Olt keeps promise to mother
Olt dedicates homer to mother after aneurysm surgery
PAWTUCKET – Promise kept.
The three-run home run that Mike Olt smashed into the PawSox bullpen on Sunday was the infielder’s way of making good on what he pledged to his mom, Beverly, who last week underwent successful surgery for a brain aneurysm. Olt returned to the lineup after missing three straight games.
“I told her that I was going to hit a home run today,” Olt said after Pawtucket avoided getting swept by Indianapolis, 11-1, before a sellout crowd of 10,061. “It was one of the more special home runs ever I’ve hit.”
“We made sure we got the ball for him,” PawSox manager Kevin Boles said.
Olt made it from his Branford, Conn. address to McCoy Stadium by 12:45 p.m. – 45 minutes before first pitch. When Boles posted the lineup in the clubhouse on Sunday morning, Olt’s name was on it. Roughly 10 minutes before first pitch, Olt was laid out on his back in the outfield for his traditional pregame meditation session.
“I was able to talk to my mom (Sunday) and let her know that I was coming up here. She was excited for me to come back. She wanted me to come back and play,” said Olt, one of the more upbeat and outgoing players on this year’s PawSox roster. “I did a couple of sprints and hopped right in there.”
“To be able come back and just focus was great to see,” Boles said. “He’s been going through a lot lately.”
Olt’s team-leading eighth home run was part of a five-run uprising in the third inning for Pawtucket, which scored only two runs in the previous two games against Indianapolis. He turned on a curveball thrown by Indians starter Brandon Waddell for the fourth straight twoout hit that the home team collected in the third.
Josh D. Smith’s splits against International League hitters suggested that he might be in for a tough day on the mound. The PawSox lefty came into the game with a .163 batting average against lefties while righties were hitting .303. Indianapolis featured a starting lineup Sunday where everyone hit from the right side.
What does Smith do? He backed up Tyler Thornburg’s scoreless first inning with 4.2 innings of one-run ball en route to his second win. Throwing 80 pitches (49 strikes), he allowed only one hit with one walk and seven strikeouts.
Smith opened his pro career in the Pittsburgh farm system and appeared in seven games for Indianapolis two years ago. When he was in Double-A Portland last year, he squared off against the Pirates’ affiliate in Altoona.
“I didn’t have the best outing against them, but I was looking forward to today and making sure I had a good outing,” Smith said.
Smith helped the PawSox carry a no-hitter into the sixth inning. The only hit he allowed came against the final batter he faced. By that point, he had more than done his job. Boles mentioned that infielder Mike Miller was a possible pitching option on a day when Pawtucket was thin in bullpen options. Smith’s key was his ability to get strike one over against a free-swinging Indians lineup.
“Staying away early in the count and coming in hard late,” Smith said. “Obviously I have more suc- cess against lefties than righties, but I know I get righties out, too.”
Said Boles, “I thought he was terrific. He did a great job for us.”
Thornburg learned that he would be starting for the PawSox on Saturday night. The switch didn’t seem to faze the reliever, who threw 12 of his 17 pitches for strikes. Thornburg induced a flyout to medium-depth center field and a weak ground ball to third, issued a two-out walk after battling to a full count and finished his frame with a flyout to deep left-center.
“Talking with [catcher Dan] Butler, he said he looked like he had a little more zip to his fastball,” Boles said. “The ball was coming out of his hand good. He said he felt really good after his outing.”
The 29-year old right-hander from Atlanta made three appearances during the six-game homestand for the PawSox, allowing one hit and one walk. Thornburg was scheduled to fly with the Red Sox to Baltimore and mentioned that it’s possible that he’ll rejoin the PawSox when the team opens a series in Lehigh Valley on Thursday.
EXTRA BASES: Pawtucket went 7-for-15 with runners in scoring position, a stat that had Boles beaming afterwards. Except for leadoff hitter Cole Sturgeon, everyone in the starting lineup collected at least one hit. … Ivan De Jesus Jr. cleared the bases with a two-out double in the fourth as part of a 2-for-4 day. … Jordan Betts opened the scoring with a two-out, two-strike double that plated Adam Lind, who went 2-for-5 with two RBI. Miller also had two hits out of the No. 9 spot. … Right-hander Kyle Martin supplied 2.2 scoreless innings, and righty Ryan Brasier applied the finishing touch with a 1-23 ninth. … The PawSox officially added lefty starter Jalen Beeks back onto the roster and optioned RHP Teddy Stankiewicz back to Portland. Beeks will make his first start since last Thursday’s MLB debut with the Red Sox on Wednesday in Syracuse. … The PawSox concluded the homestand with back-to-back sellouts.