RiverDogs Routed by Pelicans, Drop Fourth Straight

By: RiverDogs Media

In the game of baseball, there are some nights where nothing goes right. That was the case for the Charleston RiverDogs in a 15-2 loss to the Myrtle Beach Pelicans in front of 4,269 fans at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park on Friday night. Myrtle Beach scored five runs in two separate innings as the game ended with RiverDogs catcher Julio Meza tossing 2.0 innings on the mound. The run and hit totals for Myrtle Beach matched season-highs allowed by the RiverDogs.

The first big inning for the Pelicans (11-7) came in the third. Yoniel Curet, the RiverDogs starting pitcher, struggled to find the strike zone after a pair of solid innings to open the contest. He walked the first three hitters of the inning, before striking out Christian Hernandez for the first out. However, a free pass to Moises Ballesteros followed to force in the first run. Felix Stevens doubled the lead with a sacrifice fly and one more walk ended Curet’s night. The starter was charged with five runs on six walks and one hit in 2.2 innings.

Entering with the bases loaded, Jake Christianson also walked the first batter he faced to make it 3-0. The damage concluded when Miguel Fabrizio lined a two-run single to increase the lead to 5-0.

The RiverDogs (6-13) slowly moved within three on the strength of Jhon Diaz’s two RBI. The left fielder collected the first run batted in with a groundout to second that scored Christopher Barete from third in the bottom of the third. He added a sacrifice fly to left field in the fifth.

From there, Myrtle Beach dominated the contest, scoring in each of the last four innings.  They scored two runs in the sixth with three hits and help from two RiverDogs errors. Two more errors from Charleston, and three additional Pelicans hits, resulted in five runs coming across in the seventh as the margin grew to 12-2. The visitors added three more runs over the final two frames with a position player on the mound.

Duncan Davitt was charged with the seven runs scored in the sixth and seventh innings, five of them being earned. Christianson was solid after the runners he inherited scored, turning in 2.1 innings with three strikeouts. Jack Hartman recorded three outs without any damage in relief of Davitt.

Myrtle Beach outhit the RiverDogs 14-3 in the game. Reivaj Garcia and Fabrizio each collected three hits to pace the Pelicans, while Cristian More added three RBI. Every player in the starting lineup reached base at least once.

Ballpark Fun

A familiar face was standing in the home dugout at The Joe during the game on Friday night, as former manager Blake Butera returned to Charleston for the first time as the Tampa Bay Rays Minor League Assistant Field Coordinator. He is in town for the weekend as part of his travels to check in on each farm club. Butera guided the RiverDogs to the first two championships in franchise history in 2021 and 2022.

The RiverDogs and Pelicans do battle for the penultimate time this week on Saturday at 6:05 p.m. on Italian Plumbers Night. The RiverDogs have not announced a starting pitcher for the contest. Myrtle Beach will toss RHP Koen Moreno (0-1, 4.91).  

RiverDogs season tickets, flexible ticket plans, and group tickets, including options to the Segra Club at Riley Park, are available at riverdogs.com/tickets or by contacting the RiverDogs front office at 843-577-3647 (DOGS).

Myrtle Beach 15, Charleston 2

April 28, 2023

Click here for the box score

Myrtle Beach (R-H-E): 15-14-2
Charleston (R-H-E): 2-3-4

Win: Hull (2-0)
Loss: Curet (0-1)
Save: 

HR: Myrtle Beach: Felix Stevens (3, 9th inning, 0 on base)
HR: Charleston: None

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