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Pelicans Vie For Playoff Spot

August 27, 2009 - American Association (AA)
Pensacola Pelicans News Release


SITE: Jim Spooner Field at Pelican Park in Pensacola, FL (August 27-30, 2009)

TIME: 6:35 p.m. Central Time on Thursday and Friday, 6:05 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

ABOUT THE SERIES:

This is a critical series: one of these teams will make the playoffs, the other will not. Pensacola has the advantage coming in because the Pelicans need to win just one game to ensure a playoff spot. However, the Captains are not going to lay down easy, as evidenced by their winning ballgames on Monday and Tuesday. The Pelicans are in first place, three games ahead of the second place Captains.

The Pelicans and Captains have played each other more than any other opponent this season. Up to this point, the Captains lead the head-to-head series 12-8. The Pelicans have won just one of the last six games against Shreveport-Bossier, but it was the most recent game. In a big momentum-setting contest, the Pelicans received the best start to-date by Aaron Jackson and defeated the Captains 10-2 in Shreveport. The Pelicans haven't hosted the Captains since the very first games of the season back in May. The Pelicans and Captains split that series, with Shreveport-Bossier winning the season opener, and then alternating wins.

WHO TO WATCH:

Pensacola: Kevin Reynolds -RF- Reynolds has turned it on as of late, using his speed to his advantage. He's bunted for three singles in the first two games of this week, and has raised his average to .323 with 19 steals.

Chase Burch -IF- This All-Star selection is only a rookie, but before Wednesday's games he ranked third in the league with a .345 average and set a new league record by reaching base safely for 46 games in a row. Burch is third in the league in on-base percentage (.444) and fourth in slugging percentage (.491).

Shreveport-Bossier: Chris Garcia -IF- Ranked second in the league with a .363 average, Garcia is fourth among all batters with a .443 on-base percentage. In the last five games Garcia is batting .450 with a homerun and six RBI.

Andres Rogriguez -IF- Rodriguez seems particularly adept at hitting Pelican pitchers: he has hit three home runs against the Pels this year, and is slugging .549 against Pensacola with 17 RBI. His batting average against the Pelicans is .354.

DAY PENSACOLA PELICANS SHREVEPORT-BOSSIER CAPTAINS

Thursday, August 27 Dane DeValk RHP (6-4, 4.01 ERA) Richard Salazar LHP (4-1, 3.18 ERA)

Friday, August 28 Randy Beam LHP (9-7, 4.58 ERA) TBA

Saturday, August 29 Aaron Jackson RHP (3-3, 4.13 ERA) TBA

Sunday, August 30 Kieran Mattison RHP (5-3, 5.40 ERA) Thad Markray RHP (5-9, 5.13 ERA)

Starting Pitchers Subject To Change



American Association Stories from August 27, 2009


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