Offense a big reason PawSox thriving in last month
PAWTUCKET – After a 7-4 home defeat to Louisville on May 23, the Pawtucket Red Sox were a ghastly 16-24 and appeared to be on their way to a third straight season without a playoff appearance after claiming the 2014 International League title.
But, the PawSox have turned their stuttering season around with solid pitching and an improved offense led by Brian Bogusevic, Steve Selsky and Bryce Brentz. Thanks to a fourgame sweep of first-place Durham at the end of May, the PawSox returned to .500 after a June 7 doubleheader sweep of Syracuse and are now in third-place in the ultra-competitive North Division
“We stayed upbeat,” PawSox manager Kevin Boles said prior to Sunday's doubleheader against Rochester. “We lost nine in a row at one point and nobody talked about it. Guys were aware of what was going on, but when you keep the clubhouse upbeat and make sure the guys come into an environment they want to work in – but you want them to know it will get better.”
The difference between the first 40 games and the last 24 games is offense. After scoring six or more runs in seven of the first 40 games, the PawSox have reached the six-run plateau in 13 of the last 24 contests.
“When you lose 9, 10 in a row, those things happen in a season,” Boles said. “You hope it doesn't, but you have to work through it. You promise the guys it will get better, because it will. It can't get any worse when you lose nine in a row – well, it could. It takes discipline to be upbeat and positive everyday at the ballpark when you're going through something like that.
“It's easy to feel sorry for yourself and dwell on the negative, but we made sure we stayed upbeat and positive. There's always something to accomplish, whether it's winning a game on a particular player or sending a guy to the big leagues. It's Sunday morning and you can tell these guys are ready to rock and ready to go.”
The PawSox have played so well in the last month that they hadn't dropped back-to-back games since a May 21 defeat to Buffalo and a May 23 defeat to Louisville. The run came to an end over the weekend against Rochester.
“We love the way our guys play,” Boles said. “They love to play, the work and guys are getting better. Every guy that we've sent to the big leagues has contributed to wins. We still have a lot of work to do, but we're trending in the right path.”
Starting with Saturday's doubleheader against Rochester, the Paw Sox will play 25 games in 22 days without a day off before the All-Star break starts on July 10. Boles may be a baseball lifer, but he made it clear how players and coaches feel about all the doubleheaders the PawSox are playing this season because of the northeast's rainy spring.
“Nobody ever wants to play doubleheaders,” Boles said. “Nobody's going to feel sorry for the professional athlete, but this is just part of it. We've had some tough weather in our league and everyone is going through it.”
Sunday's doubleheader was the PawSox' seventh of the season and, for the first time since August 8-9, 2007, the PawSox played back-toback doubleheaders. If the weather cooperates, the PawSox are only scheduled to play three more doubleheaders over the final two-plus months of the season; July 5 at Rochester, July 28 at Indianapolis and Aug, 15 at Lousiville.
While handling the pitching staff was clearly Boles' priority over the weekend, he also had to monitor the workload of his position players. The only players to play in the field in all four contests were Selsky and Deven Marrero. Selsky saw time at all three outfield positions, while Marrero started the first three games at second base before finishing the marathon weekend at shortstop.
Leadoff hitter Rusney Castillo also started all four games, but he was the designated hitter for two games.
“There's no stress in doing this,” Boles said. “The biggest thing is handling the pitching and monitoring the guys' work in pregame. You have to monitor the amount of pregame reps they do. And with the overnight bus trip (from Syracuse) on Friday, we really didn't get a day off. We won't have an off day until the All-Star break, so there's a lot being thrown at us, but you just have to monitor it.”
The PawSox ran out of starting pitching in Sunday's second game, but the rotation should reset for Lehigh Valley's visit to McCoy for a three-game set starting Monday. Righty Shawn Haviland is slated to start the series opener against former No. 1 overall pick Mark Appel. Jalen Beeks will start Tuesday's game, while a starter hasn't been named for the series final.
It was an eventful afternoon for Castillo. The Cuban-born leadoff hitter reached base three times in the opener and then he delivered an RBI single in the second inning of Game 2 to extend his hitting streak to 16 games On the flip side, Castillo was picked off first base by Chris Heston in the third inning of the first game. Castillo, who also made an crucial error in the second game, finished the day 4-for-6 with two HBPs. …The PawSox were swept in a doubleheader for the fourth time this season ...Bryce Brentz was scratched from Game 1 because of tightness in his back.