Jonathan Long – Pic by Myrtle Beach Pelicans

I am running a little bit behind schedule. I got caught up watching the two episode debut of the Ahsoka Tano series on Disney+ which started at 8 PM. As a result, I fell a little behind the evening’s activities on the field. 

Now that I’m ready, let’s get to the action.

Starting Pitcher of the Day.

This goes out to Shane Greene of Iowa. He went five innings and struck out six and did not allow a run. The former All-Star closer from Detroit allowed just four hits on the night. It helped that Jake Slaughter hit a three-run home run in the first to give Greene a nice little lead that would eventually grow to 6 to 0 by the time Greene was done.

Iowa would go onto win 10 to 4 over Indianapolis. In addition to Slaughter, Matt Mervis hit his 16th home run and Alexander Canario hit his fifth at, Iowa. In fact, Canario went to for four and drove into. And over his last 10 games, Canario has driven in 15 runs while hitting .311 with a .947 OPS. I still find the fact that he is doing so well this month to be completely amazing!

Trouble in Tennessee

The Smokies got their rear end handed to them by Chattanooga tonight as they lost 8 to 2. Chris Kachmar and Carlos Guzman struggled on the mound. Even though the Smokies had eight hits, they really could not string them together to produce any crooked numbers. Thankfully, Rocket City lost, which means that Tennessee’s lead for the final playoff spot is still 7 1/2 games.

The Return of Ed 

Yes, you read that title right. The 21-year-old youngster went 3-for-4 tonight with three RBI as he had one of his best games this summer. South Bend won 6 to 3 over 1st place Cedar Rapids. Moises Ballesteros also had three hits while James Triantos and Christian Franklin each had two. Starter Tyler Santana with five innings and gave up just one run.

The Comeback of the Day

Heading into the seventh inning, the Pelicans were down 7-2. Not much had gone right for them all game. And with one out, outfielder Lionel Espinoza hit a three-run double that turned it in to a 7 to 5 game. A Jonathan Long single in the eighth made it 7-6. And after Kannapolis scored one in the top of the ninth, Brian Kalmer hit a two-out, two-run single to tie it up and send it to extras. Myrtle Beach won it on a Miguel Pabon sac fly to secure the victory at 9-8.

Hitter of the Day

The recent influx of draft picks into the Pelicans’ daily lineup has invigorated the offense. From Brett Bateman to Brian Kalmer, the Pelicans are putting up more runs than they have all season. Tonight’s star was none other than Jonathan long who went 4-for-5 and brought his average up to .286 with a .995 OPS. He’s been pretty hot the past couple of games and I don’t see him slowing down anytime soon.

I will be back in the morning with a look at the 2022 draft class as I give them their initial grade. Don’t forget to check the Tuesday. Transaction post again tomorrow as several players from Mesa could be heading east to Myrtle Beach.