Pawtucket wins 11th game in last 12 tries at McCoy
PAWTUCKET – Fear not, as the PawSox will not be gone long.
The local Triple-A lads will play four games in Syracuse before returning to the suddenly very friendly confides at McCoy Stadium this Friday night.
When Pawtucket does come back home, it will look to build upon a stretch of 11 wins at McCoy in 12 tries. One night after seeing their 10-game home winning streak come to an end, the PawSox returned to the plus side with a 3-2 win over Buffalo.
Now winners of 14 of their last 18 games overall, the PawSox (30-28) received a pair of solo home runs and six solid innings from Marcus Walden. Making his first start since May 30, Walden exceeded every expectation with 62 pitches and 44 strikes of pure efficiency. The lone run he allowed came in the second inning after the Bisons (32-29) had runners on first and third and no outs.
“We knew (Sunday) was going to be a bullpen day,” Pawtucket manager Kevin Boles said. “We were hoping maybe we could get 60-65 pitches or five innings out of him and he gave us six. This is some of the hottest weather that we’ve had, but he looked fresh the whole time. It didn’t look like he was laboring.”
Sunday was Walden’s seventh start, compared to five appearances out of the bullpen.
“Every club needs one of two of those guys,” Boles said about having a Triple-A arm who can fill a variety of roles, sometimes with very little notice. “He was targeted as someone who would have that reliability coming out of spring training.”
Bryce Brentz turned on a 95 mile per hour offering from Buffalo starter Luis Santos and deposited into the right-field bullpen for his sixth home run in the last 18 games. Just as noteworthy as the blast that tied Sunday’s game at 1-1 in the second inning was the walk he drew in the sixth inning. He now has 12 walks in the past 18 games.
“We know the bat speed and the strength that Bryce has, but he’s managing his atbats and taking his walks,” Boles said.
Two innings after Brentz blasted his 10th home run, Steve Selsky lofted a solo shot that hugged the right-field pole and put Pawtucket up 2-1. Selsky has nine home runs.
The PawSox stretched the lead to 3-1 in the sixth when shortstop Mike Miller chased Brentz from second with an RBI single to left. The Bisons got a run back in the seventh after Kyle Martin surrendered a solo home run to promising catcher Raffy Lopez, but Buffalo was unable to plate the tying run thanks to Austin Maddox, who pitched a 1-2-3 ninth en route to his first save with the PawSox.
Pawtucket on Tuesday will kick off a stretch where it will play seven games in five days. A doubleheader is scheduled for Tuesday in Syracuse with another twin bill on tap Saturday at McCoy against Rochester.
“Our starters are going to have to give us some length. We have an interesting schedule coming up,” Boles said.
The Pawtucket Red Sox and the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) on Sunday announced a new service that will enable fans to use public transportation to get to weekend PawSox games from Providence this summer – for free.
The service will have six stops in Providence and begins this coming weekend and run through Sunday, August 27, the regular season home finale for the PawSox. The game dates that will have the free service are June 17 and 18; July 1,2, 8, 9, 22, and 23; and August 12, 13, 26, and 27.
All Saturday games will begin at 6:15 p.m., with the exception of June 17 which is a make-up doubleheader at 4:35 p.m., and all will be followed by post-game fireworks at McCoy. All Sunday games will begin a 1:35 p.m., with the exception of July 2 which is a 6:15 p.m. start with fireworks after the game.
EXTRA BASES:
The PawSox will enjoy an off-day on Monday. … All signs point to Edgar Olmos starting the second game of Tuesday’s doubleheader in Syracuse. Olmos opened plenty of eyes with his five shutout innings in relief last Wednesday against the Chiefs. … Henry Owens (4-4, 3.88) will start the first game of Tuesday’s doubleheader. … The plan is for Pawtucket to add reliever Brandon Workman to the roster on Tuesday. Workman was optioned by the Red Sox last Friday. ... Sam Travis was ejected in the sixth inning after striking out for the third time.