Foggy Nights

The following picture is an artist's rendition of what happened at McCoy tonight

Ryan Fox (@Spider_Fox87)

The old expression is that April showers bring May flowers. Well in April, the PawSox went 16-11, including going 3-1 on a road trip in Lehigh Valley to end the month. With the calendar year going into May, they looked to host the Indianapolis Indians in the first of a 4-game series at McCoy this weekend.

Taking the mound for the PawSox was Matt Barnes in his second start of the season. Last time out, Barnes faced the Rochester Red Wings in a Friday night game back on April 25. He got the victory in a 6-2 win, going 5 innings while giving up 6 hits, 2 runs (1 was earned), walking 2 batters, and striking out 2 on 81 pitches. He squared off against Jeff Locke (0-1, 5.29) of the Indianapolis Indians in the first game of the 4-game weekend series.

Before the game could be played, the weather decided to make an appearance. There was a 35 minute rain delay, pushing the game from a 7:05 p.m. start to 7:40 p.m. When the clouds dispersed, the tarps were pulled off, the national anthem was sung, and everybody at McCoy were ready for some baseball.

It was in the bottom of the 2nd inning when the PawSox first drew blood. After getting on base via a walk, 3B Garin Cecchini was able to advance to second base on a strikeout-stolen base play. Then RF Alex Hassan was able to score him on a single up the middle to give the home team an early 1-0 lead.

Then in the 3rd inning, PawSox SS Brock Holt got on base on a single. He then stole second base and proceeded to score on the next play on a double by 1B Ryan Lavarnway to make it 2-0.  With the team up and Matt Barnes pitching a no-hitter, things were looking up for the PawSox. But it was not meant to last.

It was the top of the 5th when Matt Barnes lost his no-hit bid, a double to Indians 1B Chris McGuiness. Later on McGuiness would score on what many would be considered a questionable play. Indians 2B Michael Martinez popped a fly ball into foul territory by the third base line. PawSox LF Bryce Brentz dove and made a spectacular catch to get the out. But by doing so, McGuiness was able to tag up and score to make it 2-1.

In the top of the 6th, Barnes was replaced with relief pitcher Dalier Hinojosa. However that move proved to backfire. After getting the first out of the 6th, Hinojosa then gave up a triple to Indians RF Gregory Polanco. Indians DH Andrew Lambo then dropped the boom with a monster homerun to right center field to put the Indians ahead 3-2.

By the time the bottom of the 7th rolled around, Mother Nature struck hard. During the course of the game, a faint fog was rolling into McCoy Stadium. By the 7th inning, it had gotten thicker to the point where the umpires had to halt the game. A 45 minute delay was then give. But by the time the 30 minutes were up, the fog didn’t dissipated. It had actually gotten thicker. So the game was called off, giving the Indianapolis Indians a 3-2 victory.

Matt Barnes had another strong outing for the PawSox. He went 5 innings, giving up 2 hits, 1 run (earned), walking 2 Indians batters while striking out 6 others in 86 pitches (52 for strikes). However he was given a no-decision. The loss was actually tagged to Hinojosa, dropping him to 0-2 for the season. He went 2 innings, giving up 2 hits, 2 runs (both were earned), walking one Indian batter while striking out 3 others on 28 pitches (16 for strikes).

Barnes’ starting counterpart, Jeff Locke, didn't last so much. He only pitched 2 innings, giving up 3 hits, 2 runs (both were earned), walk one PawSox batter and struck out another on 46 pitches (29 for strikes) in a no decision. His relief, Phil Irwin, did much better. He went 4 innings, giving up just 2 hits while striking out 5 PawSox batters on 49 pitches (34 for strikes) in the W for the Indians, putting him at 1-2 for the season.

The next game will be played on Friday night, at 7:05 p.m. weather permitting. RHP Brandon Workman (1-0, 6.28) takes the mound for the PawSox and will be opposed by the Indians’ RHP Jake Brigham (1-1, 4.64). Hopefully the weather will be a little nicer than it was for tonight’s game.