Ryan L. Fox
Hello to all PawSox fans. Welcome to another edition of the PawSox Weekly Notebook, the guide for all those who want to know what’s going on with their favorite local baseball team. The All-Star break has come and gone, players are rested up, injuries are healed, and even the team has a new look to it (see Player Movement). However with that being said, the PawSox now begin their second half of the season with now the pressure of getting into the playoffs building. That means from here on out, all the games will matter.
A Week in Review
For this edition of PawSox Weekly Notebook, we’ll take a look back at both the week before and the week of the All-Star break. After losing both the Friday and Saturday games against the Columbus Clippers, the PawSox entered a 16-inning marathon against the Clippers before winning it 5-4 in the bottom of the 16th inning on a two-run shot by OF Henry Ramos. Then, the team went on a road trip to the Tarheel State (aka, North Carolina) to face their next two opponents: The Charlotte Knights (7/4-7/6) and the Durham Bulls (7/7-7/10). The PawSox opened up their series with the Knights with a 7-4 victory. Most notable about this game was the fact that OF Henry Ramos became the 1st PawSox player in 17 years to hit for the cycle (the last player to do that was OF Michael Coleman on June 4, 1999). The PawSox then took Game 2 with the final of 8-4 as the Knights squeaked by 8-6 the following Wednesday to avoid a series sweep. After the Knights, it was the Bulls turn to host the PawSox in what would be the final four games of the first half of the season. The PawSox took the opener with an explosive 9-1 final score. However the team was without starting pitcher Aaron Wilkerson, who ended up being traded (along with 2B Wendell Rijo from Portland) to the Milwaukee Brewers in e on the following Friday evening, the Bulls were up 2-0 in the bottom of the fourth when the game was flooded with rain. Officials then made the decision to postpone the rest of the game to the following Saturday, with the start time being at 5:35 p.m. After the completion of that game (Bulls won 3-0), they played a shortened 7-inning game afterwards where the Bulls took that one 5-4. However the PawSox were able to end the 1st half of the season on a high note, winning on Sunday 4-1 to finish the 1st half of the season at 47-44 (.516), an improvement over last year when the team finished 39-52 (.429) at that point of the season before the All-Star Break. During the All-Star Break, the PawSox were only able to send just one player to participate in the festivities in the form of OF Chris Marrero (SP Sean O’Sullivan was selected to play on the International League All-Stars team but was called up to Boston back on 7/2). Marrero also took part in the Triple-A Home Run Derby, winning the event with 18 salamis in the final round over Reno Aces OF Kyle Jensen. The fun continued for Marrero as he participated in the PCL All-Stars vs. INT All-Stars Game, a solo shot off Iowa Cubs RP Armando Rivera in the bottom of the 8th as the INT All-Stars won 4-2. After the All-Star break, the PawSox began the second half of the season with a home stand against the visiting Charlotte Knights. Game 1 of the series saw the return of former PawSox pitcher Anthony Ranuado, who was with the team from 2013 to 2014 before being traded away in the 2015 offseason to the Texas Rangers in exchange for LHP Robbie Ross Jr. Ranuado stifled his former team in 8 scoreless innings as the Knights won handedly 4-0. However on a hot and muggy Friday evening, the PawSox evened the series with a 2-0 victory. PawSox starter Keith Couch ended up going 7 innings, allowing 0 runs on while SP Joe Kelly got the 2-inning save in relief work. Where They Stand As it stands right now, the PawSox are 48-45 (.516) in the International League North. This includes a record of 23-25 at home and 25-20 on the road. They are currently 10.0 games behind division leader Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders with the Elimination Number at 41 games. Taking peek into the Wildcard race, the PawSox are currently 6.0 games behind the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (54-39 (.581)) with the Elimination number being at 45 games. Just the Stats Jack The following statistics are from players currently playing on the PawSox Triple-A squad as of 6/24. This excludes players who were called up, traded, currently on the disabled list, or currently on the temporary inactive list. At the Plate (*=min. 75 at-bats) - INF Marco Hernandez leads the team in batting average (.320)* - C Dan Butler leads the team in on-base percentage (OBP) (.410)* - OF Ryan LaMarre leads the team in hit-by-pitches (5) and stolen bases (11) - OF Chris Marrero leads the team in games played (85), at-bats (318), runs scored (44), hits (94), total bases (163), home runs (16), RBIs (43), walks drawn (28), slugging percentage (.513), and on-base plus slugging (OPS) (.865) Start You Pitchers (*= min. 20 IP) - SP Roenis Elias leads the team in innings pitched (83.1) and wins (6). He also is tied with teammate SP Henry Owens for most complete games (1). - Owens leads the team in games played (15), games started (15), complete game shut outs (1), hit batters (8), strikeouts (79), and strikes per 9 innings (8.6). He is also tied with teammate SP Justin Haley for opposing batting average (.220)* - Haley leads the team in ERA (4.06)* and WHIP (1.06)* Outta Da Pen (*= min. 15 appearances) - RHP Kyle Martin leads the team in game appearances (25) and strikeouts per 9 innings (11.7). He is tied with RHP Pat Light for team lead in games finished (16) and is tied with RHP Roman Mendez for team lead in hit batsmen (3) - Light leads the team in ERA (2.22)*, saves (6), and opposing batting average (.168)* - Mendez leads the team lead in bullpen wins (4). He is also tied with teammate RHP Robby Scott for team lead in holds (3) - Scott leads the team in innings pitched (55.1), spot starts (3), strikeouts (53), and WHIP (0.97)* Player Movement The following team transaction took place from July 2 to July 16. 7/2/16 - Received INF Mike Miller from Boston (MLB) - Sent SP Sean O’Sullivan to Boston (MLB) 7/4/16 - Received RHP Pat Light from Boston (MLB) retro to 7/3 - Sent SP Brian Johnson to Gulf Coast Red Sox (GCL) for rehab assignment - Placed OF Justin Maxwell on temporary inactive list 7/5/16 - C Ryan Hanigan finished his rehab assignment and was recalled to Boston (MLB) 7/6/16 - Received C Christian Vazquez from Boston (MLB) retro to 7/5 - Sent SP Joe Kelly to Lowell (Short Season A) on rehab assignment - Placed C Ali Solis on disabled list with lower back tightness - Granted OF Justin Maxwell his release from team 7/7/16 - Lost SP Aaron Wilkerson due to him being traded (along with 2B Wendell Rijo from Double-A Portland) to Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for INF Aaron Hill 7/8/16 - Received RHP Austin Maddox from Portland (AA) 7/11/16 - Sent RHP Austin Maddox to Portland (AA) - LHP Wesley Wright released 7/14/16 - Activated SP Joe Kelly from the disabled list - Received RHP Casey Janseen from Lowell (Short-Season A) - Transferred the rehab assignment of SP Brian Johnson to Lowell (Short Season-A) - Received INF Marco Hernandez, OF Ryan LaMarre, and RHP Noe Ramirez from Boston (MLB) retro to 7/9/16 (Hernandez) and 7/11/16 (LaMarre and Ramirez) - Sent SP William Cuevas to Boston (MLB) 7/15/16 - Sent SP Eduardo Rodriguez to Boston (MLB) - Received RHP Keith Couch from Portland (AA) Rehab Watch Currently there are no Boston Red Sox players on injury rehab assignment with the Pawtucket Red Sox. Upcoming Games The PawSox will continue their long weekend series with the Charlotte Knights after Friday. Game 3 (7/16) will be at 6:05 p.m. and the series finale (7/16) will be a midday game at 1:05 p.m. After that, the PawSox will not see the Charlotte Knights again for the rest of the season pending any postseason matchups (the two teams played against each other in the 2012 Governors’ Cup Finale). After that, the PawSox hit the road for a long trip in the great state of Ohio. Up first is a 3-game series with the Toledo Mud Hens (7/18-7/20) in Toledo, Ohio, which will then be promptly followed up with a 3-game weekend series against the Columbus Clippers (7/22-7/24). |
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