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PawSox Best RailRiders in Season Opener 8-4

April 4, 2013 - International League (IL1) - Pawtucket Red Sox News Release


MOOSIC, PA. -- A recent acquisition helped the Pawtucket Red Sox erase an early deficit and a late insertion lifted them to the lead in Thursday's season-opening, 8-4 victory in 10 innings over the Scranton-Wilkes Barre RailRiders before a crowd of 8,443 at brand new PNC Field.

As a late replacement in left field, Jeremy Hazelbaker launched a one-out home run off Jim Miller to ignite a five-run uprising in the top of the 10th. Spelling Alex Hassan, who was originally in the lineup, Hazelbaker entered the new campaign coming off 19 home runs in 114 games for Double-A Portland in 2012.

Following his tie-breaking blast, Pawtucket struck for four more runs against the right-handed Miller, who was Scranton-Wilkes Barre's sixth pitcher. Ryan Lavarnway and Bryce Brentz pieced together back-to-back RBI doubles and, one out later, Justin Henry delivered a two-run homer.

The PawSox then had to survive the last half of the inning to ensure their eighth straight victory in season openers. Anthony Carter, in relief of winning pitcher Alex Wilson (1-0), allowed the first four RailRiders to reach, uncorking a run-scoring wild pitch in the process. But Carter recovered to fan the side with the bases loaded, closing out a 3-hour, 33-minute affair that featured 28 strikeouts and 14 walks by 11 pitchers.

In fact, the final inning was a microcosm of the first nine overall, with Pawtucket seizing and Scranton-Wilkes Barre squandering opportunities for big innings. While the Sox went 5-for-10 with runners in scoring position, the RailRiders were a remarkable 3-for-18. As a result, they left a whopping 17 men on base.

Scranton-Wilkes Barre did jump to a 2-0, first-inning lead, but failed to fully capitalize on the early wildness of knuckleballer Steven Wright. Wright walked three of the first seven batters in a 31-pitch inning, yet induced a grounder from Thomas Neal to strand three runners. He recovered to complete the fourth, punching out four of his final nine batters faced.

Meanwhile, lefty Vidal Nuno, just two years removed from pitching for the independent Washington (Pa.) Wild Things, allowed only one baserunner and struck out five his first four innings. But Brentz led off the fifth with a double, setting up the second at-bat for newcomer Brandon Snyder.

Snyder was signed less than a week ago by the Red Sox after being released by the Texas Rangers. In essence, he was added to Pawtucket's roster to fill the void created when 2012 International League most valuable player Mauro Gomez was designated for assignment on Sunday. Gomez belted 24 home runs in exactly 100 games for Pawtucket in 2012. Snyder produced his first of 2013, off the sixth pitch he saw in his PawSox debut, to tie the game at 2-2.

After Nuno gave way with two out, reliever Sam Demel walked Jonathan Diaz and gave up a run-scoring single by Brock Holt for a 3-2 Pawtucket advantage. The RailRiders tied the game on a sacrifice fly by Neal in the seventh, but in keeping with the evening's theme, left runners on the corners.

Of course, Thursday's contest was played amidst plenty of pomp and circumstance. On top of the usual excitement that accompanies Opening Day, Scranton-Wilkes Barre took the field at home for the first time since 2011, bearing a brand new nickname. A year ago, as the "Empire State" Yankees, their home games were held at six different venues, including Pawtucket's McCoy Stadium, while PNC Field underwent a $43 million makeover. Various Yankees officials were on hand for the unveiling of the new ballpark, including Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson, who delivered a ceremonial first pitch.

At evening's end, though, it was the defending Governor's Cup champions from Pawtucket who were celebrating.

The PawSox and RailRiders are scheduled to play the second game of the series Friday at 7:05 p.m. Right-hander Allen Webster is slated to pitch for Pawtucket, opposite Dellin Betances.


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