Thompson strong, but Birds falter late in 6-2 loss

LILLINGTON, N.C. (April 17, 2018) - Pelicans starter Keegan Thompson fired five shutout innings Tuesday, but the Myrtle Beach Pelicans could not fend off a late Buies Creek Astros rally to fall 6-2 at Jim Perry Stadium.
Thompson ceded just three hits in his five innings of work. He did not walk a batter and struck out four for Myrtle Beach (3-10). The right-hander departed with a slim lead, but it would not hold.

The Pelicans held a 1-0 advantage going to the sixth when Myrtle Beach reliever Ryan Kellogg (0-1) walked Ronnie Dawson with two outs. A Josh Rojas single put runners on the corners before Kellogg hit Abraham Toro with a pitch to load the bases. A wild pitch brought home Dawson to tie the game and then Troy Sieber notched a two-run single to make it 3-1.
In the seventh, Chas McCormick earned to begin the frame and was replaced by Kristian Trompiz at first following a fielder's choice. Trompiz stole second before Kellogg walked Carlos Canelon. Anibal Sierra then loaded the bases with a single. A wild pitch by reliever Elvis Diaz scored Trompiz to widen the margin to 4-1.
Toro jumpstarted the eighth for the Astros with a double. With two outs in the frame, McCormick doubled him in before coming around to score on a Trompiz RBI single.
Buies Creek reliever Ronel Blanco (1-0) pitched 3.1 scoreless innings of relief, whiffing four against one walk. After he departed before the ninth, Wladimir Galindo greeted new pitcher Kit Scheetz with a leadoff double. Scheetz uncorked a wild pitch that moved Galindo to third before walking Tyler Alamo . Kevonte Mitchell , who had a double and walk, lined a sacrifice fly to right to score Galindo, but the Pelicans could get no closer in the defeat.
Myrtle Beach hopped on the scoreboard in the fifth inning. Mitchell and Austin Upshaw each walked against Astros starter Hector Perez to start the frame. A pair of wild pitches would plate Mitchell in the inning for the game's first run.
The Birds hope to avoid a sweep with Wednesday's 7 p.m. contest. LHP Jose Paulino (0-1, 11.57 ERA) goes for Myrtle Beach against Astros RHP Brandon Bielak (1-1, 2.16 ERA). Coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. on MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/Broadcast, the MiLB First Pitch app and TuneIn.
The 2018 season is the 20th season for the Pelicans franchise and fourth 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. The park 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 as well. In June 2017, TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark won the 2017 TripAdvisor.com Certificate of Excellence award. The Pelicans have 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 emailing [email protected].