Rodriguez Shines, PawSox Rally, Ramos Wins It in 16th
Published on July 3, 2016 under International League (IL1)
Pawtucket Red Sox News Release
Pawtucket, RI - Starter Eduardo Rodriguez pitched seven shutout innings and the Pawtucket Red Sox rallied from a deficit twice, including Henry Ramos' walk-off home run in the 16th inning that put away the Columbus Clippers by a score of 5-4 on Sunday night in front of 10,980 fans at McCoy Stadium.
The sell-out crowd nearly had to wait until the calendar turned to July 4th for its post-game fireworks as the PawSox (43-41) played their longest game by innings since another 16-inning affair on April 12, 2015. It was the longest game at McCoy in over a decade (16 innings on April 12, 2006).
Leading 3-1 going to the bottom of the ninth, Clippers reliever Austin Adams attempted to close out the game, but the Sox had other ideas.
Pawtucket used three straight singles to open the frame: an infield hit for Vinicio, a line drive into center field for Mike Miller and a hard groundball down the right field line for Ryan Hanigan. The trio of knocks cut the lead to 3-2 and put runners on the corners with no outs.
Brennan Boesch then grounded into a double play that tied the game 3-3 and sent it to extras.
The PawSox had numerous chanced to win the game, stranding seven runners on base in innings 10-13. Unbelievably, they only stranded one baserunner over the course of the game's other 12 frames.
Fortunately for Pawtucket, Justin Haley (2-2) put forth a heroic effort, tossing six innings in his first Triple-A relief appearance.
"He did a terrific job for us," said manager Kevin Boles. "Thank goodness he was in our bullpen tonight and the rest was right and he performed."
He allowed four hits, struck out five and held Columbus (45-39) off the board until the 16th inning.
Giovanny Urshela led off the 16th with a double and scored on Guillermo Quiroz's single into center field for a 4-3 advantage.
Meanwhile, the Clippers ran out of pitchers and were forced to hand the ball to Yhoxian Medina (0-1), who started the game at shortstop.
Medina induced four groundouts from the first four hitters he faced, but he walked the tying run, Chris Marrero, with one out in the 16th.
The next batter, Ramos, lined a pitch over the right field fence for the first PawSox walk-off homer of the season.
"Before I stepped to the plate, [Rusney] Castillo told me, 'this is like BP so go and hit it far' and that is what I did," said Ramos.
A few hours prior to Ramos' heroics, Rodriguez allowed only two hits, both Yandy Diaz singles, in his first start for the PawSox since May 24. The lefthander struck out four and walked two.
"I was working my pitches on both sides of the plate and didn't throw it right down the middle like when I was in the big leagues," said Rodriguez. "I just used my slider, my changeup and used them on different counts."
Beginning with the final out of the first inning, Rodriguez retired 11 Charlotte batters in a row.
"He had a real good pace and tempo to his delivery and overall I thought he was terrific," said Boles. "I thought he had more use of that slider tonight, this was definitely a good first step for him."
Rodriguez also added that he worked on keeping his hand in one spot to avoid tipping pitches and that it helped him in his outing.
He worked with a 1-0 lead for most of his start thanks to a big blow in the second inning.
On the day after his 28th birthday, Chris Marrero led off the frame by launching his team-leading 13th home run of the season over the right center field fence.
The Clippers gained the lead with two outs in the eighth inning when Jesus Aguilar smashed his league-leading 17th home run over the right center field wall, a three-run shot.
Chandler Shepherd allowed the blast, his first runs surrendered at Triple-A. He snapped his streak of 19 straight batters retired in the inning.
Ryan Hanigan, making the eighth start on his rehabilitation assisgnment, played nine innings at catcher and went 1-for-4 with the ninth-inning RBI single.
Jose Vinicio tallied a season high-tying three hits in the victory.
The win allowed Pawtucket to gain a split of the four-game series with Columbus.
The PawSox begin an eight-game road trip that leads into the All-Star Break tomorrow against the Charlotte Knights at 6:05 p.m. Pawtucket lefthander Roenis Elias (5-3, 3.73) is scheduled make the start against Charlotte righty Jacob Turner (4-6, 4.58). Radio coverage on WHJJ (920 AM) and throughout the PawSox radio network begins at 5:35 p.m.
The PawSox return home on Thursday, July 14 to open the second half of the season with a four-game series against the Knights. Good seats for each game are still available at the McCoy Stadium box office; call (401) 724-7300 or visit pawsox.com to get your tickets today.
International League Stories from July 3, 2016
- Rodriguez Shines, PawSox Rally, Ramos Wins It in 16th - Pawtucket Red Sox
- Williams' Walk-Off Single Lifts Pigs in 13th - Lehigh Valley IronPigs
- Bisons Battle But Fall to RailRiders Again - Buffalo Bisons
- Chiefs Drop Weekend Finale to Red Wings, 5-2 - Syracuse Mets
- Berrios Needs Just 87 Pitches to Top Chiefs - Rochester Red Wings
- Durham Defeats Norfolk, 4-1 - Norfolk Tides
- Gwinnett Falls Short 2-1 - Gwinnett Stripers
- Bats Win Rain-Shortened Game, 2-1 - Louisville Bats
- Indians' Williams Outduels Mud Hens' Boyd - Toledo Mud Hens
- Red-Hot RailRiders Win MiLB-Best Eighth Straight - Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders
- Williams Dominates to Lead Tribe to Finale Win - Indianapolis Indians
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