Small hitter smacks big fly in Pelicans win

It’s not often that the Pelicans look to the power bat of outfielder Cole Miles, but in the first of three games with the Wilmington Blue Rocks, Miles muscled Myrtle Beach to a win.

The outfielder’s solo shot in the sixth inning was all the offense in the series opener as the Pelicans earned a 1-0 victory over Wilmington behind another solid outing by starter Jose Ortegano.

Ortegano and Blue Rocks right-hander Eduardo Paulino went toe-to-toe for six innings, taking turns shutting down each other’s offense. Ortegano departed after the sixth, shutting out the Blue Rocks on four hits and striking out five without issuing a walk. With their southpaw’s day done, the Pelicans didn’t leave Ortegano’s efforts unrewarded.

In the sixth, Miles stepped to the plate to lead off the bottom half and smoked Paulino’s first offering into the Myrtle Beach bullpen to plate the lone run of the night for either side. The home run, Miles’s third of the season, is one shy of matching his career total entering 2009. Miles opened his big day by extending his season-long hitting streak to ten games with a leadoff single in the first inning. The 22-year-old Utahan became the third Pelican to string together a double-digit hit streak joining Donell Linares (5/23-6/6) and Michael Fisher (7/3-7/14). Paulino (3-6) took the tough-luck loss despite only allowing Miles’s run on five hits over seven frames. The right-hander struck out four and walked just one.

Taking their cue from Ortegano, the Pelicans’ bullpen tossed three shutout innings of one-hit ball. Two frames belonged to Brandon Beachy, who allowed the lone hit after the sixth, and after the leadoff man reached on an error in the ninth, Lee Hyde (1) closed the door for his first save of 2009. The three Pelicans pitchers combined to strike out 10 without walking a man a night after striking out a season-high 15.

Tomorrow evening’s middle game of the three-game set pits Myrtle Beach southpaw Richard Sullivan (2-6, 3.88) against Wilmington right-hander Jason Godin (2-0, 1.93). For Thursday night’s series finale, Atlanta Braves right-hander Tim Hudson will make his second start of the year as he continues his road back to the big leagues following 2008 “Tommy John” surgery.