JULY 22nd PAWTUCKET (45-52) at GWINNETT (46-53) 1:05 pm Pawtucket Red Sox RHP Justin Haley (5-7, 3.50) vs. Gwinnett Stripers LHP Kolby Allard (6-4, 2.85) We Meet Again – For the final scheduled time in 2018, the Pawtucket Red Sox and Gwinnett Stripers (Atlanta Braves) square off again and wrap up their three-game weekend series today at 1:05 p.m. at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville, Georgia. In its road trip finale, Pawtucket will aim to avoid the sweep after Gwinnett scored six runs in the bottom of the eighth inning Friday to win 7-4 and walked off Saturday with a 5-4 win over the PawSox. Back in April when these teams met, Pawtucket swept that 3-game set at McCoy beginning with a 5-4, 11-inning victory in the series opener on April 20 on a Mike Olt game-winning single. The next night, the Sox got 6 shutout innings (with 10 strikeouts) from starter and winner Jalen Beeks in a 6-0 blanking of the Stripers. And then on the afternoon of April 22, the PawSox pulled out a dramatic 10-9 win in 11 innings as Gwinnett scored 3 runs in the top of the 11th only to see the Sox rally for 4 runs in the bottom of the 11 innings capped by a Mike Miller walk-off single. That game also featured a PawSox triple play as the Sox pulled off a rare 3-1-6-2 triple play to thwart a Gwinnett uprising in the 2nd inning. Tough Trip – The PawSox have dropped five games in a row after losing three of four to Charlotte earlier this week (with three of these five defeats suffered in walk-off fashion — 2 against Charlotte and last night against Gwinnett). The PawSox won the opener of the closely-played Charlotte series with an 8-6 come-from-behind victory on Monday (scoring 3 runs with two outs in the top of the 9th). However, the Knights won the next three games by scores of 6-5 in 11 innings on Tuesday, 3-0 Wednesday (despite being held to 1-hit – a solo homer - over 6-innings by rehabbing Red Sox starter Drew Pomeranz), and 4-3 on Thursday as the Knights used a bases-loaded walk to win in the bottom of the 9th. Gwinnett used 6 runs in the bottom of the 8th inning Friday night to win 7-4 and walked off in the bottom of the 9th Saturday. It marked the 9th time this season the PawSox have lost a game in their opponent’s final at-bat (compared to 11 victories in Pawtucket’s final AB of a game). Getting the Best of Gwinnett – Pawtucket has won 28 of their last 42 games vs. Gwinnett overall dating back to the 2012 season. The PawSox won the final five games vs. the Braves during the 2012 season (finishing 6-2) and the first five meetings of the 2013 season (also finishing 6-2) to compile a 10-game winning streak against Gwinnett. The Sox were 5-3 vs. the Braves in 2014, 4-2 vs. Gwinnett in 2015, 3-2 vs. the G-Braves in 2016, 2-4 in 2017, and 3-2 in 2018. Prior to 2017, Gwinnett had had just one winning season vs. the PawSox (6-2 in 2009) since moving from Richmond that year. The Road Home –Pawtucket will fly home Sunday night in advance of a scheduled off day Monday before beginning its next homestand at McCoy on Tuesday night against the Columbus Clippers at 7:05 p.m. The 6-game homestand will feature 3-game sets against both Columbus (Tuesday–Thursday including a “youth camp day” matinee 11:05 am game on Thursday that is nearly sold- out) and then a 3-game weekend series against the Charlotte Knights next Friday (7:05 pm), Saturday (6:15 pm), and Sunday (1:35 pm). The upcoming PawSox homestand is one of only two “long” homestands the Sox have left this season…the other a 7-game homestand from August 13-19. Pawtucket also has a pair of 3-game homestands (August 3-5 and August 28-30) as well as a brief 2- game homestand to end the regular-season on September 2 & 3. Series Business – Pawtucket just lost 3 of 4 at Charlotte this week after taking 3 of 4 at home over Syracuse last weekend to win a series (of multiple games) for the first time since taking 2 of 3 from the Chiefs at McCoy from June 22-24. Pawtucket is 11-16-4 in their first 31 series of the season (11 wins, 16 losses, and 4 splits). They have posted three 3-game sweeps this season along with a 2- game sweep and a 1-game sweep (in Rochester on July 4). NEXT ON TAP - The probable pitching matchups for the upcoming series vs. Columbus at McCoy Stadium: Tues. 7:05 pm TBA vs. TBA Wed. 7:05 pm TBA vs. TBA Thur. 11:05 am TBA vs. TBA Turning the Beat Around – Pawtucket is 6-8 since July 4 after they had dropped 7 of their previous 8 games from June 26 – July 3. Home Has Been Sweet, Road a Bit Bumpy – Pawtucket is 11-7 at home since June 19. The PawSox are 26-23 at home (they had equaled their season-high of 4-games over .500 at McCoy on June 24). The Sox are 19-29 on the road and have dropped 10 of their last 13 away games since June 26. Can’t Get Even - After winning on June 25, the PawSox went over the .500 mark at 38-37 for the first time since May 8. They also (for one night anyway) moved into sole possession of 2nd-place in the IL North for the first time since they were alone in 1st-place on May 11. Pawtucket is now 45-52 and in 4th place in the IL North as they trail front-running Lehigh Valley by 13½ games. What Have You Done for Me Lately – Pawtucket is 13-16 since June 19. After winning 6 of 7 games from June 19 (G2) to June 25, the PawSox suffered a 5-game losing streak from June 26-30 (which matched their season-high from May 23-26 and now currently as well) before snapping that skid with a 2-0 victory at Scranton/WB on June 30. The Sox had a pair of 4-game winning streaks last month 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 is 18-20 and they have won 26 of their last 51 games since May 27. Before that, the Sox had lost 15 of their previous 19 games from May 7-26. A Little Early for Scoreboard Watching, But – Pawtucket has lost 5 in a row following a 3-game winning streak. However, the Sox remain in the IL wild card hunt and are -7 GB in the wild card race (Scranton/WB leads). The PawSox have just 42 games remaining (21 on the road and 21 at home). North Face - From June 11-July 15 the PawSox played 31 straight games against IL North rivals. The Sox are now playing outside their division starting July 16 in Charlotte through July 29 (playing at Charlotte & Gwinnett from the IL South and then hosting Columbus of the IL West and Charlotte). The PawSox return to IL North foes when they head to Syracuse on July 30. Pawtucket is 30-37 vs. their IL North rivals. They are 7-8 vs. the IL West and 8-7 vs. the IL South. Southern Hospitality – The PawSox are 8-7 vs. the IL South this season…3-0 at home vs. one Southern foe thus far (Gwinnett) and 5-7 in Southern cities. Stats vs. the Stripers This Season – Pawtucket is hitting .278 in the 5 games vs. Gwinnett this year (49-for-176) with 2 HR (by Butler and Ohlman. PawSox pitchers are 3-2 with a 4.02 ERA vs. the Stripers (21 ER in 47 IP) with 2 HRA. The PawSox have out-scored Gwinnett by a 29-25 margin in the 2018 season series thus far. The 2017 Season-Series vs. Gwinnett – The PawSox finished 2-4 vs. Gwinnett last season (going 2-2 in Pawtucket but 0-2 here in Lawrenceville). From April 21-23, 2017 the clubs played an abbreviated series at Gwinnett with the then-Braves winning the first two games, 3-2 and 5-2. The finale on April 23 of last year in Georgia was rained out. Less than a week later the clubs met at McCoy. The PawSox rolled in the opener 10-1. Gwinnett swept the make-up doubleheader the next night (necessitated by the rainout in Georgia) by scores of 2-1 and 3-1 (in 9-innings). The Sox gained the split with a 2-0 victory in the series and 2017 season-finale on April 30, 2017 at McCoy. July Flies – The Sox are 7-10 thus far in July batting .241 (137-for-569) with 9 HR and posting a 3.43 ERA (58 ER in 152 IP). They are now scheduled to play 26 games in 31 days this July. Pawtucket went 15-14 last July. Last Tune in June – The PawSox – due to a 5-game losing skid to end the month of June – finished with a losing record in June at 14- 15.