Castellanos' big night drops Birds in Salem

SALEM, Va. (July 27, 2019) - Pedro Castellanos hit two home runs for the Salem Red Sox to propel them to a 7-5 victory over the Myrtle Beach Pelicans on Saturday from Haley Toyota Field. 

The Pelicans (19-18, 40-65) found the scoreboard first in the opening inning on Saturday. Carlos Sepulveda began the game with a single, but was eliminated on a fielder's choice hit into by Delvin Zinn . Zinn then stole second and scored on a Miguel Amaya RBI single to make it 1-0. After Tyler Durna singled to put runners on the corners, Grant Fennell singled in Amaya and Durna scored on a throwing error to put the Birds out in front 3-0. 
The Red Sox (48-55, 23-13) countered in the home half of the first inning on Castellanos' two-run home run off of Myrtle Beach starter Paul Richan (L, 10-5), making it 3-2 Pelicans.
In the top of the second the Birds extended their lead when Wladimir Galindo scored on a double play to give them a 4-2 advantage. 
Salem then volleyed right back and scored two more on a pair of Pelicans errors in the bottom of the second to tie the game at 4-4. 
That scored remained until the fourth when Castellanos crushed a three-run, go-ahead home run to vault the Red Sox to a 7-4 lead. 
Cam Balego doubled in Zinn for the Pelicans in the eighth to draw the Birds within two, but they were turned away by the Red Sox bullpen and Andrew Schwaab, who earned his ninth save of the season with a scoreless ninth. 
Jhonathan Diaz (W, 6-6) took home the victory for the Red Sox, allowing four runs, three earned, over his six innings in the start. 
Myrtle Beach takes on Salem in the finale of the three-game set on Sunday, beginning at 2:05 p.m. The Birds will send RHP Erich Uelmen  (4-3, 3.11 ERA) to the hill, while Salem will start RHP Dylan Thompson (3-7, 6.08 ERA). Coverage starts at 1:50 p.m. on MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Broadcast and the MiLB First Pitch and TuneIn Apps.
The 2019 season is the 21st season for the Pelicans franchise and fifth as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. For tickets visit MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/tickets, call (843) 918-6000, or visit the Pelicans Box Office.
ABOUT THE PELICANS: The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Chicago Cubs and play their home games at TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Since being acquired by a group led by Chuck Greenberg during the 2006 season, the Pelicans have repeatedly set team attendance records and become known as one of Minor League Baseball's most innovative and creative franchises. The team and its employees have been dedicated to making a difference in the Myrtle Beach community, specifically giving back over $2 million in donations, fundraising proceeds, in-kind services and community service since launching the Pelicans Play It Forward Community Initiative in 2013. TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark has ranked in the top eight in all of Minor League Baseball by Stadium Journey in six of the last seven seasons. The same publication also placed the Pelicans in the Top 100 Stadium Experiences and the best in the Carolina League for six of the past seven seasons. In June 2017, the Pelicans won the 2017 TripAdvisor.com Certificate of Excellence award. On the field, the team has won four Mills Cup Championships, including claims to back-to-back titles in 1999 and 2000, and again in 2015 and 2016. The Pelicans have made 11 postseason appearances behind 13 half-season Southern Division championships, including the first half of the 2015 season, second half of 2016 and first half of 2017. For more information on the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, please contact the Pelicans at (843) 918-6000 or email [email protected].