Tagged: ryan roberts
Who Are These Guys?
The PawSox scored 11 runs and pounded out 16 more hits Thursday night to win their fourth straight game, a dominating victory in the series opener at Toledo. It is only the third time this season the team has won at least four games in a row.
Last night’s win was highlighted by a seven-run top of the seventh inning that lasted 42 minutes! In all, 12 batters came to the plate, six of them recorded hits and three walked against three different Mud Hens pitchers. Corey Brown drew two free passes in the inning while Mike McCoy had two hits including a two-run double that capped the rally.
The PawSox lineup looks as prolific as it has all season, and a big reason for it has been the production from two veterans at the top of the order. Jonathan Herrera has collected three straight multi-hit games since being optioned from Boston. He is now 7-for-15 with a double in three games played.
After starting just 1-for-8 in his first three games with Pawtucket, Andres Torres is 13-for-33 (.393) with three homers and seven RBIs in his last seven contests. Torres hit a game-winning two-run blast in the tenth inning earlier this week in Columbus.
Right now with those two setting the table the folks in the middle of the order are having an RBI feast. Travis Shaw (15 RBIs in his last 16 games played), Alex Hassan (13 RBI in his last 16 games played) and Brown (8 RBI in his last 7 games played) have been on run-producing tears.
In the last 24 games played Pawtucket has raised its team batting average 14 points, from .236 to .250! That is hard to do nearly 100 games deep into the season. During that time the PawSox have hit .286 (243-for-849) and averaged 5.6 runs/game (134 total).
This is really looking like a different PawSox team than the one I wrote about at the midway point of the season last month – the version that won games with pitching and defense and hoped to scratch out enough runs. I said then that if the squad could get some consistent offense this could be a playoff contender. Don’t look now, but the team is now just 3.0 games out of the wildcard spot (Pawtucket is 50-46, Rochester 53-43.)
Here are a few more notes to get you ready for the final three games before the All-Star break:
–Hassan has been on a doubles binge that past few weeks. He has collected 12 two-baggers in his last 15 games played including one in each of his last six games contests! The Quincy native now leads the IL with 25 doubles this season.
Alex Hassan has been a different looking hitter since returning from the Major Leagues one month ago
When he was called up to Boston on May 30th, Hassan was hitting .217 with Pawtucket for the season. Since returning on June 9th, the outfielder has batted .347 (33-for-95) in 26 games and raised his season average to .267. Not a bad month!
-Welcome to backup catcher Matt Spring, a very popular figure in the clubhouse wherever he is. Spring was promoted to the PawSox Thursday to take the spot of Christian Vazquez following Vazquez’s promotion to the big leagues. Here is a sample of Twitter reaction to the Spring roster move yesterday:
Ryan Dent is here…wearing #21. Best of luck to Matt Spring. One of the best guys to play in Portland. Terrific person and teammate.
— Mike Antonellis (@seadogsradio) July 10, 2014
C Matt Spring goes from Portland to PawSox w/Vazquez up. Spring so highly regarded as a teammate that Sea Dogs hanging his jersey in dugout — Alex Speier (@alexspeier) July 10, 2014
Looking forward to having Matt around the Pawtucket clubhouse for the first time since 2012. He came in in the eighth inning Thursday night at Toledo and flew out in his first at-bat.
Matt Spring brings a great attitude and a great haircut to the PawSox
-It will be interesting to see how Manager Kevin Boles gets playing time for Ryan Roberts now that Deven Marrero and Herrera have arrived and will play the infield most nights. Roberts is batting .358 (19-for-53) over his last 14 games played with eight RBIs and has been a cleanup hitter three times during that stretch. His bat is so hot right now that he’s a tough guy to leave out of the lineup.
–Garin Cecchini missed Thursday’s game after suffering a scary-looking shoulder injury in a home plate collision Wednesday in Columbus. The good news is the injury is not believed to be serious and Garin hopes to play again before the All-Star break.
-With Brandon Workman back from the Major Leagues for at least one turn in the rotation, we have not yet heard if or when he will pitch with the PawSox. He is currently on the same schedule as Allen Webster, who is tentatively slated to start Sunday night in Toledo. Stay tuned.
Brandon Workman is back with the PawSox…at least for now
-Below is a conversation I had with PawSox closer Tommy Layne earlier this week. He talked about making his Boston Red Sox debut last weekend and about the mentality of finishing ballgames for the first time in his career:
Game two of the series in Toledo Friday night begins at 7:00pm. The PawSox will look for their fifth straight win, something they have only accomplished one other time this season (during the team’ six-game winning streak at the end of June.) Chris Hernandez gets the ball on the mound looking to bounce back from a loss in Columbus on Sunday.
Hope you enjoyed, wishing you a great weekend. Talk to you on the radio from Ohio tonight at 6:45!
Josh M
June, We’ll Miss You
As the month of June comes to an end tonight, the PawSox are playing their best baseball of the season. The squad has won a season-high five straight and is 16-12 this month (16-9 since losing the first three games of the month). Among IL teams, only Syracuse (20-8), Columbus (18-10) and Louisville (17-10) have better records in June.
Most impressively, since losing 3 of 4 at Norfolk at the very beginning of the month (May 30-June 2), the PawSox have not lost a series (out of seven played). With a victory on either Monday or Tuesday against Durham, Pawtucket would be 3-0-4 in its last seven series.
We’ll see if the momentum carries over into a solid month of July. One thing to note – after three home games begin the July schedule, the PawSox play 18 of their next 22 games on the road. The team will play only nine home games in the entire month.
Here are some Monday afternoon notes to get you ready for the final four games of the current ten-game homestand:
-The PawSox are hitting .285 (129-452) over their last 13 games played (beginning Tuesday, June 17th at Rochester). They have scored 77 runs in those 13 (5.9 per game). Not surprisingly the team is 9-4 in those 13 contests, and could actually be 12-1. Pawtucket blew a lead of at least three runs in three of those four losses.
-Over the first six games of the current homestand, the offensive numbers are even greater. Pawtucket is batting .309 (63-for-204) with 46 runs scored (7.7/game). Several players are putting together a monster homestand at the plate:
Carlos Rivero, just named the IL’s Batter of the Week, is 11-for-24 (.458) with one walk, two doubles, one triple, six runs scored and five RBI in the first six games of the homestand.
Alex Hassan is 10-for-20 (.500) with two walks, one home run, four doubles, six RBI and six runs scored. He has played in five of the six games.
Ryan Roberts is 8-for-20 (.400) with two walks, two home runs, five RBI and four runs scored. He has played in five of the six games.
Travis Shaw is 7-for-19 (.368) with a walk, two home runs and four doubles, seven RBI and six runs scored. He has also played in five of the six games.
-Don’t look now, but another second-baseman in Portland is putting together eye-popping numbers. Sean Coyle (3rd Round pick in 2010 from High School near Philadelphia) was just named the Eastern League’s Player of the Week on Monday. Coyle appeared in six games last week for the Sea Dogs where he hit .524 (11-for-21) with two doubles, a triple, two home runs, 12 RBI, and scored seven runs.
Sean Coyle has been tearing it up with Portland
In 52 games this season, Coyle is batting .363 (65-for-179) with 16 doubles, a triple, nine home runs, and 38 RBI. To put that in perspective, Mookie Betts hit .355 in 54 games played with the Sea Dogs this season before his promotion to Pawtucket.
-Portland is having an incredible season. The Sea Dogs are currently 54-27 (.667), the best record in all of Minor League Baseball.
-Jeff and I had a lengthy interview with Monday night’s starter Anthony Ranaudo during our PawSox Insider show on Saturday. Some interesting stuff here, including the sport that was his first love (hint, not baseball):
Anthony Ranaudo starts Monday night against Durham
-Don’t forget that the PawSox have three straight fireworks shows scheduled for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights this week to finish out the homestand. I’m told they are among the best fireworks displays you will find in the area!
The view from the radio booth on Saturday at sunset
Have a great start to the week, hope to see you at the park over the next few days!
Josh M
Monday Notes: All The Call-Ups!
Hassan and Cecchini taking advice from a good source
With Garin Cecchini and Alex Hassan each making his Major League debut Sunday, alumni from the PawSox continue to directly impact Boston’s recent hot stretch. If/when Stephen Drew is officially re-called on Monday, that will make nine Pawtucket players called up to the big league club in a 17-day stretch!
Many of those former PawSox players have made major contributions to John Farrell’s team during the seven-game winning streak. Check out Hassan’s first hit right here, then a few innings later Cecchini’s.
Infielder Brock Holt started the parade north on May 17th and is batting a cool .337 with Boston. Among the position players, he was followed by Daniel Nava (May 24), Ryan Lavarnway (May 26), Hassan (May 30) and Cecchini (June 1). Drew, who went 5-for-21 with three doubles in seven minor league games, is expected to get the call Monday afternoon.
Brock Holt has been on a tear at the top of the Boston lineup
Among the pitchers to go up, Alex Wilson paved the way on May 23rd (he was just returned to Pawtucket Sunday). Brandon Workman went to Boston on May 25th and has made two strong starts. Rubby De La Rosa followed on May 31st and had a spectacular first start.
Of these nine players reaching Boston over the past two weeks, only Wilson and Cecchini have returned to the PawSox (Lavarnway unfortunately broke a bone in his wrist). As the Red Sox head to Cleveland for three games this week, the PawSox continue their eight-game trip in Norfolk (Monday night) and Durham (Tuesday-Friday).
Rubby De La Rosa tossed seven shutout innings against Tampa on Saturday
Manager Kevin Boles is continuing to deal with the mass exodus as best he can. In addition to the players called up to the major leagues, the squad has been without leading RBI man Bryce Brentz (missed the last 16 games) and part-time closer Drake Britton (four games) because of injury.
Below is my in-depth conversation with the skipper from Saturday’s PawSox Insider show in which we discussed how the club can try and stay afloat amidst all the roster turnover taking place:
Harbor Park is appropriately named…sitting right on the waterfront in downtown Norfolk!
Here are some other notes as we get ready for the finale of the four-game series at Norfolk Monday night at 7:05 pm:
–Ryan Roberts has become the choice to take Brock Holt’s leadoff spot in the order. Roberts has batted first in eight of the team’s last nine games. He got hit in the wrist with a pitch on Sunday, so Roberts may get a day or two off the next couple of nights.
-Since being promoted from Double-A Portland, Travis Shaw and Shannon Wilkerson have provided an offensive spark for Pawtucket. Shaw has started seven straight games since his arrival and reached base safely in all seven, while collecting at least one hit in six. He smashed his first Triple-A home run Saturday night:
Wilkerson has started eight consecutive games since his promotion and has at least one hit in six of those. He recently had a stretch in which he batted 6-for-10 (from Wednesday into Saturday night’s games).
–Christian Vazquez had a good last week at the plate. Vazquez, who has started the team’s last seven games, has a seven-game hitting streak during which he is 10-for-28 (.357) with four runs scored.
-The PawSox are in a stretch of playing 20 consecutive non-division games (16 of them against the South Division). They are 3-4 in the first seven of those against Gwinnett and Norfolk. Durham is up next.
-Pawtucket has now used 57 different starting lineups in 58 games played (batters 1-9 in the order, regardless of position). Incredible!
Hopefully the month of June will be more fruitful on the field than May was for the PawSox. The squad is just 5-14 since May 12th. But hey, a new month brings new hope! Even with the struggles, the team is only two games below .500 at 28-30.
The famous USS Wisconsin sits in the Harbor in Norfolk off the Elizabeth River. Quite a sight!
Have a great start to the week, talk to you on the radio from Harbor Park tonight!
Josh M
PawSox Hit Allentown With New Look
The top three spots of the batting order looked very different this weekend in Lehigh Valley. Three players who spent a good portion of April playing in Boston – Brock Holt, Ryan Roberts and Daniel Nava – comprised the first third of Kevin Boles’ lineup on Saturday and Sunday.
Daniel Nava homered Sunday for the PawSox
Perhaps its no coincidence that the PawSox’ bats woke up from a mini-slumber in the first two games of the series against the Iron Pigs. Despite splitting the contests, the team scored 14 runs (seven each game) and collected 22 total hits in games one and two.
Each of these three players joined Pawtucket at the end of last week’s homestand, and each figures to be playing almost everyday until needed again with the big league club. Their presence gives the PawSox one of the best top-of-the-order combinations in the IL and even more veteran leadership in the clubhouse.
Coca-Cola Park In Allentown
The PawSox are in Allentown, PA for a four-game series that concludes Tuesday morning. Coca-Cola Park opened in 2008 and is has drawn nearly 10,000 fans per game on most nights since. EVERYTHING here revolves around the “Iron” or the “Pigs” in the team name.
There is a painted strip of bacon on the grass directly behind home plate. The fans chant “oink” during big moments of the games. And the mascots – “FeRROUS” and “FeFe” are pigs named after the atomic symbol for the element iron.
FeRROUS gives the pitcher the “whammy” on top of the first-base dugout
Pawtucket CF Corey Brown has collected a pair of hits in each of the first two games of the series, including his second home run in the last three days on Sunday, a no-doubter to right field. Brown started the season 5-for-44 with 23 strikeouts in his first 13 games, but since Friday is 5-for-12 with two homers.
And in case you missed it, Brown did this at McCoy Stadium on Friday night. My favorite part was watching Corey and Daniel Nava do their best stadium maintenance crew impersonations. You can watch Brown’s postgame interview from Friday below:
With two games still remaining, the team has already clinched a winning month of April and has been in first place in the IL North for most of the past week. They will begin May by coming home Thursday night to start an eight-game homestand that will bring Indianapolis and Toledo to New England.
Have a great start to your week!
Josh
Maurer's Musings 