Juan Mora – Picture by Stephanie Lynn

Last night reminded me of 2019 quite a bit. In that time, I would stay late in the summer to watch the Eugene Emeralds start playing at 9 PM along with the Iowa Cubs in the Pacific Coast League. Unfortunately, I was ready for bed at 10 last night as the Iowa Cubs began their second game of the day about 9:30. I caught a couple of frames and then I was out like a light.

Yesterday was a busy night of games, six in total. Sadly, only Myrtle Beach and South Bend came away winning their games and Tennessee and Iowa both lost doubleheaders. But the big news of the night was that the Rocket City Trash Pandas won thereby eliminating Birmingham from possibly winning the division. As a result, the Tennessee Smokies are postseason bound for the first time since 2013!!!

The Smokies begin playing the Rocket City Trash Pandas in a best of 3 series on September 20. Congrats to the players, staff, and organization!

BACK TO THE ACTION!

The Pelicans offense seems to be clicking back into high gear after hitting a rough spot in August. James Triantos is on fire as is Ezequiel Pagan, Juan Mora, Ethan Hearn, Jacob Wetzel, and Haydn McGeary who all have an OPS over .800 this month!

Dinger of the Day

Haydn McGeary cranked out his first pro HR last night for the Pelicans! It was a 3-run shot.

Hitter of the Day

The night belonged to Juan Mora of the Pelicans who went 3-for-5 with a 3 Run shot and 2 runs scored. He is hitting .538 the past week in just 3 games.

Starting Pitcher of the Day

This award goes to Didier Vargas of Myrtle Beach who threw 5 scoreless for the Pelicans and struck out 8.

Honorable Mentions go out to Daniel Palencia who threw 4 stellar frames for South Bend with no runs and 5 Ks. And Wyatt Short did it again as he went 5, gave up 1 run and struck out 5. This is an interesting development that after 6 seasons, he’s been pretty studly as a starter since being pressed into service. Let’s also not forget Jordan Wicks who shows no sign of injury since coming off the IL for a week. He went 4 scoreless too and struck out 5.

Web Gem of the Day

Reliever of the Day

Riley Martin closed it down for South Bend to earn his fist High-A save. He threw 1.1 scoreless innings and struck out 2. Honorable Mention goes out to Joe Nahas who went 3.2 IP and struck out six for South Bend in relief of Palencia. Joe allowed a run, struggled with some walks, but was able to pitch around them.

I will be back tonight with the penultimate Players of the Day post for the year. That’s right, they end tomorrow. Although, I will have playoff recaps this week as South Bend and Myrtle Beach play on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday nights!