PawSox: IronPigs Steal PawSox's Bacon

Ryan L. Fox

On a sunny yet brisk April evening, the Pawtucket Red Sox and the Lehigh Valley IronPigs continued their midweek series against one another at McCoy Stadium.

Already the IronPigs took a 1-0 series lead thanks to a 9-4 victory the previous Tuesday night after the first game of the series on Monday was rained out.

Taking the mound for the hometown PawSox was RHP Teddy Stankiewciz, making his 2019 debut after being reinstated from the disabled list after recovering from a shoulder strain. He was opposed by IronPigs LHP Cole Irvin (1-0, 1.53) in the match up.

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For the first two innings of the game, it started as a minor pitching duel between Stankiewicz and Irvin. But in the top 2nd the IronPigs got things rolling.

A leadoff single by CF Shane Robinson got things rolling as then two batters later, Stankiewicz walked RF Dylan Cozens to put men on 1st and 2nd with one out in the inning. Next batter up was 1B Andrew Romine. On a 1-2, Romine hit a single into right field that allowed Robinson to score from 2nd and advanced Cozens to 3rd. A sac fly into center field by C Deivy Grullon on the next at-bat allowed Cozens to score to make the final tally 2-0. The IronPigs would’ve gotten more but Stankiewicz got 3B Damek Tomscha to strike out to end the inning.

Two innings later, Cozens was at it again.

After taking a ball, Cozens knocked a hit into right field. He was able to stretch what appeared to be a double into a triple as PawSox 2B Josh Tobias tried to throw him out at 3rd. The throw ended up getting past 3B Jantzen Witte as Cozens ended up scoring from 3rd to make it 3-0.

The PawSox had multiple attempts to make a comeback later on in the game.

In the bottom 6th, 2B Josh Tobias lead things off with a double and advanced to 3rd on the next at-bat. However he ended up getting thrown out at the plate on a fielder’s choice by GF Gorkys Hernandez. After that, a single by CF Rusney Castillo put two men on base with two outs in the inning but DH Josh Ockimey ended up flying out to left field to end the inning.

Then in the bottom 8th, first LF Bryce Brentz drew a leadoff walk. That was followed up by a single from DH Sam Travis to put two men on base with no outs. But then Witte ended up grounding into a double play and C Juan Centeno was rung up on strikes to end the inning. Centeno, not liking the call, ended up arguing with the umpire and was ejected afterwards. Backup C Oscar Hernandez came in to finish the rst of the game.

The PawSox had one more attempt to try and score in the bottom 9th as Castillo began the inning with a leadoff single. Two batters later, 1B Sam Travis knocked a single into right field as Castillo advanced to 3rd. Witte then came to the plate with runners at the corners and two outs in the inning. He then knocked a single into center field that allowed Castillo to score to make it 3-1. Travis advanced to 3rd on the play to put runners at the corner again as Oscar Hernandez came up to bat. He was able to work the count full but ended up striking out for the final out of the inning, giving the IronPigs the 3-1 victory.

In his debut, Stankiewicz went 6 innings. He ended up allowed 7 hits, 3 runs (all earned), walked 4 batters while striking out 6 more on 90 pitches (53 for strikes) and was given the loss.

The winning pitcher ended up being Cole Irvin of the IronPigs, going 6 strong innings while allowing 0 runs, 2 walks and struck out 7 batters on 89 pitches (58 for strikes).
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The next match up between the two teams will be a Thursday matinee between the two teams. RHP Erasmo Ramirez (1-0, 1.13) will take to the mound as he will face off against RHP Enyel De Los Santos (2-0, 2.81)

After the game, PawSox manager Billy McMillon spoke with the media for his postgame Q & A about starter Teddy Stankiewicz, his team's performance in the game, and more.

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