight games, a new league record for reaching safely in consecutive games. Winston-Salem's Carlos Sanchez (37 games, 2012) held the previous record. The minor league record is Andrew Velazquez, who reached safely 74 straight times for the South Bend Silverhawks (then Arizona's Low-A affiliate) last year. Young is also riding an eight-game hit streak, hitting .500 over the stretch, but did not win Carolina League Player of the Week, as Lynchburg's Clint Frazier took home the hardware on Monday.

UNLEASH THE HEESCH: With his seventh win out of the bullpen last night, MICHAEL HEESCH is tied for second in the Carolina League in victories after posting 3 1/3 scoreless frames last night. The left-hander has fired 12 consecutive scoreless innings since July 8, which includes one start. With a 1.37 ERA, Heesch has allowed more than one earned run in a game only once in his 46.0 innings of work (23 games) with 16 shutout efforts on the hill. Over the course of the previous 11 seasons, the only other regular Pelicans reliever to win seven games or more from the bullpen was RYAN HARVEY in 2013, who was 7-2 in 42 games (one start).

MR. ROGERS' NEIGHBORHOOD: JACOB ROGERS is on an offensive tear in his past two games, batting 3-for-9, including a double and 6 RBI. Despite having the second-most strikeouts in the league (93), Rogers has struck out only once in that span. Twice this year Rogers has had similar two-game outbursts, including July 4-5 at Carolina, where the first baseman went 4-for-9 with 3 runs scored, a double, one homer, a pair of walks and 6 RBI, also with one strikeout. On May 4-5 in games against Lynchburg and Salem, the lefty batter combined to hit 4-for-8 with a pair of runs scored with a double, one long ball, 5 RBI, a pair of walks and two Ks. The Pelicans are 14-2 when Rogers drives in two or more RBI.

BEATING THE CAROLINA LEAGUE: The Pelicans carry the best mark in the Carolina League for the year with a four-game lead over Wilmington. The club has been an equal-opportunity bully, leading five of the seven season series and all five series that have seen more than seven games played. The Birds' best mark comes against Potomac (9-3), who they just swept in a four-game set, but their 9-4 record against this series' opponents, the Salem Red Sox, is their best season-series record against a Southern Division foe (full records by team on page 12).

CAN'T TOUCH THIS: The Birds pitching staff has been strong, posting a 2.03 ERA and a .207 opponents' batting avergae during the 18 games of the month, and the team is 12-6 during the month. Only twice this month has a Pelicans starter allowed more than three earned runs, and on six occasions, a Pelicans starter has finished his outing without allowing an earned run at all. In fact, if the month were to end today, Pelicans starters would have a lower ERA (1.88) than the bullpen (2.28) for the first time for a month this season.

STAY IN THE YARD: Pelicans relievers are on a roll as well, having allowed just one earned run in the last 31.1 innings. What's more, it has extended an extraordinary streak of keeping the ball in the yard. The last home run allowed by a relief pitcher came over a month ago, on June 13, 111 innings ago, when JUAN PANIAGUA gave a longball to then-league-leader LUIGI RODRIGUEZ. The 'pen allowed just six home runs on the year, good for a 0.17 HR/9IP rate. The Birds' staff as a whole has been superb at keeping the ball in the ballpark, only allowing two homers in July, the lowest mark in the league. The last homer allowed was July 6 against Carolina catcher Joe Odom, as the Pelicans have not given up a homer in the last 12 games, a stretch of 111 innings. The Pelicans have allowed 39 homers for the year, third fewest in the Carolina League (Wilmington: 35 HRA, Carolina: 27 HRA).

BIRD FOOD: The Pelicans have won six straight games, setting a season-best for consecutive wins, and have wins in eight of their last nine...The Pelicans have the second-worst record in the league in games decided by two or fewer runs (18-25) and have dominated lopsided affairs (36-14 in 3 or more run margins, 1st in CL)..The Pelicans play a game on 19 straight days before an off day August 3...MARK ZAGUNIS is just 3-for-his-last-35, seeing his average drop 26 points to .282, while CHESNY YOUNG is a league-best .500 (16-for-32) in his last eight games, raising his average 26 points...JACOB ROGERS leads the Cubs organization with 61 RBI, while CHESNY YOUNG leads Cubs full-season minor leaguers with a .337 batting average.

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 3B

24 Jeimer Candelario DH

27 Jacob Rogers 1B

17 Victor Caratini C

20 Pin-Chieh Chen LF

1 Carlos Penalver SS

7 Daniel Lockhart 2B

15 Trey Martin CF

13 Brad Markey RHP

SALEM RED SOX LINEUP

10 Mauricio Dubon SS

18 Forrestt Allday CF

11 Wendell Rijo 2B

34 Dustin Lawley 3B

47 Mario Martinez DH

5 Yolian Cerse LF

20 Kevin Heller RF

22 Jordan Procyshen C

41 Jordan Betts 1B

19 Teddy Stankiewicz RHP

Check out the Myrtle Beach Pelicans Statistics

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Carolina League Stories from July 20, 2015


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