July 17: Mudcats vs. Pelicans Game Notes

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MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS (CHICAGO CUBS) at CAROLINA MUDCATS (MILWAUKEE BREWERS)
Wednesday, July 17, 2019 | 7:00 PM | Game 96, Home Game 49 | Five County Stadium (6,500) | Zebulon, NC
RADIO: WDWG, 98.5 FM
STREAMING AUDIO:carolinamudcats.com via TuneIn Radio
STREAMING VIDEO: MiLB.tv
Overall Record: CAR: 52-43; MB: 35-58
Streaks: CAR: L3; MB: W2
Last 10 Games: CAR: 5-5, MB: 5-5
Home Record: CAR: 29-19; MB: 21-31
Road Record: CAR: 23-24; MB: 14-27
Division Record: CAR: 19-22; MB: 17-32
Current Series: First game (of 3)
Season Series: MB leads 5-4 (of 15)
CAR v. OPP: 3-0 @CAR (6), 2-4 @OPP (9)

UPCOMING PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS...
WED, 7/17 vs. MB, 7:00 PM: Myrtle Beach LHP Jack Patterson (1-0, 0.00) at Carolina RHP Matt Smith (3-7, 3.44)
THU, 7/18 vs. MB, 7:00 PM: Myrtle Beach RHP Alexander Vargas (2-2, 3.83) at Carolina LHP Aaron Ashby (2-3, 3.57)
FRI, 7/19 vs. MB, 7:00 PM: Myrtle Beach RHP Javier Assad (3-6, 3.86) at Carolina RHP Nelson Hernandez (9-6, 4.60)
TONIGHT: Following yesterday's off-day and after going just 1-5 in their recent road trip, the Mudcats begin a new six game home stand tonight with game one of a three game series versus the Southern Division's Myrtle Beach Pelicans at Five County Stadium in Zebulon, NC. Tonight's game is the first three in the series and the fourth in the second half between the two teams. Tonight's game is also the tenth of 15 total meeting this season between the two teams. The Pelicans lead the overall season series 5-4 and took that lead after sweeping Carolina in a three game series in Myrtle Beach in a series played earlier this month from 7/1 through 7/3. Carolina has also swept the Pelicans this season having swept a three-game home series against Myrtle Beach from 5/10 through 5/12.
ICYMI: Wilmington's Jonathan Bowlan spun a no-hitter while leading the Blue Rocks to a sweep clinching 3-0 victory versus the Mudcats on Monday night at Frawley Stadium in Wilmington, DE. Bowlan struck out nine and threw just 98 pitches while becoming the first Carolina League starter to pitch through a no-hitter this season. Carolina had just one base runner in the game as outfielder Wes Rogers reached on a throwing error in the second. That throwing error was all that kept Bowlan from a perfect game as faced only 28 batters over his brilliant nine-inning outing.
ABOUT THE LAST ONE: The Mudcats were no-hit in their last game, marking the fourth time in franchise history that Carolina was held without a hit in a game.
NO-HITTERS VS. CAROLINA
Ryan Franklin, Memphis 4/21/97 at Carolina (6-0)
Elih Villanueva, Jacksonville (5.0 IP) 8/15/10 at Carolina (1-0)
Jake Dahlstrand (6.0 IP), Joe Gunkel (0.1 IP), SAL 4/9/15 at Carolina (2-0)
Jonathan Bowlan, Wilmington (9.0 IP) 7/15/19 at Wilmington (3-0)
WHERE THEY RANK: Mario Feliciano is currently 1st in the CL in home runs (14), 2nd in RBI (65), 2nd in slugging (.456), 9th in OPS (.776), 10th in hits (87), tied for 4th in extra-base hits (32) and 2nd in total bases (149)... Ryan Aguilar is currently 2nd in the CL in OPS (.848), 7th in AVG (.289), 3rd in OBP (.419), 7th in SLG (.429), 7th in hits (91), 2nd in walks (62) and 1st in runs (68)... Payton Henry is tied for 4th in the CL in home runs (10) and 4th in RBI (55)... Matt Hardy is currently 5th in the CL in wins (7) and tied for 6th in games (28)... Rodrigo Benoit is currently tied for 6th in the CL in wins (6), 2nd in games (30) and 2nd in saves (12)... Noah Zavolas is currently 2nd in the CL in ERA (2.94), 1st in innings pitched (110.1) and 1st in WHIP (1.13). Zavolas is also 1st in the CL in FIP (3.13), 2nd in xFIP (3.32), 1st in BB/9 (1.39) and 1st in K/BB (4.82).
GIDP GROWTH: The Mudcats have hit into 20 double plays over their last 22 games, 24 in their last 26 games and hit into a CL high 35 GIDPs in June... The Mudcats lead the CL in most GIDPs this season having hit into 74 double plays in 2019... Payton Henry leads the CL with 15 GIDPs overall (eight in June). Devin Hairston totaled seven GIDPs last month.
KINGS OF THE NORTH: The Mudcats are currently 33-21 versus the Carolina League Northern Division teams this season. They have also gone 15-8 versus Northern Division teams since 6/11 (at FRE)... The Mudcats are just 4-14 vs. Southern Division teams since 5/24 (vs. DE, 3.5 GB before 5/24) and have suffered seven straight losses in games versus Southern Division teams (6/16 vs. WS - 7/3 at MB).
RUNS ON RUNS: The Mudcats are 7-5 over their last 12 games and have scored a CL high 68 runs over those 12 games and since 7/5. They have also outscored opponents by 22 runs over that same span... Carolina has also scored a CL best 71 runs in July, but are just 7-8 this month... Carolina currently leads the CL in runs scored overall this year (430); up from 5th (362) in the CL in runs on 7/4. 
AG DEPT.: Ryan Aguilar has hit safely in 16 of his last 18 games and is batting .387/.506/.629 with a 1.136 OPS during that span (24-for-62, 17 R, 6 2B, 3 HR, 15 RBI, 13 BB, 18 SO). Aguilar also recently reached safely in all five of his PA on 7/6 vs. FRE after going 2-for-2 with 3 R, 3 BB, 2 2B & 3 RBI.
HAIR ON FIRE: Devin Hairston has hit safely in nine of his last 10 and is batting .438/.486/.656 with a 1.142 OPS during that span (14-for-32, 8 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 3 BB, 6 SO). Hairston recently finished a double shy of the cycle on 7/9 vs. LYN after going 3-for-3 with a solo home run, a 2-run triple and a single (attempted a hustle double, but was caught at second). His solo home run came in back-to-back fashion as it followed Pat McInerney (3-run HR) in the third on 7/9 vs. LYN and was his first of the season.
POWER OUTAGE: Mario Feliciano still leads the CL in home runs (14) this season, but has now gone 31 straight games without a big fly. His last home run came on 6/7 vs. Salem and was, at the time, his fifth over a span of four games... Rob Henry has totaled six home runs this season, but has not homered since 4/29 in Salem. He has gone 47 straight games without a home run.
PEN WOES: The Carolina bullpen has pitched to a 4.60 ERA and a .270 average against since the All-Star break (3.0 BB/9, 10.5 SO/9). The Carolina bullpen has also been charged with three blown saves since the break, including two by Rodrigo Benoit. Since the beginning of the second half, Benoit is 0-1 with a 12.14 ERA and a .457 average against (2 BS, 6.2 IP, 16 H, 12 R, 9 ER, 3 BB, 7 SO).
BACK STOP SPLITS: Payton Henry and Mario Feliciano have split catching duties this season with Henry totaling 49 games behind the plate and Feliciano catching 44 games. Henry, meanwhile, has caught back-to-back games three times this season (4/14 & 4/15, 6/3 & 6/4, 6/26 & 6/27); Feliciano has caught back-to-back games once (6/14 & 6/15) and has caught three straight games once(7/6-7/9).... The Carolina pitching staff is 28-21 and has totaled a 3.65 ERA (2.9 BB/9, 8.8 SO/9) in games caught by Henry... Carolina's pitchers are 23-21 with a 4.27 ERA (3.2 BB/9, 7.9 SO/9) in games caught by Feliciano... Carolina has, however, won four straight games when Feliciano starts behind the plate... Nathan Rodriguez has caught two games this season. His first game behind the plate came on 6/23 at POT when he caught a 9.0 IP complete-game, two-hit shutout thrown by Noah Zavolas.
ALL THE Ks: Carolina batters have combined to total a Carolina League high 963 strikeouts this season (5th most in MiLB). The Mudcats are on pace to set a league and franchise record for strikeouts for the third straight season as they are on pace for over 1,400 strikeouts this season. Carolina batters combined to total a CL and franchise record 1,311 strikeouts last season; breaking the previous CL and franchise record of 1,245 SO set by Carolina in 2017.
THE MUDCATS HAVE…
... played in Zebulon, NC since 1991 (29th season).
... played in the Carolina League since 2012 (8th season).
... been an affiliate of the Brewers since 2017 (3rd season).
... not made the playoffs since the 2008 season.
... not made the playoffs during their Carolina League era.
... operated under the ownership of the Brewers since Oct. 2017.