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CarL1 Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Sweepless in Myrtle, Birds Fall 5-2

August 10, 2011 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Myrtle Beach Pelicans News Release


MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - The Myrtle Beach bats woke up late, but still fell short of a sweep. The Pelicans could not solve Jacob Pettit and didn't rally until scoring twice in the ninth in a 5-2 loss to the Frederick Keys on Wednesday at BB&T Coastal Field. The Birds finish their homestand at 3-3 for the second straight time despite a solid outing from starter Chad Bell.

Frederick scored twice in the third on RBI singles by Steven Bumbry and Jonathan Schoop, the Keys got on the board first in all three games of the set. They added an unearned run against Bell in the fifth when a Santiago Chirino error set up Bumbry's sacrifice fly.

Bell (2-1) was terrific once again in his third consecutive start. He matched a career high with seven innings pitched, allowing three runs, only two earned, in a tough-luck loss. The lefty, who walked one and struck out six, has a 1.58 ERA since tossing five shutout innings of relief in the Birds' famed 23-inning game in Kinston on June 12.

Myrtle Beach struggled against the Keys starter Pettit (5-0). The southpaw shut out the Pelicans on three hits in six innings, walking two and striking out seven. Pettit has not lost in six starts since being called up from low-A Delmarva on July 13.

The visitors tacked on a pair of insurances runs in the eighth against reliever Kennil Gomez. Aaron Baker and Miguel Abreu knocked consecutive run-scoring doubles to balloon their lead to 5-2. Baker crushed the Pelicans in the three-game series, going 5-for-9 with three doubles, two RBIs and two runs scored. The first baseman, acquired by the Orioles from the Pirates in the Derrek Lee trade on July 30, reached in 11 of 15 plate appearances against Myrtle Beach.

Mike Flacco, the younger brother of Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe, went 4-for-4 with a double and two runs scored.

Ryan Rodebaugh worked the ninth inning for the Birds and found himself in a bases-loaded no-out jam after two errors behind him. The righty bounced back to strike out Schoop, Manny Machado and Baker in order to end the scoreless frame.

The Pelicans avoided the shutout with a pair of runs in the final inning against Keys closer Sean Gleason. Travis Adair singled home Ryan Strausborger to snap the whitewash and David Paisano added a groundout that scored Vinny DiFazio to cut the lead to 5-2. Gleason induced a game-ending groundout from Santiago Chirino that dropped the Pelicans back below the .500 mark in the second half at 22-23.

Frederick snapped a streak of seven straight losses at BB&T Coastal Field, beating the Pelicans in Myrtle Beach for the first time since April 29. This was only the fourth time in 19 meetings between these two clubs that the visting team won as Frederick takes the season series 10-9.

The Keys head home to host four games against the Winston-Salem Dash starting tomorrow and the Birds embark on a seven-game road trip. Myrtle Beach makes their final regular-season visit to Potomac to play the first of four against the Nationals Thursday night. Miguel De Los Santos (3-3, 2.95) goes for the Pelicans against Erik Davis of the Nationals (0-1, 3.38). First pitch at G. Richard Pfitzner Stadium is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

The Pelicans will return on Thursday, August 18 to start a seven-game homestand with the first of four against the Kinston Indians. Tickets for all Pelicans home games, including the postseason, are available at the BB&T Coastal Field box office, MyrtleBeachPelicans.com, and by phone at 843-918-6000 or 877-918-TIXX.

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