Pelicans Take a Step Back in Playoff Hunt
By Terry Massey
The final game of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans' homestand, which was billed as "Girls Night Out" by the Pelicans' promotions department, may have had the same theme for the home team.
Thursday was also likely "Boys (of Summer) Night Out" - as in out of the postseason.
The Pelicans suffered their third straight defeat to the Potomac Nationals, this time by a 5-3 score, to all but fall out of contention for a berth in the Carolina League playoffs.
This after the Pelicans were poised to make a late charge at the Carolina League's Southern Division second-half championship only three days earlier, when Myrtle Beach was neck-and-neck with the Salem Red Sox in the hunt for the final playoff position.
The Red Sox won three out of four in their homestand while Myrtle Beach lost three out of four, leaving the Pelicans in need of some serious help to extend their season.
With just 10 games remaining on the schedule after Thursday's defeat, Myrtle Beach had fallen into last place, two games behind Salem and Kinston with no head-to-head games to make up ground.
The Pelicans need to win three more games than both teams the rest of the way, with six the next six of those games played on the road. They close out at home on Sept. 4-7.
"If we win we will be OK," said Myrtle Beach manager Rocket Wheeler, pointing out that the Pelicans have played better on the road this year than at home. "We can't look over our shoulder and hope for somebody else to do something. We have to do something."
While it's still possible that the Pelicans could come charging back home still in the playoff hunt, Thursday night's performance had the feel of a team playing out the side.
The final "Thirsty Thursday" of the season, which generally attracts a rowdier crowd with dollar beer and a special promotion for the ladies, went noticeably silent after the Nationals broke open a tie game to score four runs - all coming with two outs - in the fifth inning.
The Pelicans tried to rally behind Donell Linares' two-run homer in the sixth to cut the deficit in half. But, like the buck beers, the magic quickly wore off. The crowd seemed to turn its attention away from baseball and toward the bachelor's auction and idle gossip.
That might actually come in handy the rest of this season since the playoff picture sounds a bit like a soap opera. The Pelicans need Wilmington and Winston-Salem to beat the Red Sox and Potomac and Frederick to beat the Indians while they are on the road.
Then Myrtle Beach must take care of Southern Division first-half champion Winston-Salem in its final homestand while Kinston battles Potomac and Salem duels Lynchburg.
Did you get all that? Here's the bottom line: Myrtle Beach really needed to win Thursday night's game to stay a strong contender for the playoffs, but now has its work cut out for it.
And since the Pelicans started the final month of the season in the driver's seat for the final playoff spot and have responded by going 6-15 over that span, let's just say it looks like the fall will probably come early this year for Myrtle Beach's boys of summer.
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