PawSox Outlast 'Pigs in 11, 4-2
Allentown, PA - Brandon Snyder's two-out, two-run single in the top of the 11th caromed off the head of Lehigh Valley pitcher B.J. Rosenberg and into shallow right field to give the Pawtucket Sox a 4-2 extra-inning victory over the Iron Pigs Monday night at Coca-Cola Park.
Rosenberg made his way off the field on his own power following the scary incident. The severity of his injury was not immediately known. Pawtucket (15-11) has taken two of the first three in the four-game series after outlasting Lehigh Valley (11-13) in a 3 hour, 41 minute marathon.
Tommy Layne (4-1) pitched the final 2.1 innings for the PawSox to earn a victory for the fourth time in his last five appearances. He sent the game to extras by striking out Koyie Hill with the bases loaded and two out in the ninth, then pitched scoreless baseball in the tenth and eleventh frames.
Rosenberg (0-1) gave up a leadoff single to Brock Holt to start the eleventh, then one out later Daniel Nava was intentionally walked to put runners on first and second. After Ryan Lavarnway struck out Bryce Brentz drew a walk from Rosenberg to load the bases for Snyder.
Snyder's line drive struck Rosenberg and deflected all the way into shallow right, with the second baseman Matt Tolbert nearly making a diving catch before it landed. Holt and Nava scored on the play to give Pawtucket the winning runs, while the Lehigh Valley training staff sprinted out of the dugout to tend to the injured pitcher.
Brentz homered against Iron Pigs starter Greg Smith in the second to start the scoring, but Lehigh Valley tied the game immediately in the bottom of the inning against Allen Webster on Leandro Castro's RBI double.
After each team remained scoreless until the ninth, when Nava scored a go-ahead run from third on a wild pitch with one out against reliever Seth Rosin. PawSox reliever Drake Britton recorded the first two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but allowed four straight to reach then including Tyler Henson's pinch-hit game-tying single.
The final game of the series is slated for a 10:35 am first pitch on Tuesday morning. Right-hander Anthony Ranaudo (1-2, 4.56) will get the ball for manager Kevin Boles, while righty Barry Enright (0-1, 4.79) is expected to start for the Iron Pigs. Radio coverage on 920 AM (WHJJ) and also streaming online begins at 10:20 am.
Following the quick trip to Lehigh Valley, the PawSox return to McCoy Stadium for eight straight beginning Thursday, May 1 against Indianapolis at 7:05 pm. Limited tickets are available for all upcoming games at the McCoy Stadium box office, by calling (401) 724-7300 or by visiting pawsox.com.