CarL1 Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Pelicans Game Notes: 7:05 p.m. ET vs. Wilmington Blue Rocks - August 27, 2015

Published on August 27, 2015 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Myrtle Beach Pelicans News Release


PELICANS GAME NOTES: AUGUST 27 vs WILMINGTON BLUE ROCKS

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

PELICANS: RHP Daury Torrez (9-6, 3.93 ERA) | BLUE ROCKS: RHP Zach Lovvorn (3-4, 3.96 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). Today's Pregame Show guest is with 3B Jason Vosler.

LAST TIME OUT: The Pelicans were rained out on Wednesday, their final game with the Winston-Salem Dash...On Tuesday, down 2-0 in the seventh inning, the Pelicans scored four runs in the seventh inning off of the Dash bullpen to pull ahead by the final score of 4-2...JEN-HO TSENG struck out a career-high nine batters across seven inning of two-run ball en route to a win...James Dykstra shut out the Pelicans on two singles and a walk in six innings before turning it over to the bullpen...DAVID GARNER fired two shutout innings for the save, fanning three and allowing just a single and a walk.

DOWN THE STRETCH WE GO: This series matches up two Carolina League playoff teams, as the Pelicans and Wilmington Blue Rocks both won their respective divisions in the first half. Wilmington will not win the second half, trailing first place by 13.5 games with 11 to play. The Pelicans, meanwhile, are still in the hunt for a double-half title, which would mean they would host the entire first round against either Winston-Salem or Carolina. With 11 games left, the Pelicans trail the Dash by 1.5 games. Should Winston-Salem win the division, they would host the Pelicans for Game One of the Southern Division Championship Series before returning to Myrtle Beach for Game Two and Game Three (if necessary) September 10-11.

DOUBLE THE DEFENSE, DOUBLE THE FUN: The Pelicans' and Blue Rocks' defenses are the top two in the league, with the Birds carrying the best fielding percentage (.983) and Wilmington with the second-best (.978). Wilmington is also second in the "E" column, having committed 105 errors this year behind the Pelicans' 77 miscues (118, 2013). In fact, this current Pelicans incarnation is on pace to set a franchise low in errors. By contrast, last year's Pelicans team made a total of 149 errors. The Birds have also turned the fewest double plays in the circuit, but that is in large part due to the fact that they have the best pitching in the Carolina League, having allowed the fewest baserunners hits this year with the fewest hits (955) and second-fewest walks (311) surrendered. Remarkably, the Blue Rocks have already turned three triple plays this season, including one against the Pelicans on August 4 in Myrtle Beach.

RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY: Wednesday night's cancellation marked the 15th Pelicans game this year to be suspended, postponed, or not played as scheduled. The Pelicans did not play three games following the Carolina Mudcats' bus wreck in May, and they had three games suspended due to rain, eight games postponed due to rain, and now one canceled game. The Birds have also endured 24 rain delays, 16 of which have come on the road. Due to the canceled game on Wednesday, Myrtle Beach will now play 138 games this season, the same as last year, which was the fewest since a record-low 137 in 2009.

BIRD FOOD: This is the Pelicans' final homestand of the regular season...The Pelicans have won or split seven straight series...The club has won 13 of their last 19 games and 19 of their last 27...TREY MARTIN left Friday's ballgame for a pinch runner; he has not played since...With four more wins, the Pelicans would be the only team in the Carolina League with 80 wins each of the last two seasons...The Birds need wins in seven of the final 11 to have the most wins in a single-season since the record-holding 89 win team from 2008 (89-51).

THAT'S WHY THE RECORD BOOKS ARE IN PENCIL: As a team, the Pelicans are on-pace for the fewest errors in team history (record low is 118, 2013), walks allowed (lowest is 347, 2011), caught stealing (51, 2012), and the second-lowest ERA (2.51 in 2000 is lowest, 2nd is 3.20 in 2002). Individually, CHESNY YOUNG (.329) is on-pace for the best single-season batting average in team history (Marcus Giles, .326, 1999).

LET'S PARTY LIKE IT'S 1999 2000!: The last and only time that the Pelicans have won an outright Mills Cup Championship was in 2000 (they split the title in '99). That is also the only year in the franchise's history that the Pelicans have had a .500 or better record against every Carolina League opponent in the same season, something that the Pelicans can manage this year by beating Wilmington (6-4) in at least three of the final eight games left in the season-series. The Pelicans have already won the season-set against four Carolina League clubs: Carolina (14-11, no games left), Lynchburg (10-7, none left), Salem (13-5, none left), and Potomac (12-3, three left), while splitting the season-set with Frederick (8-8) and Winston-Salem (13-13). In 2000, the Pelicans had a winning record against every club, with their "worst" record against Lynchburg and Salem (11-9).

PROSPECT 7-PACK: Six players on the Pelicans' roster are ranked in the Cubs Top 30 prospects according to MLBPipeline.com's Prospect Watch and six are in Baseball America's Top 30. RHPs PAUL BLACKBURN (NR by MLB.com/No. 18 Baseball America), JEREMY NULL (29/NR), DAURY TORREZ (28/30), JEN-HO TSENG (16/11), DUANE UNDERWOOD (4/10), catcher VICTOR CARATINI (22/13), and OF MARK ZAGUNIS (9/15). 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." Outfielders BILLY MCKINNEY (2/6), JACOB HANNEMANN (27/17, and BA's "Fastest Baserunner"), 3B JEIMER CANDELARIO (19/24), and JUAN PANIAGUA (top "Sleeper" prospect) 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. 2B DANIEL LOCKHART was at one point ranked #29 by MLB.com but is no longer.

MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS LINEUP

3 Chesny Young 2B

20 Pin-Chieh Chen CF

6 Mark Zagunis RF

44 Jason Vosler 3B

27 Jacob Rogers 1B

17 Victor Caratini C

29 Cael Brockmeyer DH

35 Kevin Brown LF

1 Carlos Penalver SS

38 Daury Torrez RHP

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Carolina League Stories from August 27, 2015


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