Pelicans bats go cold in loss to Wilmington

For the second time this road trip, the Pelicans were shut out in a series opener, as they fell to Wilmington 2-0. The Pelicans' listless offense continued its fruitless search for answers with time running out before the first round of the Carolina League playoffs begin a week from Wednesday. Despite Kennil Gomez's six strong innings, the Pelicans went hitless with runners in scoring position, left six men on the basepaths, and took a 2-0 defeat at the hands of the Wilmington Blue Rocks in the first of four Monday night at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium.

A Pelicans team that scored just six runs in dropping three of four at Winston-Salem this past weekend looked to get a boost from the return of first baseman Chris McGuiness, into the lineup Monday night for the first time since injuring his knee on July 6. In the first inning, however, the night's tone was set, and it looked disconcertingly familiar to the Pelicans' last series. Travis Adair led off the evening with a roped single back up the middle off Wilmington starter Allen Caldwell, but one batter later, Santiago Chirino bounced into a 5-4-3 double play, the 13th twin-killing the Pelicans have hit into in their last seven games.

Myrtle Beach surrendered the only run Wilmington would need in the bottom of the first, and the Blue Rocks got it without the aid of a hit. Former USC star Whit Merrifield walked to lead off the game and went station-to-station on a passed ball, a flyout, and an RBI groundout by Nick Van Stratten that put the Rocks in front 1-0.

Because of the passed ball, the run went charged to Gomez as unearned, and it was the only one Myrtle Beach's righty would allow. Gomez (2-6) pitched six strong innings, keeping Wilmington off the board the rest of his night. He struck out four to counter three early walks. The right-hander lowered his ERA from 3.91 to 3.67 on the night but took the loss.

Against Caldwell, the Pelicans didn't get another base runner until the fourth and didn't get another hit at all. Caldwell (2-0) went 5.2 innings, blanking the Pelicans on Adair's lone hit with six strikeouts to one walk before giving way to the bullpen. When he did, Myrtle Beach put up its only offensive rally. With two outs and the bases empty in the top of the sixth, Chirino doubled and Mike Olt reached on an error to put runners at the corners, but Jared Prince grounded out to second to end the threat.

After Wilmington added a run in the eighth, the Pelicans got Andrew Clark aboard in the ninth with a one-out single, but one batter later, Zach Zaneski grounded into yet another double play to end the night. White (S, 1) picked up the save in his first Carolina League appearance, going three and one-thirds of scoreless work, allowing three Pelicans hits and striking out three against one walk.

Myrtle Beach has now scored two or fewer runs in 22 of 64 second-half games this season and has been shut out eight times since the All-Star Break. The Pelicans took one shutout loss in the entire first half.