JUNE 28th CHARLOTTE (45-36) at PAWTUCKET (46-34) 7:05
Charlotte Knights RHP Simon Castro (0-1, 10.80) vs. Pawtucket Red Sox RHP Brandon Duckworth (7-1, 3.68)
Just Win Baby – The Pawtucket Red Sox hope to make it two wins in a row for the first time in 11 days when they play game three of their 4-game series against the Charlotte Knights tonight at 7:05 pm at McCoy Stadium (Live on the Ocean State Networks). Last night the PawSox snapped their 9-game losing streak (the third longest in club-history) with a well-played, 5-1 win overCharlotte to even this series at a victory apiece. The Sox can win two straight tonight for the first time since they posted a 5-game winning streak from June 12-17. Pawtucket also halted their 5-game home losing streak last night and with a victory tonight would win back-to-back home games for the first time since June 5-7 when they had a 3-game McCoy winning streak.
Back Where They Belong – The PawSox regained sole possession of 1st-place with their win last night coupled with Lehigh Valley’s loss to Rochester. The Sox and IronPigs were in a virtual tie after play on Tuesday night (the Pigs actually had a slim pct. point lead over the PawSox at the time). Pawtucket had been alone atop the division from May 5 – June 25 before falling into that tie on June 26. However, they are now back atop the division where they have been for much of the past eight weeks. The Sox tied their largest 1st-place lead of the season at 5-games overLehighValley on June 17 but then went on a 9-game losing streak until their victory last night.
First and Ten – While losing 9 of their last 10, PawSox pitchers are 1-9 with a 4.58 ERA (47 ER in 92.1 IP) while the Sox are hitting .246 (86-for-350) with 9 HR. As a result,Pawtucket’s Team ERA has gone from 3.49 on June 17 to 3.63 (it was a season-high 3.68 on Tuesday) while the Team Batting Average has gone from .275 to .271 (it was .270 on Tuesday which was their lowest for the entire month of June). Pawtucket has been out-scored during their last 10 games by a 52-32 margin.
This Series and Homestand - The PawSox had not lost a game by more than 5 runs all season long until Tuesday night’s 8-0 setback toCharlotte in the series-opener. The Sox evened matters with their much-needed 5-1 win last night. Pawtucket had not lost a home series – and had not lost more than 2 in a row at McCoy all season – untilLouisville just swept a 4-game set here over the wrap-around weekend. Pawtucket’s 8-game homestand (1-5 thus far) continues with two more games vs. the Knights this evening and tomorrow night both at 7:05 pm.
What Have You Done for Me Lately –Pawtucket has lost 9 of their last 10 but they are still 16-15 in their last 31 games since May 26. Despite dropping 5 of their last 6 at McCoy, they have still won 15 of their last 27 home games dating back to May 9.
June’s Final Days – The PawSox are 12-13 in June (after an 11-4 start) with 3 games remaining in the month. They need to win all three games to post a winning month of June or go 2-1 to finish .500 this month. Pawtucket has had five consecutive winning (full) months – not counting their 4-0 record last September. Their last losing month was May of 2011 (13-15).
June Tune – Sox batters are hitting .280 in the 25 games (246-for-878) with 30 HR and 126 runs scored. Pitchers are 12-13 with a 4.05 ERA (102 ER in 226.2 IP).
Month to Month – Since August of 2010 the PawSox have a 144-111 record. The PawSox won 18 games in May – they had not won that many games in one month in nearly four years since they went 20-9 in June of 2008. The PawSox have also registered at least 16 victories in each of the last five full months. They went 17-11 last June, 17-13 last July, 17-12 last August, 16-9 this April, and 18-12 this May. Pawtucket’s last losing month was May of 2011 (13-15) as the PawSox have had 7 winning (full) months in their last 8 months of action dating back to August of 2010.
