Chris Marrero Keys Late Rally for Series Win at Lehigh Valley
May 4, 2016 - International League (IL1)
Pawtucket Red Sox News Release
Chris Marrero of the Pawtucket Red Sox
(Pawtucket Red Sox)
(Allentown, PA) - The Pawtucket Red Sox erupted for seven runs in the final two innings for a 7-2, come-from-behind victory, claiming a series win against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs on a misty Wednesday afternoon at Coca-Cola Field.
The PawSox (13-13) trailed 2-0 entering the eighth inning. With one out, Blake Swihart walked and Sam Travis singled. Chris Marrero followed with a line drive single that eluded Lehigh Valley centerfielder Cam Perkins, allowing both Swihart and Travis to score the tying runs.
Lehigh Valley reliever Bobby LaFromboise (1-2), who surrendered the trying runs in the eighth, remained on the hill in the ninth. Two walks and a Marco Hernandez single loaded the bases for Pawtucket with one out in the ninth. Swihart then supplied a sacrifice fly that gave the PawSox their first lead of the game.
After Travis walked to reload the bases and the IronPigs (13-12) brought in James Russell out of the bullpen, Chris Marrero hammered a grand slam (4) over the left field fence for a 7-2 lead. It was the first slam in by an International League North team this season and Pawtucket's first since Garin Cecchini delivered one in Syracuse on July 7, 2015.
Marrero, who hit a game-tying home run with Pawtucket down to its final strike the previous night, went 5-for-8 in the series. In four games at Coca-Cola Park this season, he has hit .688 (11-for-16) with four doubles, three home runs and eight RBI.
The game began with a sudden 1 hour and 21 minute rain delay, which forced the IronPigs to replace scheduled starter Zach Eflin with Reinier Roibal and the PawSox to limit start Brian Johnson to one inning.
Johnson walked the first three batters he faced, leading to a pair of first-inning sacrifice flies that granted Lehigh Valley its only runs of the game.
After Johnson was pulled with a 28-pitch outing, three Pawtucket relievers combined to toss eight scoreless, three-hit innings.
Jorge Marban collected four shutout frames, Roman Mendez (1-0) threw three hitless innings and Kyle Martin closed out the contest with a perfect ninth.
Meanwhile, Roibal and Severino Gonzalez held the PawSox off the board for the first seven innings. Gonzalez stranded six runners on base in his four innings of work.
In addition to Marrero's heroics, Dan Butler recorded his first two hits of the season and a sacrifice bunt in the ninth. Ryan LaMarre went 0-for-5 to snap his 12-game hitting streak that matched the longest such streak for the PawSox since 2014.
Pawtucket has won both its series at Coca-Cola Park this season, going 4-1 in Allentown.
The PawSox will return to McCoy Stadium tomorrow evening to open up a four-game homestand against the Rochester Red Wings at 7:05 pm. Lefthander Roenis Elias (0-1, 3.86) is scheduled to make the mount for Pawtucket against Rochester lefthander Andrew Albers (0-0, 8.44). Radio coverage begins on WHJJ 920 AM and throughout the PawSox radio network at 6:35 pm. Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE table.MsoNormalTable
Good seats are still available at the McCoy Stadium box office, by calling (401) 724-7300 or by visiting pawsox.com.
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 Chris Marrero of the Pawtucket Red Sox |
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