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CarL Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Rodriguez Dominates in Relief, Pelicans Earn Series-Opening Win over Fireflies

August 25, 2021 - Carolina League (CarL)
Myrtle Beach Pelicans News Release


With the help of the bullpen, the Myrtle Beach Pelicans snapped their three-game losing streak with a 6-1 win over the Columbia Fireflies in Tuesday's series opener. The win was the ninth straight against the Fireflies, as Myrtle Beach improved to 48-49 on the year. Columbia dropped to 45-52 with the loss.

The night was highlighted with the debut of 2021 Cubs' fourth-round draft pick Christian Franklin, as well as top prospect Owen Caissie for Myrtle Beach. The pair went hitless with both drawing walks and Caissie scoring a run.

The story of the night became the bullpen as Sheldon Reed (1-0) earned his first win in his first game with the Pelicans, going one inning with one hit allowed and three strikeouts. Dawel Rodriguez shined in the final four innings as he struck out three Fireflies and gave up only one hit en route to his first save of the year in his fourth appearance with Myrtle Beach this season. Rodriguez threw just 47 pitches with 33 of them for strikes.

The lineup was powered by two three-run innings and a pair of big home runs. Ed Howard (1-3, HR, 2 RBI) hit his third home run of the season with a two-run shot in the second inning and Jacob Wetzel (2-4, HR, 2 RBI) pulled his seventh homer to right field with another two-run smash. Ethan Hearn (1-3, 2B, RBI) also brought in a run with an RBI double in the second.

Heribert Garcia (0-2) took the loss on the visitor's side after starting the game and giving up three earned runs on four hits in his four innings. He also struck out five and walked two.

Columbia racked up seven hits for the night but only had one run to show for it. Diego Hernandez (1-5, 3B, RBI) knocked home a run with a triple in the fourth for the only run of the game for the Fireflies. Burle Dixon (2-4) was the only hitter with a multi-hit performance.

The night started strong for the Pelicans after coming out on the wrong end in their last three games. With two outs in the bottom of the second, Peter Matt drew a four-pitch walk on Garcia to keep the inning alive. Matt got to second on a wild pitch and scored on Hearn's double to right field to make it a 1-0 game. Howard followed with his third home run of the season on a 1-0 pitch that he pulled over the left-field bleachers to give the Birds a 3-0 lead. All three of Howard's home runs have come against the Columbia Fireflies this season.

The Fireflies scored their only run in the top of the fourth as Gage Hughes smacked a triple into right-field with two outs. He came home one batter later as Hernandez followed with the second triple in a row to deep center as the Fireflies cut into the Pelicans' lead.

The game stayed quiet as Reed and Rodriguez held things down out of the Pelicans' bullpen. In need of insurance runs, Myrtle Beach added three more in the bottom of the eighth. With one out, Kevin Made struck out but reached first on a passed ball by Fireflies' catcher Felix Familia. Made advanced to third on a groundout by Jordan Nwogu and Caissie drew a walk to put runners on first and second. Both runners moved up after Columbia reliever Caden Monke threw a wild pitch. Made scored on Monke's second wild pitch of the inning as Caissie got to third. With a full count, Wetzel pulled a home run to right field to extend the Pelicans' lead to 6-1.

Myrtle Beach and Columbia will meet for the second game of the series on Wednesday night with first pitch at 7:05 p.m.

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Carolina League Stories from August 25, 2021


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