For five straight games, the Myrtle Beach Pelicans had seemingly put an early season inability to score before their opposition behind them. They regressed Tuesday night in a big way, surrendering three runs in the first inning and four in the second en route to an 8-2 loss to the Lynchburg Hillcats.
After retiring two of the first three hitters he faced, Pelicans starter Jose Ortegano (1-4) couldn’t close things out in the first. A Ray Chang single was sandwiched between those first two outs. A walk issued to cleanup man Matt Hague put runners at first and second, and Miles Durham’s RBI single scored Chang to get the Hillcats on the board. Kris Watts singled right behind Durham, driving in two before Ortegano got out of the inning.
The second was no easier for the Venezuelan southpaw as the Hillcats sent nine to the plate with the first five reaching. In all, Lynchburg beat down home plate four times in the second. The inning was highlighted by a Pedro Alvarez RBI single and an RBI groundout by Kent Sakamoto. Lynchburg built a 7-0 lead while the Pelicans sent just two over the minimum to the plate in the first two innings. Ortegano (1-4) gave way to the bullpen with one out in the inning and took the loss after going just one and a third innings allowing seven runs—five earned—on six hits while walking three against just one strikeout.
The Hillcats added their final run of the night in the eighth with Alex Presley reaching with a leadoff walk, advancing to second on a Chang single and scoring on a single by Alvarez.
Myrtle Beach plated runs in back-to-back innings in the fifth and sixth. In the fifth, the newly-called-up C.J. Lee, playing right field on the night, tripled with one out and scored on an RBI single by Robert Marcial. One inning later, Cody Johnson mashed his Carolina League-leading seventh home run into the Pelicans’ bullpen in right field. Hillcats starter Chi-Hung Cheng (2-0) earned the win by going six full innings and allowing two runs on five hits, striking out three without a walk.
Atlanta Braves catcher Brian McCann, who joined the Pelicans Tuesday afternoon to begin a rehab assignment necessitated by an eye issue that forced him to the disabled list on Saturday, went 0-3 for the Pelicans. McCann made his best contact of the night on a deep flyout to the opposite field in left that ended the third inning. He was called out on strikes in the sixth. The three-time All-Star is expected to be back in the Pelicans lineup tomorrow.
The Pelicans and Hillcats conclude their three-game set tomorrow as Lynchburg goes for the series sweep at 7:05. Tickets are still available for the Pelicans’ Star Trek Night at BB&T Coastal Field by calling the Pelicans box office at (843)918-6000 or by visiting the Tickets page on MyrtleBeachPelicans.com.
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