Pelicans first team in Minors to clinch in first half

The Class A Advanced Myrtle Beach Pelicans have won the past two Mills Cups. They assured themselves of an opportunity to play for a three-peat Wednesday night.
Behind eight shutout innings from Cubs No. 11 prospectThomas Hatch, the Pelicans clinched the Carolina League Southern Division first-half crown and wrapped up their seventh straight postseason berth with a 3-0 blanking of Frederick at TicketReturn.com Field.

Gameday box score
One game over .500 as recently as May 24 at 23-22, Myrtle Beach has been one of the hottest teams in the Minors over the past three weeks. The Pelicans have won 13 of 14 games in June and 16 of their last 20 overall en route to becoming the first team to score a first-half crown.
Hatch also has gotten better as the season has progressed. The 22-year-old right-hander went 0-5 with a 5.19 ERA over his first 10 appearances, but since has won two of three starts while allowing one run over his last 20 frames. He set a career high in innings in the clincher, yielding six hits and walking one while striking out seven.

"As much as he struggled for the first six weeks, he learned a lot during that time," Pelicans manager Buddy Bailey told broadcaster Scott Kornberg after the game. "He came out against a really good hitting ballclub and went eight shutout innings. He had the leadoff hitter on in two or three of those innings and was able to pitch around it."
The shutout marked Myrtle Beach's league-leading ninth. The club has been buoyed by pitching all season, ranking second among the circuit's 10 teams with a 3.33 team ERA. Lefty Justin Steele (2.51) and righty Adbert Alzolay (2.83) rank fourth and fifth in the league in ERA while Hatch (3.69) sits 14th.

"The biggest thing to me is our pitching has been phenomenal," Bailey said. "You look at the record that we just went through, it's very similar to what we did in August last year, going 22-5, and I had to tip my hat to the pitching then too. I hope we're on that kind of streak again in late August leading into September when we know we're going to be in the playoffs."

The offense has lagged behind a bit, settling for fifth in the league with 293 runs. However, MLB.com's No. 8 overall prospectEloy Jiménez has provided a jolt, hitting .286 with six homers and 20 RBIs in 25 games since joining the lineup on May 14.
With the transient nature of the Minor Leagues, the Pelicans may look different by the time the playoffs begin in September. Bailey said he is confident his group will keep reeling off wins as long as they are together.
"There's going to be some changes in personnel, guys going to Double-A and whatnot," the skipper said. "I commend the players. They came together as a unit."