Photo via Larry Kave/Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Reign was the word of the day today. Not the kind that falls from the sky, but the kind that comes from driving in six runs in one day. Tonight, the reign of Kevin Alcantara of Myrtle Beach began as he had a three-run double, a two-run homer, and a ground out to drive in six runs in Myrtle Beach’s 8-0 win over Augusta. Alcantara went 3-for-5 on the day and that performance brought his monthly average up to. 267 with five home runs, 20 RBI, and he’s actually walking at a pretty good rate at 10.1 percent. Have I mentioned 300 times before how much I love his swing? Let’s do two takes.

While Alcântara won the Hitter of the Day, his teammate Luis Devers won the Starting Pitcher of the Day. He went five innings with 7 Ks and did not allow a run. For the month, Devers has gone 19.1 innings with a 1.86 ERA to go along with 22 strikeouts. He has put himself in consideration for the Starting Pitcher of the Month. In addition, Devers got the Web Gem of the Day.

If you’re noticing a Myrtle Beach theme, that’s because Iowa’s game was suspended and Tennessee was rained out. South Bend lost a tough one 4-3. In addition, Myrtle Beach is just really, really, really, really, really good. They are just out there destroying teams. They’ve won 10 in a row and are now 30-11.

The hardest decision of the day came down to who was going to be the Reliever of the Day. I really liked what I saw from Chase Watkins tonight in Myrtle Beach. He threw two scoreless innings and struck out three. He gave up two hits, but he also looked to be in much better command than he has been in the past and his curve looked to be a little bits sharper and less loopy.

I’m going to be excited and tired at the same time tomorrow as it’s my last day of teaching until August 15. I have a lot of yard work planned for the next few days. It’s going to take a few days to get back in the swing of summer.