Brody McCullough – Pic via Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Myrtle Beach Clinches Back-to-Back First Half Titles!

The Pelicans took a 3-1 lead into the 6th inning. They then exploded for 5 runs on their way to an 8-2 win. Rafael Morel, Cristian Hernandez, and Pedro Ramirez all had two hits and Felix Stevens cranked out a homer. With a Columbia loss, the Pelicans have now won first half titles in back-to-back years!

“Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains.” ~ From the movie Bull Durham

Sometimes it rains in baseball. And some times, that rain can come at the most inopportune  times or the most opportunistic time, depending on the score. For South Bend today, 3 unearned runs in the second and then four more in the fourth made for quite the deficit. First came the lightning, then the thunder, and that was it for that game for 3 hours. Ouch! And, yes, the game was finished with Cedar Rapids winning 14-2. Oof!

As for the other three games, let’s just say it was a smorgasbord of action.

Pinball Baseball in Des Moines

The Iowa Cubs and Indianapolis Indians had themselves a game today. The I-Cubs jumped out to a 6-3 lead only to give up 4 runs. Iowa gave up 4 more runs to make it 11-6. In the bottom of the eighth, Iowa scored 5 runs to tie it at 11. A Yonathan Perlaza sac fly won in the bottom of the ninth to score Chase Strumpf.

Hitter of the Day

Jared Young showed again why he is ready for his shot at the majors – he went 4-for-5 with a HR, double, and 5 RBI. 

Matt Mervis, David Bote, and Bryce Windham, who went 2-for-4, all drove in 2 apiece. Hunter Bigge pitched well in relief in the eighth and Bailey Horn shut it down in the ninth and got the win.

Starting Pitcher of the Day 1

Brody McCullough is turning into a machine. Tonight, he went 5 innings as usual. He gave up one run as usual. And guess what? 8 strikeouts as usual.

Starting Pitcher of the Day 2

DJ Herz went five frames, struck out 5, and gave up 1 run. The best news is he walked just 1!!! This month, his ERA is 1.56 over 4 starts. He’s pretty close to being DJ 2021 again!

Smokies Stay Close

With three games left next week, the Smokies are hanging tough just 1/2 game behind Chattanooga. Today, the Smokies used walks and a 3-for-5 day from Haydn McGeary to beat Birmingham in extras to do so. The Smokies had squandered a 3 run lead in the eighth but righted the ship. The final score was 5-4.