Offense erupts in 13-6 rout of Winston-Salem

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (August 17, 2017) - Zack Short reached base five times and the Myrtle Beach Pelicans' offense exploded Thursday for a season-high 13 runs to back a stellar start from Duncan Robinson in the Birds' 13-6 win over the Winston-Salem Dash at BB&T Ballpark. 
With the game scoreless in the fourth, Myrtle Beach (65-59, 22-32) broke through against Winston-Salem (49-75, 25-29) starter Dane Dunning (5-6). With one out in the frame, Jesse Hodges reached first base on a walk. After Dunning recorded the second out of the inning via a strikeout, Tyler Alamo was hit by a pitch before the bases became loaded with Robert Garcia reaching first on a fielder's choice. An error brought in all three runners to give the Pelicans a 3-0 advantage. Roberto Caro then ripped an RBI single to left field, widening the lead to 4-0. 

Short kicked off the fifth inning with a single to center field before advancing to third on a throwing error that allowed P.J. Higgins to reach first. With one out and runners on the corners, Hodges lined a single to left field to score Short and extend the lead to 5-0.  Vimael Machin followed Hodges with an RBI double to right-center field to bring in Higgins and move Hodges to third. Higgins scored on a groundout before Machin came home on a wild pitch to make the tally 8-0
Robinson (4-3) needed just 54 pitches to get through five shutout frames. The right-hander scattered just three hits to lower his ERA to 1.17 over his last five starts.
Yeyson Yrizarri singled of Myrtle Beach reliever Marc Huberman to begin the bottom of the sixth inning before Joel Booker launched a two-run home run over the left field wall to get the Dash on the board at 8-2.
Hodges and Machin kicked off the top of the seventh inning with back-to-back singles. Alamo continued the rally with a double to score Hodges. Garcia extended the Pelicans' advantage to 10-2 with a sacrifice fly to bring home Machin. 
Winston-Salem answered back in the bottom of the seventh as Matt Rose kicked off the frame with a walk before advancing to second on defensive indifference. With one out in the frame, Brandon Dulin dumped a run-scoring single into center field to plate Rose. Toby Thomas topped off the scoring in the inning with a double to left field, plating Dulin.
With the score 10-4 in the bottom of the eighth, Joel Booker kicked off the frame with a base hit before stealing second base. Bryant Flete walked, and both runners advanced into scoring position following a fly out. A groundout allowed Booker to score for the Dash's fifth run of the contest. Winston-Salem's final run of the game scored on a wild pitch to make the margin 10-6. 
In the top of the ninth, Myrtle Beach padded their lead. Alamo kicked off the inning by walking. Garcia notched his second hit of the contest with a single to center field. Caro brought home both Alamo and Garcia with a one-out triple, pushing the score to 12-3. Following the triple, Short was hit by a pitch to put runners on the corners. Higgins drove home the final run of the game with a single to right field, widening the gap to 13-6. 
Myrtle Beach begins a three-game series with Friday's 7:05 p.m. contest at Wilmington. The Birds will send RHP Kyle Miller (4-3, 4.38 ERA) to the mound to oppose Blue Rocks LHP Cristian Castillo (6-10, 3.92 ERA). Coverage will begin at 6:50 p.m. on MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Broadcast, TuneIn and the MiLB First Pitch app. 
The 2017 season is the 19th season for the Pelicans franchise and third as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. For information on tickets to see the Pelicans in 2017, please call (843) 918-6000, e-mail [email protected], or visit www.MyrtleBeachPelicans.com.
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. The park has ranked in the top eight in all of Minor League Baseball by Stadium Journey in each of the last six seasons. The same publication also placed the Pelicans in the Top 100 Stadium Experiences in all of sports in each of the last six years and the best in the Carolina League for six straight seasons as well. In May 2015, TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark won the 2015 TripAdvisor.com Certificate of Excellence award. The Pelicans are the two-time defending Mills Cup Champions, winning the title in 2015 and 2016 as well as 2000 and co-Mills Cup championship honors in the inaugural 1999 season. The Pelicans have made ten postseason appearances behind 12 half-season Southern Division championships, including the first half of the 2015 season and second half of 2016. For more information on the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, please contact the Pelicans at (843) 918-6000 or emailing [email protected]