"Fireworks Every Saturday Night" and "Legendary Fridays" highlight 2019 PawSox Schedule

The Pawtucket Red Sox will open their 2019 home season McCoy Stadium on Thursday, April 11 against the Syracuse Mets at 6:05 pm. Current Mets' outfield prospect and former Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Tim Tebow is expected to be with Syracuse at the start of the 2019 season. The PawSox will again present signature fireworks set to music after each Saturday night home game, as well as the dates approaching Independence Day. The Pawtucket City Council this week approved 13 fireworks shows, tying the club record set last year.

In a new twist for 2019, the PawSox will introduce "Legendary Fridays," when the club will celebrate "50 Years Together" as a proud Boston Red Sox affiliate, with special promotional giveaways or visits from legendary figures from the past five decades. The club will also celebrate the Boston Red Sox' 2018 World Series Championship throughout the season. Furthermore, the PawSox will announce their continued Latino outreach program and their special Rhode Island theme night after the new year.
"We have had several sessions with PawSox fans this off-season, including two devoted to members of our PawSox Kids Club," said PawSox President Dr. Charles A. Steinberg. "The children were emphatic that they love fireworks nights and the themes associated with them, and we thank the Mayor of Pawtucket, the Honorable Donald R. Grebien, and the City Council for allowing us to provide these events for the families of our community. 
"Our fans of all ages also filled our notebooks with ideas to take a fun experience to even higher levels, and we have explored how to take our community commitment even higher as well. The people of this region have been wonderful partners for five decades, and we look to sustain and enhance those relationships in the decades to come."
PawSox season tickets, group tickets, flex tickets, and mini-plans are currently available in person at the box office at McCoy, at pawsox.com, or by calling (401) 724-7300. The on-sale date for single-game tickets, along with the fireworks themes and the initial PawSox Promotional Calendar, will be announced in January. 
The 2019 season will mark the 77^th Anniversary of McCoy Stadium, which opened in 1942, and is the oldest ballpark in the IL (by 46 years) and in all of Triple-A Baseball (by 17 years). This season will represent Pawtucket's 47^th consecutive year in the International League, with all 47 years as an affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. The PawSox and Red Sox have the second longest affiliate relationship in all of Triple-A Baseball (since 1973) behind only the Omaha Storm Chasers and the Kansas City Royals of the Pacific Coast League (since 1969). 
Furthermore, the 2019 season will actually mark "50 Years Together" for Pawtucket and Boston, as the Pawtucket Red Sox began their affiliation with the big club as a Double-A affiliate in 1970. After three seasons, they became the Triple-A affiliate in 1973.  
In addition to presenting fireworks after every Saturday night home game, the PawSox will also stage their popular post-game fireworks extravaganzas during the holiday week of July 1, 2, and 3 following their 6:05 pm games vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (during the first visit of the season from the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees).
Saturday Night Fireworks dates are:
Saturday, May 4   vs. Rochester at 6:15 pm                 Saturday, July 13     vs. Buffalo at 6:15 pm
Saturday, May 18 vs. Gwinnett at 6:15 pm                  Saturday, July 20     vs. Charlotte at 6:15 pm
Saturday, June 1   vs. Syracuse at 6:15 pm                  Saturday, August 3   vs. Rochester at 6:15 pm
Saturday, June 8   vs. Rochester at 6:15 pm                 Saturday, August 17 vs. Toledo at 6:15 pm
Saturday, June 22 vs. Indianapolis at 6:15 pm            Saturday, August 31 vs. Lehigh Valley at 6:15 pm
Independence Week Fireworks dates are:
Monday, July 1       vs. Scranton/WB at 6:05 pm
Tuesday, July 2       vs. Scranton/WB at 6:05 pm
Wednesday, July 3 vs. Scranton/WB at 6:05 pm 
The PawSox open 2019 with a 7-game roadtrip that includes a 4-game series in Syracuse, NY against the Mets from April 4-7 (as Syracuse becomes a New York Met affiliate for the first time in history) followed by a 3-game set in Buffalo from April 8-10.  
The club's home opener launches a 7-game homestand April 11-17. The PawSox host Syracuse for a 4-game series with evening games on April 11 & 12 at 6:05 pm and afternoon games the weekend of April 13 & 14 at 1:05 pm. The Buffalo Bisons will visit next for three night games (all at 6:05 pm) from April 15-17 during "School Vacation Week." In a scheduling oddity, the first 17 Pawtucket games next season are all against either Syracuse or Buffalo. After an offday on April 18, the Sox head right back to Syracuse for a 3-game weekend set from April 19-21 before returning to McCoy to host Lehigh Valley for 4 games from April 22-25.
The 2019 International League schedule will be unbalanced for the fifth straight season, with the PawSox again playing 140-games for the second year in a row (70 games at home and 70 on the road). Pawtucket's home schedule consists of 51 night games and 19 day games with the following breakdown by month: April (11), May (13), June (15), July (14), August (15), and September (2). The IL Playoffs will take place from September 4-14 with the Triple-A National Championship Game taking place on September 17 in Memphis, TN.  
PawSox home weeknight games will begin at 6:05 pm through June 3. Thereafter, they will begin at 7:05 p.m. Saturday night home games start at 6:15 pm. The lone Saturday afternoon game will be April 13 at 1:05 pm. All Sunday games (11 in total) will return to their traditional 1:05 pm starts after beginning 30 minutes later the past two seasons.
The majority of PawSox series will be 3-game sets (28 total including 14 at home and 14 on the road). Pawtucket will play just six 2-game series during the 2019 season (2 at home and 4 away) and 11 4-game series (6 home and 5 on the road). Pawtucket will play a season-long 11-game homestand immediately after the All-Star break (from July 11-21) that will feature 4 games vs. Buffalo, 4 games vs Louisville, and 3 games vs. Charlotte. After an off-day on July 22, Pawtucket will then embark on their longest roadtrip of the year…10-games from July 23 - August 1 with stops in Durham (3-games), Charlotte (3 games), Lehigh Valley (2 games), and Syracuse (2 games). The PawSox will conclude the regular-season at home on Labor Day (September 2) vs. Lehigh Valley at 1:05 pm. 
All 14 International League teams are back in the same divisional set-up as last year with all but one club keeping the same Major League affiliation. Syracuse is now owned by the New York Mets and will be a Mets affiliate after having been with the Washington Nationals for the past several years. The Nationals' Triple-A affiliate will now be the Fresno Grizzlies of the Pacific Coast League.