JUNE 22nd SYRACUSE (29-41) at PAWTUCKET (35-36) 7:05 pm Syracuse Chiefs RHP Brady Dragmire (0-1, 14.40) vs. Pawtucket Red Sox RHP William Cuevas (4-4, 3.70) We Finally Welcome the ‘Cuse to McCoy - The Pawtucket Red Sox host the Syracuse Chiefs (AAA-Washington) - as Syracuse finally makes their first appearance at McCoy Stadium this season (the Chiefs the last team from the IL North to visit) – when the two long-time rivals open a 3-game weekend series this evening at 7:05 pm. Just over a week ago the PawSox swept a 3-game series in Syracuse from June 11-13 by scores of 3-1, 5-3, and 5-1. The teams also met in Syracuse from May 10-13 with the Chiefs winning 3 of 4 during that series. Their next two series against each other will both come here at McCoy – this weekend and then for a 4-game set just after the All-Star break from July 12-15. This Homestand - This 7-game homestand (3-1 thus far after the Sox took 3 of 4 from Buffalo this week) will continue with another exciting weekend on tap at McCoy to conclude Pawtucket’s second of two homestands here in June. Tonight at 7:05 pm (live on YurView on COX throughout Rhode Island and Spectrum 3 in Worcester) will be Pedro Martinez replica jersey night, tomorrow (Saturday) at 6:15 pm will feature Beatles post-game fireworks (and a pre-game free youth clinic from 2:00 – 3:15 pm), and then Sunday at 1:35 pm will be highlighted by a tribute to the Armed Services before the game and Run the Bases after. Pawtucket is 20- 17 at home this season compared to 15-19 on the road. Chance to Get Even – Winners of three in a row, the PawSox will try to return to the .500 mark tonight for the first time since they were 16-16 on May 11. The Sox (now at 35-36), came up short in their last two recent attempts to reach the .500 level on both June 14 and June 16 when they suffered defeats at Lehigh Valley. Friday Night Lights – The PawSox are looking to recapture some of their early-season success on Friday nights this evening. They did win at Lehigh Valley one week ago tonight, 2-1 to snap a 4-game Friday losing streak. After an Opening Night snow-out at McCoy Stadium vs. the IronPigs back on Friday, April 6, the PawSox proceeded to win each of their first 5 Friday night games to start the season (April 13 – May 11). However, after that they lost their next 4 Friday night contests (May 18 – June 8) before the victory at Lehigh Valley last Friday. The Chase Is On - The (tied for) 3rd-place Pawtucket Red Sox (with Scranton/WB and Rochester) are now just -1½ GB of 2nd-place Buffalo. The PawSox have also pulled to within -5½ GB of front-running Lehigh Valley in the IL North. The last time they were closer than 5-games out was June 3 (-4½ GB). What Have You Done for Me Lately – Pawtucket has presently won 3 games in a row (Game 2 Tuesday and Wednesday & Thursday nights all vs. Buffalo) following their 3-game losing streak (last Saturday & Sunday at Lehigh Valley and then Game 1 Tuesday vs. Buffalo). The Sox are 4-4 following their 4-game winning streak from June 10-13 (that fell one shy of equaling their longest of the season when the Sox won 5 straight from May 27-31). Pawtucket has won 8 of 12 and 16 of their last 25 games since May 27. Before that, the Sox had lost 15 of their previous 19 games from May 7-26. Homer Heaven – The last 9 games the PawSox have homered in – they have won dating back to June 6 at home vs. Louisville. Pawtuket is now 5th in the league with 55 HR on the season. NEXT ON TAP - The probable pitching match-ups for the remainder of the series vs. Syracuse at McCoy Stadium: Sat. 6:15 pm (myRITV) LHP Tommy Milone (3-4, 4.99) vs. RHP Chandler Shepherd (4-4, 3.36) Sun. 1:35 pm (myRIRV) RHP John Simms (2-3, 3.48) vs. LHP Jalen Beeks (4-4, 2.65) 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 21-26 vs. their IL North foes thus far. They are 7-8 vs. the IL West and 7-2 vs. the IL South. Getting in Tune in June – The PawSox are heading into the final stages of June with an 11-9 mark. They are hitting .270 (181-for- 671) with 17 HR this month along with a 3.16 ERA (60 ER in 171 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. Series Business – Pawtucket has posted three 3-game sweeps this season along with a 2-game sweep. They are 8-11-4 in their first 26 series of the season (8 wins, 10 losses, and 4 splits). Getting to Know You – Pawtucket is 4-3 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 current 3-game 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 – Pawtucket most recently 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 .285 in the 7 games vs. the Chiefs (69-for-242) with 2 HR (Adam Lind & Mike Ohlman) and 35 runs scored. Sox pitchers vs. the Chiefs are 4-3 with a 3.88 ERA (26 ER in 60.1 IP) allowing 28 runs (with only one homer 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. Trending Positive – The PawSox (now at 35-36) were a season-low 8-games below .500 on May 26 at 19-27.