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| PAW SOX KNOCK OUT PIGS WITH SIX-RUN 9TH |
| IronPigs Lose Fifth Straight in Happ's Shortest Outing of Season |
| The heavyweight bout between Bartolo Colon and J.A. Happ didn’t live up to it’s billing but Pawtucket landed its fair share of punches in an 11-4 thumping of the IronPigs on Tuesday night. The Paw Sox Chris Carter and Jeff Natale each collected four hits and drove in two runs apiece while shortstop Gil Velazquez added a three-run 9th inning homer to give the visitors their 12th win of the season against Lehigh Valley. Pawtucket scored six times in that 9th inning to hand Dave Huppert’s ballclub their fifth consecutive defeat. |
| Happ had his shortest outing of the season lasting just an inning and two-thirds allowing five earned runs on eight hits. Five of those base hits came in a lengthy 1st inning that saw Carter, Keith Ginter and Natale all producing RBI singles off Happ to give the Paw Sox a 3-0 lead. The left-hander continued to battle in the 2nd Pawtucket put two more on the board on run-scoring singles Carter again and Red Sox catcher David Ross. Happ threw 71 pitches in less than two innings and left the game down 5-0. |
| Colon, the 2005 AL Cy Young winner meanwhile, had some problems of his own in the 2nd starting with his fielding error while trying to cover first base on a ball hit by Chris Snelling. After allowing T.J. Bohn to reach on a single, Casey Smith drove in the Pigs’ first run on a solid hit to left. |
| Then Brandon Watson stepped to the dish and crushed a Colon offering over the right-field fence with two on to make it just a one-run game at 5-4. Not known for his power, Watson now has five homers in his last 97 at-bats after hitting just one in his first 391 AB’s this season. |
| Colon finished recovered from his four-run 2nd by striking out the side his third and final inning of the game. Three of his four runs allowed were earned and he yielded four hits while striking out three in his eighth appearance with Pawtucket. |
| The night turned into a battle of the bullpens with each staff tossing scoreless innings until the top of the 9th. Matt Childers entered the contest and six straight Paw Sox would reach against the IronPigs closer. Ginter and Natale drove in their second runs of the game on singles and then the big blow was Velazquez’s three-run bomb that landed beyond the bullpens in leftfield. All-Star centerfielder Jonathan Van Every put a cap on the six-run frame with his 25th home run of the season. |
| The win went to Paw Sox reliever Marcus MacBeth (2-1) who struck out four and allowed just one hit in two scoreless innings. |
| The final homestand reaches its halfway point on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. and the first 2,500 fans of all ages will receive a Magnet Schedule for the IronPigs 2009 season compliments of AIG. It will also be Celtic Night at the ballpark featuring an on-field bag pipe performance, Irish step dancers, and a hurling demonstration by the Philadelphia Gaelic Althletic Association. Hurling is a Gaelic pastime that combines the skills of lacrosse with various elements of field hockey, soccer and baseball. |
| As with every Wednesday home game, the IronPigs radio broadcast team will continue their Broadcast from the Stands promotion. Make sure to sign-up at Fan Services for your opportunity to provide a half-inning of color commentary on the IronPigs Radio Network. It's also the final Wawa Wednesday of the 2008 season as all fans will receive a Wawa coupon upon exiting the ballpark. |
| Matt Provence and Jon Schaeffer will have the call beginning at 6:35 p.m. with AT&T pre-game show on flagship station 90.3 FM WXLV and 95.1 HD-2 WZZO, “The Digital Home of the IronPigs.” The game will also be televised live along the IronPigs Television Network powered by Service Electric Cable TV & Communications featuring Mike Zambelli and Ricky Bottalico. |
| Single-game and group tickets for the final games of the IronPigs inaugural season, presented by Capital BlueCross, are on sale now and can be purchased at the Coca-Cola Park Ticket Office, online at www.ironpigsbaseball.com or by calling (610) 841-PIGS. |
