MAY 6th SCRANTON/WB (13-15) at PAWTUCKET (14-12) 1:35 pm Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders LHP Justus Sheffield (NR) vs. Pawtucket Red Sox RHP Justin Haley (0-4, 4.32) So Long for Now – The (tied for) 1st-place Pawtucket Red Sox and the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (AAA-Yankees) close out their 4-game home and home series (and this briefest of PawSox homestands) today with the finale of a 2-game set this afternoon at 1:35 pm at McCoy Stadium. Last night the PawSox took a 2 games to 1 lead in the overall series with a 2-0 victory at McCoy in the first of two here in Pawtucket behind winner Chandler Shepherd (7 IP), Tyler Thornburg (1 IP) and save to Robby Scott (1 IP). The previous two nights in Moosic, PA, the teams had traded 1-run victories. On Thursday, in the first meeting between these two long time rivals, the RailRiders earned a walk-off, 4-3 victory with a run in the bottom of the 9th after the Sox had rallied to tie the game with a run in the top half of the inning. Friday night the Sox gained the split in Moosic by scoring twice in the 8th to snap a 3-3 tie and then holding Scranton/WB to only one run in the bottom of the 9th for a 5-4 win. Immediately after today’s game, the PawSox will head back to Pennsylvania where they will open a 3-game series in Allentown, PA against the Lehigh Valley IronPigsd tomorrow night to start a 7-game roadtrip. Pawtucket will be back home on May 14 for a 3-game series vs. Buffalo. The PawSox will host Scranton/Wilkes-Barre again in two weeks when the RailRiders visit for a 4-game series from May 21-24. First Time in a While – By virtue of their own 2-game winning streak coupled with a 4-game losing streak by Syracuse, the PawSox have moved into a tie for 1st-place with the Chiefs atop the IL North (both at 14-12). It marks the first time the PawSox have been in 1st-place in the division since they started last year with a 2-0 record and were alone in 1st on April 8, 2017. A Quick Weekend at Home – This weekend’s games vs. Scranton/WB will be the extent of what will go in the books as a 2-game PawSox homestand (1-0 thus far) following their 3-game homestand earlier last week when they lost 2 of 3 to Rochester this past Monday – Wednesday. This coming week, however, from Monday – Sunday will be in the more traditional realm with a 7-game roadtrip for the PawSox featuring 3-games at Lehigh Valley (Mon. – Wed.) and 4-games at Syracuse (May 10-13). But don’t get too comfortable…the following week the PawSox will be home for just 3-games (May 14-16 vs. Buffalo) and then on the road for only 3- games (May 18-20 in Rochester) before finally having a significant homestand of 9-games in 8-days from May 21-28. Climbing the Ladder – With a victory today the PawSox (now at 14-12) would match their season-high of 3-games over the .500 mark from April 28 (11-8). They went over .500 on April 21 for the first time since last July 30 when they were 54-53. The PawSox have not been below .500 since April 18 at 5-6. What Have You Done For Me Lately – Pawtucket has won 2 in a row and can match their longest winning streak of the season with a victory today (3 straight from April 20-22). The PawSox have also won 3 of their last 4 following their season-high 3-game losing streak from April 29 – May 1. They had won 6 of their previous 8 games from April 20-28. First Come First Served – Some positive early trends for the PawSox thus far…they are 10-0 when they score first in a game, 11-0 when they lead after 6-innings, and 12-1 when they score more than 3 runs in a game. Conversely, the Sox are 4-12 when the opponent scores first, 2-11 when trailing after 6-innings, and 2-11 when they score 3 runs or less in a game (although one of those wins came last night, 2-0). NEXT ON TAP -The probable pitching match-ups for the upcoming series at Lehigh Valley: Mon. 7:05 pm LHP Josh Smith (0-0, 0.59) vs. LHP Cole Irvin (1-1, 4.50) Tues. 7:05 pm RHP Marcus Walden (0-0, 9.00) vs. LHP Brandon Leibrandt (1-0, 0.00) Wed. 10:35 am LHP Jalen Beeks (2-1, 1.71) vs. RHP Enyel De Los Santos (3-0, 1.07) Busy May - The PawSox have begun a busy May at 3-2. They are slated to play 31 games in 31 days in May (including a make-up doubleheader on May 26 at 4:05 pm at McCoy) with just one scheduled off-day (May 17) during the entire month. 16 games this month will be at McCoy and 15 on the road with all but the final three coming against IL North division clubs. Pawtucket plays Rochester 5 times (1-1 thus far), Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 8 times (2-1), Lehigh Valley 8 times, Syracuse 4 times, and Buffalo 3 times to cover most of May. After facing each of their IL North rivals from now through Memorial Day, the final three games of the month will be at IL South foe Norfolk from May 29-31. 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). Pawtucket has had just one losing month of April since 2010 and that came last year (10-12). Since 2011 the Sox have gone 13-10, 16-9, 15-12, 16-11, 14-8, 11-11, 10-12, and 11-10 in April. 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. Series Business – The PawSox – up 1-0 in this 2-game set - are 3-4-2 in their first 9 series of the season (3 series wins, 4 lossses, and 2 series split). They have won only one of the first five home series…sweeping Gwinnett in a 3-game set from April 20-22. They split an abbreviated 2-gamer with Lehigh Valley to begin the season, lost 2 of 3 to Buffalo from April 9-11, dropped 2 of 3 during an abbreviated series vs. Toledo from April 23-24, and went 1-2 in their most recent 3-gamer vs. Rochester. Pawtucket finished 13-17- 12 in their 42 series last season. Throwing Strikes – Pawtucket pitchers are 2nd in the International League with 272 strikeouts (two behind Durham). Sox hurlers have posted strikeout games of 20 (April 9), 18 (April 20), 15 (twice), 14 (twice), 13, 12, 11 (twice), and 10 (six times) this season. Close Encounters – The Sox are 7-3 in 1-run games this season…tied with Syracuse (7-4) for the most 1-run victories in the league thus far. Pawtucket’s .700 winning pct. in 1-run games is 2nd best in the IL behind only Columbus who is 3-1 (.750). Working Overtime – The PawSox and Syracuse have both played an IL-high five extra inning games already this season and both are 4-1. Pawtucket has played four overtime games at home (winning 3 of those 4 extra inning games at McCoy). Blanketed – The PawSox were shutout on May 1 for the 5th time already this season – most in the league. Last year it took until Game #86 on July 7 before the Sox were shutout for the 5th time (5-0 vs. Buffalo). Pawtucket was blanked 9 times total in 2017. They went 18-9 in shuout games last year. They are 2-5 in shutout games thus far in 2018. House of Horrors - PNC Field has been more like PAIN Field for the PawSox in recent times as the Sox have lost 13 of their last 15 games in Moosic. The Sox are 1-1 this year at PNC (splitting a 2-game set last week). Pawtucket went 1-10 last year at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre – their only win coming last June 24 (8-0) – and dropped their final two games at PNC in August of 2016 so it adds up to 2-13 in their last 15 in Moosic. Overall last season the Sox went 5-13 vs. the RailRiders (1-10 in Pennsylvania but 4-3 in Pawtucket). The 2017 Season-Series vs. Scranton/WB – As mentioned, Pawtucket was 5-13 vs. the RailRiders last season (going 4-3 at McCoy Stadium but 1-10 at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre). The teams will meet 18 times this season with 11 in Pawtucket and 7 in Moosic. Stats vs. Scranton/WB Last Season – Pawtucket pitchers struggled vs. the RailRiders last season posting a 6.24 ERA allowing 108 ER in 155.2 IP. Scrnaton/WB scored 110 runs (6.1 runs per game) and belted 31 HR in the 18 game season-series.