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CarL1 Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Three runs in eighth, Kelly's first blown save doom Myrtle Beach

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


KINSTON, N.C. - Robbie Ross pitched into the eighth inning for the third consecutive start, but the Kinston Indians rallied from an 3-0 early deficit to plate four runs between the seventh and eighth and knock off the Pelicans 4-3 in the Friday series opener of three at Grainger Stadium.

In the first of a pivotal late first-half series, the Pelicans looked to put a dent in the second-place Indians' postseason plans. Myrtle Beach entered the day with a four-game lead over the K-Tribe in the Carolina League Southern Division and a magic number of seven to a division title. The Pelicans looked to be in decent shape behind Ross when Santiago Chirino flexed his offensive muscle. The second baseman hit his third homer in two weeks with one out in the third inning to give his team a 1-0 lead. Chirino hadn't homered his entire professional career until this season.

Ross no-hit the Indians into the sixth when, with two outs, Bo Greenwell put Kinston into the hit column with a bunt single to the left side. That was followed by a Jeremie Tice base hit to put runners at first and second in what was then a one-run game. Ross got Adam Abraham to end the threat with a fielder's choice grounder, however, and the lefty's offense backed him up in the next half-inning.

With Kinston starter Marty Popham out of the game, the Pelicans got after reliever Tyler Sturdevant in the top of the seventh. Jared Hoying and Chirino traded one-out doubles to extend the lead to 2-0, and two batters later, Leury Garcia singled off Sturdevant's leg to bring Chirino home from third and make it a 3-0 advantage.

A Pelicans team that entered the night 29-2 in games in which it led after seven innings, including a 15-0 mark on the road, did so on Friday, going to the eighth up 3-1 after Kinston plated its first tally on a Doug Pickens RBI groundout scoring Abner Abreu.

There, however, Ross ran into his first considerable trouble from the first batter of his last partial inning of work. Tyler Holt, Casey Frawley, and Greenwell greeted Myrtle's southpaw with three straight hits, Frawley's double scoring Holt from first to make it 3-2. After Ross struck out Tice swinging for the first out of the inning, the lefty's day was done. Pelicans manager Jason Wood summoned closer Ryan Kelly from the bullpen with runners at the corners, but the first batter Kelly faced, Abraham, lofted a sacrifice fly into foul territory to bring home Frawley with the game-tying run. Greenwell went to second on the play, later advancing to third on a wild pitch. With two outs, Abner Abreu singled on the infield on a grounder over the second base bag to plate Greenwell and give Kinston the only lead it would need.

Ross (7-2) was charged with all four runs, though just two earned, on six hits over his seven and one-third innings of work. Kelly (BS, 1) failed to convert a save for the first time in nine chances. Sturdevant (4-2) earned the victory despite being charged with two runs on three hits over his two innings of work.

Indians closer Preston Guilmet (S, 14) worked around a two-out Chirino single in the ninth to get Jared Bolden swinging for the game's final out. The Pelicans' division lead over the Indians slipped to three games with the loss. Their magic number remains at seven.

The three-game set continues tomorrow when Pelicans' righty Wilfredo Boscan faces Kinston's All-Star left-hander Drew Pomeranz with first pitch slated for 6:30 p.m. After this six-game road trip, the Pelicans wrap up the Carolina League season's first half with a four-game series against the Frederick Keys from June 16-19 at BB&T Coastal Field. Tickets for all Pelicans home games can be purchased by visiting the BB&T Coastal Field box office, the Tickets page at MyrtleBeachPelicans.com, or by calling (843)918-6000 or (877)918-TIXX.

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