Pawtucket Red Sox Close Out At Home And Thank Fans

The Pawtucket Red Sox closed out their home schedule at McCoy Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The Paw Sox went on to win the game 3-0 over the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs. The only runs scored on the afternoon came from a 3 run blast off the bat of Tzu-Wei Lin. Hector Velazquez also had a great game for the Paw Sox. In 7 innings, he only gave up 1 hit as he earned the win.

After the game, the Paw Sox had several promotions going on around the ballpark as they thanked their fans for a great season. The Paw Sox had pony rides on the football field next to the stadium. They let kids run the bases after game. They even had a helicopter drop tennis balls onto the field

The Paw Sox welcomed 409,960 fans into McCoy Stadium this season. That was up from the 2016 season. In the 2016 season, 407,097 fans went through the turnstiles at McCoy Stadium. There were also 11 sellouts at McCoy Stadium this season.

Helicopter Drop

During the helicopter drop, the Pawtucket Red Sox placed three hula hoops in center field. Each hula hoop represented a section of the ballpark. You can find the whole video on the Trifecta Face Book page or you can find a portion of it below.

The #PawSox had a helicopter drop tennis balls onto the field. It was a part of a last game celebration. pic.twitter.com/CsRInyP9eL

— Evan Cook (@evancook33) August 27, 2017

The prize that the team gave out to fans was free frostys from Wendys. That was on top of the free frostys that they were giving out to all the fans from the “Pop Flys For Frostys” promotion that the team has during the game.

Day As A Whole

Pawtucket Red Sox players thanked their fans after the game by throwing soft toss balls into the crowd. After that, the team had the helicopter come in to drop the tennis balls on to the field.

Once the helicopter left McCoy Stadium, the Paw Sox let kids run the bases. Then in the football field next to the stadium, the Paw Sox had horses for children to ride.

The next Pawtucket Red Sox game to be played at McCoy Stadium is on Friday April 6th, 2018 against the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs.

Carson Smith Dazzles In Rehab Appearance With The Pawtucket Red Sox

Boston Red Sox reliever Carson Smith made his 8th rehab appearance on Saturday night at McCoy Stadium. It was his seventh appearance for the Pawtucket Red Sox with the right hander continuing his journey back after undergoing Tommy John Surgery.

Smith was initially slated to pitch on Friday night with the goal getting him to an every-other-day schedule. But after a discussion on Friday, it was determined, pushing him back a day was the right move.

Smiths Rehab Appearances

1. August 5th for the Portland Sea Dogs: .1 IP, 0 H, 3 BB, 2 ER
2. August 8th for the Pawtucket Red Sox: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 1 SO
3. August 12th for the Pawtucket Red Sox: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 SO
4. August 15th for the Pawtucket Red Sox: .1 IP, 3 H, 2ER
5. August 18th for the Pawtucket Red Sox: 1.0 IP, 1 BB
6. August 21st for the Pawtucket Red Sox: 1.0 IP, 2 SO
7. August 23rd for the Pawtucket Red Sox: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 SO
8. August 26th for the Pawtucket Red Sox: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 SO

Saturday’s appearance for Smith was an effective one as he continues to take steps in the right direction.

Brian Johnson Pitched Well For Paw Sox Saturday Night

On July 29, the Red Sox placed Brian Johnson on the disabled list with left shoulder inflammation. Since Brian Johnson was activated from the disabled list on August 5th, the Pawtucket Red Sox haven’t overextended Johnson, especially on his pitch count. The highest pitch count he has had since then was 76 pitches in his start on August 10th against Columbus.

On Saturday night, it would be Brian Johnsons’ 5th start since he was activated off the disabled list.

Johnson pitched really well against the Iron Pigs, despite his troubles in the first few innings. He did give up a first inning home run, to Cameron Perkins, but that was all he would allow.

Brian Johnson Pitching line Since August 5th:

• August 5th at Scranton: 5 innings, giving up 4 hits, 1 run, 1 walks, and struck out 1 on 60 pitches (39 strikes).
• August 10th against Columbus: 4 innings, giving up 3 hits, 1 run, 4 walks, and struck out 6 on 76 pitches (41 strikes).
• August 16th at Louisville: 1 inning, giving up no runs, no hits, and no strikeouts on 12 pitches (8 strikes). He was taken out of the start early because he was hit with a come backer off his leg to end the 1st inning.
• August 21st against Buffalo: 4 innings, giving up 6 hits, 2 runs (both solo home runs) and struck out 5 on 71 pitches (50 strikes).

Brian Johnson Tonight:

Brian Johnson pitched really well tonight. In 7 innings of work, he gave up 2 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk and struck out 3 on 88 pitches (61 strikes). Those two runs came on a first inning home run to Cameron Perkins. It was on a pitch down the middle of the plate. That was the problem for Johnson in the first few inning. Johnson was leaving a few pitches in the middle of the plate which caused a lot of loud outs off Johnson in the first few innings.

However, there was only one base runner for the Iron Pigs past the 1st inning. That came in the 5th inning when Angelo Mora hit a comebacker to Johnson. Johnson was able to get a glove on it but it bounced away from him and when Johnson tried to get him out at 1st, he threw it away as he ended up at 2nd base.

Tonight showed us that they were trusting Johnson to do more. Brian Johnson is has the chance to be a spot starter for the Red Sox this September. If they want him to be stretched out enough so he can pitch effectively for the Red Sox, this was a step forward. Tonight allows him to be able to get stretched out a little longer so he is able to make starts for the Red Sox this September.