Weather wreaking havoc on Pawtucket PawSox haven’t played game since Saturday
PAWTUCKET – Are all the rainouts the PawSox have been subjected to lately becoming a nuisance as far as the quest to always stay sharp?
Judging by the number of hitters and pitchers who made good use of the indoor cages on Wednesday, Pawtucket is making the best out of a rainy stretch of weather. The PawSox were rained out for the second straight day at McCoy Stadium and the third time in the four days. Sprinkle in Monday’s off day and the team hasn’t played in an actual game since last Saturday in Gwinnett.
“The only thing you’re missing out on is groundballs for the infielders and fly balls for the outfielders,” PawSox manager Kevin Boles said. “You get your live reps in the cage. The pitchers, they’re not long tossing but they are getting their throwing in inside.”
From a pitching standpoint, the PawSox got some work in on the field prior to Tuesday’s postponement. Wednesday’s rainout kept the team indoors as no one dared to venture outside.
“We’ll have guys stand in the box when pitchers are throwing their side sessions in the cage,” Boles noted. “You’ve just got to get a little creative with it. This is what happens this time of year and everyone has gone through this.”
Looking at Thursday’s forecast, the weather should be good for a single-admission doubleheader against the Indianapolis Indians that’s slated to begin at 12:05 p.m.
Brian Johnson, who last made a start in a Boston uniform on April 18, will be the Game 1 starter followed by Henry Owens in Game 2.
Wednesday’s washout will be made-up as part of a doubleheader when the PawSox play at Indianapolis from July 28-30. Thursday will be the Indians’ final regular-season visit to Pawtucket.
The PawSox sustained back-to-back postponements at McCoy for first time since 2007. Pawtucket did have consecutive rainouts during the 2011 season as well but the first came at home on May 16 against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and the next came in Columbus on May 17.
In Johnson and Owens, the PawSox on Thursday are rolling out two starters who could conceivably gobble up all seven available innings in each contest.
“The starters, we’ve got to keep them on track in case there’s a need,” Boles said. “The bullpen arms, you can find spots for them. They’re work is not as in-depth as the starters. They can do touch-and-feels between their outings, but the starters as far as setting up their five-day routine is a big deal with them.”