Kevin Alcantara – Picture by Todd Johnson

With only three teams playing today because of the rain in Iowa, that took a little bit of stress off of covering the games, especially with South Bend playing at three.

Let’s get to the action and some awards.

The “Mr. He Had Himself a Game” Award

I wouldn’t go as far as to say that today was the Kevin Alcantara game, but it was a pretty good day for the 20-year-old as he went 3-for-4 with a HR, 2 doubles, 2 RBI, and 4 runs scored. His average went from hitting .154 to .233 in one day. That’ll do!

As for South Bend…

They dropped four on the scoreboard in the first and the Cubs never looked back today as they cruised to a 9-1 win over the Beloit Sky Carp. Brandon Birdsell looked good sitting 95. He went 3.2 innings and gave up his first run of the year, but he did walk three. 

Frankie Scalzo pitched well in relief and it was fun to see Bailey Reid return and show that he still has the nastiest stuff if he can control it and today he did strike out two in one frame. He did throw a lot of pitches but looked fresh.

DJ Artis went 2-for-3 and left the game early while Haydn McGeary continued his Midwest League Domination Tour going 2-for-4 with 2 doubles and he now has five in 8 games.  He’s hitting .344 with a 1.105 OPS with 2 dingers and 8 RBI.

Meanwhile Down in Lynchburg…

The Pelicans’ offense from last night just disappeared as Lynchburg took it to the Birds. Koen Moreno started and the stat line looked good going 3 innings and only allowing 1 run. He struck out 2 but walked two, allowed 3 hits, and hit 2 batters. It was more about minimizing damage. He threw 60 pitches but only 33 for strikes. Still, he is much improved from last summer when he was with Myrtle Beach. I am digging the improvement and Koen is on the right track.

By the time of the middle innings, the game got away from Myrtle Beach as they lost 11-3 with all 3 runs coming in the ninth.

Cristian Hernandez is figuring some things out. He went 3-for-4 tonight to raise his average to .350.

Heading into the year, I knew that Myrtle would have some issues because of a lack of consistent standouts at Mesa in 2022. Currently, that is showing up in the bullpen. Today, Erian Rodriguez and Jack Aldrich struggled while the same team put up 7 runs in 6 innings on Friday. That learning experience might be the name of the game over the first couple of months at low-A, which to be quite frank, is OK. With no short season leagues anymore, that learning is taking place at Myrtle Beach. That is the new normal.

In Between the Rain Drops…

While the Pelicans and Hillcats were duking it out, the Biscuits and Smokies were in a rain delay which gave me some time to do other things. That game was eventually canceled and will be part of a doubleheader tomorrow.

So tomorrow will be jammed pack with six scheduled games.