JUNE 24Th SYRACUSE (30-42) at PAWTUCKET (36-37) 1:35 Pm
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JUNE 24th SYRACUSE (30-42) at PAWTUCKET (36-37) 1:35 pm Syracuse Chiefs RHP John Simms (2-3, 3.48) vs. Pawtucket Red Sox LHP Jalen Beeks (4-4, 2.65) The Last Sunday in June - The Pawtucket Red Sox play their final home game in the month of June (rather amazingly) when they host the Syracuse Chiefs (AAA-Washington) in the rubber game of their 3-game weekend series this afternoon at 1:35 pm at McCoy Stadium (live on myRITV). Five has been the lucky number thus far in the series…the PawSox won the opener on Friday, 5-4 but the Chiefs evened things with a 5-3 victory last night. That loss snapped Pawtucket’s 4-game winning streak – one shy of their season- long 5-game winning streak. A little more than a week and a half ago the PawSox swept a 3-game series in Syracuse from June 11-13 by scores of 3-1, 5-3, and 5-1. Pawtucket’s 4-game winning streak vs. the Chiefs was stopped last night. This Homestand - This 7-game homestand – Sox are 4-2 thus far after taking 3 of 4 from Buffalo last week and going 1-1 vs. Syracuse this weekend) concludes today with this remarkably being the last Sunday in June already. After today, the PawSox will be gone all of this week for a 7-game roadtrip that begins with 4-games in Buffalo tomorrow (Monday) night vs. the 2nd-place Bisons. The first three games of that series (Mon. – Wed.) will all be at 7:05 pm with the finale on Thursday afternoon at 1:05 pm. The Sox will then slide south to Moosic, PA for a 3-game weekend set at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Friday (7:05 pm), Saturday (6:35 pm), and Sunday (1:05 pm). The Sox will head home after the Sunday afternoon game and be back at McCoy for just two games – the traditional July 2 & 3 Patriotic Firework games (both at 6:15 pm vs. Rochester) one week from this Monday and Tuesday evenings. Hovering Around .500 – Pawtucket did return to the .500 mark on Friday night at 36-36 for the first time since May 11 (16-16). However, the defeat last night prevented the Sox from pulling above .500 for the first time since May 8 at 15-14. Home Sweet Home – The PawSox 4-game home winning streak came to an end last night. Pawtucket is 21-18 at home after equaling their season-high of 4-games over .500 at McCoy on Friday (from May 22 at 12-8). The Sox are 15-19 on the road. The Chase Is On - The (tied for) 3rd-place Pawtucket Red Sox (with Scranton/WB and Rochester) are just a ½ GB of 2nd-place Buffalo. The PawSox are -6½ GB of front-running Lehigh Valley in the IL North who have opened a 6-game lead and in the division. The last time the Sox were closer than 5-games out was June 3 (-4½ GB). What Have You Done for Me Lately – Pawtucket has presently won 4 of their last 5 games following a 3-game losing streak. The Sox have had a pair of 4-game winning streaks from June 10-13 and G2 on June 19-22. Those fell one shy of equaling their longest of the season when the Sox won 5 straight from May 27-31. Over a longer stretch, Pawtucket has won 9 of 14 and 17 of their last 27 games since May 27. Before that, the Sox had lost 15 of their previous 19 games from May 7-26. Getting in Tune in June – The PawSox are into the final week of June with a 12-10 mark. They are hitting .267 (195-for-731) with 19 HR this month along with a 3.19 ERA (67 ER in 189 IP). Pawtucket, who finished 11-10 this April and 13-17 this May (hitting just .227 in May), had their best month of last season in June going 17-14. They are scheduled to play 29 games in 30 days this June. North Face - On June 11 the PawSox began a span of 32 straight games against IL North rivals through July 15 (which is just after the All-Star break). Pawtucket is 22-27 vs. their IL North foes thus far. They are 7-8 vs. the IL West and 7-2 vs. the IL South. NEXT ON TAP - The probable pitching match-ups for the upcoming series at Buffalo: Mon. 7:05 pm LHP Josh D. Smith (4-3, 2.51) vs. RHP Nick Tepesch (0-2, 3.95) Tues. 7:05 pm RHP Justin Haley (4-6, 3.06) vs. RHP Sean Reid-Foley (2-2, 5.46) Wed. 7:05 pm RHP William Cuevas (5-4, 3.71) vs. RHP Chris Rowley (4-4, 3.36) Thur. 1:05 pm RHP Chandler Shepherd (4-5, 3.61) vs. TBA Series Business – Pawtucket – even at 1-1 in this 3-game set vs. Syracuse – is 8-11-4 in their first 26 series of the season (8 wins, 10 losses, and 4 splits). They have posted three 3-game sweeps this season along with a 2-game sweep. Giddy Up – For what it’s worth…Syracuse has grounded into the most double plays in the league with 67 GIDP while Pawtucket is next with 64 GIDP. Getting to Know You – Pawtucket is 5-4 this season vs. Syracuse after going 15-5 vs. the Chiefs last year. These clubs will have met a total of 10 times over a one month span since June 11 through July 15…including this weekend set in Pawtucket (the first time the Chiefs have come to McCoy Stadium this season). The teams will be back in Pawtucket for a 4-game series just after the All-Star break from July 12-15. Overall these two teams will face each other 18 times this season…11 in Syracuse and 7 in Pawtucket. 2018 Season-Series vs. Syracuse – Prior to this weekend (Friday night’s 5-4 Sox triumph and last night’s 5-3 Chiefs win), Pawtucket most recently had swept a 3-game series in Syracuse last week from June 11-13. The PawSox won by scores of 3-1, 5-3 (rallying for 3 runs in the top of the 9th to win that game) and then completed the sweep with a 5-1 victory on June 13. Syracuse took 3 of 4 from the PawSox one month prior to that at NBT Bank Stadium in their first series against each other. The Chiefs won the opener on May 10, 6-4; the Sox notched their only victory of the series the next night, 12-2; but Syracuse won both games over the weekend by 6-5 and 9-1 scores on May 12 & 13. Stats vs. the ‘Cuse - The Sox are hitting .275 in the 9 games vs. the Chiefs (83-for-302) with 4 HR (Lind, Ohlman, Olt, and De Jesus) and 43 runs scored. Sox pitchers vs. the Chiefs are 5-4 with a 3.91 ERA (34 ER in 78.1 IP) allowing 37 runs (with 4 homers for Syracuse). 2017 Season-Series vs. Syracuse – Pawtucket will have to go a ways to have similar success against Syracuse this season as they did last year when they went 15-5 vs. the Chiefs including a 9-1 record at NBT Bank Stadium in Syracuse. The PawSox were actually 15- 2 at one point vs. Syracuse last season before getting swept in a 3-game set last August 1-3 vs. the Chiefs at McCoy. The 15 wins in 2017 against one opponent in a season tied a PawSox franchise-record…the Sox have won 15 games against an International League club on a couple of occasions – most recently prior to last year when they went 15-1 vs. Lehigh Valley in 2008 – but they have never won 16 games vs. another IL team in a single season. Stats vs. the Chiefs in 2017 - The PawSox out-scored the Chiefs, 107-61 in the season-series in 2017. The Sox hit .293 in the 20 games vs. Syracuse (easily their best against any other club) with 25 HR including 7 HR by Rusney Castillo (Rusney hit .368 in 18 games vs. the Chiefs with 9 2B, 7 HR and 16 RBI last year). PawSox pitchers went 15-5 with a 3.05 ERA vs. Syracuse last year. A Hectic May - The PawSox finished an extremely busy May with a 13-17 record for the month. The topsy-turvy travel month included four different homestands and four different roadtrips. Pitchers posted a 3.60 ERA in May while batters hit .227 with 22 HR and 97 runs in 30 May games (for an average of 3.2 runs per game). The Sox played 30 games in 31 days in May with just one scheduled off-day (May 17) during the entire month. April Comes up a Winner – The PawSox posted a winning April for the 6th time in the last 8 years as they finished the month with an 11-10 record and in 2nd-place in the IL North (-2 GB of front-running Syracuse at the time). Pawtucket has had just one losing month of April since 2010 and that came last year (10-12). The Sox hit .233 in April with 16 HR in 21 games while pitchers were 11-10 with a 3.51 ERA along with a league-leading 230 strikeouts in 190 innings.