PawSox Induct Hall of Famers, Drop Doubleheader

PAWTUCKET, R.I. - The Pawtucket Red Sox threatened late but dropped a pair of games to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs in Saturday's doubleheader at McCoy Stadium, which was played in front of a crowd of more than 7,000.
In the first of the two seven-inning games, Lehigh Valley drilled four home runs - going back to back on two separate occasions - and fended off a rally from the PawSox in a 6-3 IronPigs victory.
Lehigh Valley again scratched out six runs in the nightcap, toppling Pawtucket, 6-2, thanks to another pair of long balls.
In between games, the PawSox inducted former American League MVP and nine-time MLB All-Star Fred Lynn and longtime and legendary team executive Mike Tamburro into the PawSox Hall of Fame. Coincidentally, Lynn and Tamburro both spent the 1974 season at McCoy Stadium as 22-year-old standouts, as Lynn starred in his climb up the minor-league ladder before taking the baseball world by storm in 1975. Tamburro, meanwhile, interned with the PawSox in 1974 before eventually returning to Pawtucket a few years later to lead the organization with the late Ben Mondor.
Game One
Pawtucket left-handed reliever Williams Jerez dazzled in the first game of the doubleheader, striking out five in 2.1 perfect innings. The 26-year old threw 21 of his 28 pitches for strikes and consistently worked at 96-98 MPH with his fastball.
Jerez preceded Red Sox rehabbing right-hander Austin Maddox (shoulder), who made his third appearance and allowed two runs on three hits and a walk in 1.2 innings with a pair of strikeouts.
Pawtucket righty Fernando Rodriguez Jr. made a spot start and ceded four runs on six hits in 2.2 innings.
PawSox right fielder Cole Sturgeon began his doubleheader with a 2-for-3 showing with two RBIs (including one on a run-scoring triple) and a stolen base.
Lehigh Valley starter Drew Anderson gave up two runs in four innings. Southpaw Tom Windle (W, 4-2) followed, and veteran righty Pedro Beato (S, 15) nailed down another save by recording the final four outs.
The IronPigs struck for four runs in the top of the first inning. After three straight singles to begin the ballgame, Lehigh Valley went ahead 1-0 when cleanup man Joey Meneses bounced into a double play that scored a man from third. Right fielder Dylan Cozens mashed a 426-foot homer to the right-center bleachers to make it 3-0. Designated hitter Danny Ortiz then swatted the very next pitch to right to widen the gap to 4-0.
Pawtucket inched onto the scoreboard in the home half of the third inning when second baseman Tzu-Wei Lin stroked an RBI single up the middle to plate Sturgeon.
The PawSox got within two, 4-2, in the fifth when Sturgeon bounced an RBI single into right field. Pawtucket then loaded the bases against Windle and fellow Lehigh Valley reliever Yacksel Ríos. That's when first baseman Mike Olt ripped a hard grounder down the third-base line, but Lehigh Valley's Mitch Walding made an outstanding diving stop to prevent a potential bases-clearing, go-ahead knock and end the inning.
The IronPigs promptly added two more runs in the top of the sixth on back-to-back jacks from Meneses and Cozens, jumping ahead 6-2.
Sturgeon's RBI triple in the home half of the sixth made it 6-3, but Beato then entered and slammed the door shut over the next inning-plus.
Game Two
PawSox starter Jalen Beeks (L, 2-3) allowed four runs - all in the second and third innings - over six innings in which he did strike out eight around four walks. Fellow southpaw Bobby Poyner made his first appearance since being optioned from Boston on Thursday and yielded two runs in the seventh.
For the first time since September 2017, Lehigh Valley starter Brandon Leibrandt allowed runs - two, in fact, over his three innings of six-hit work. Zac Curtis (W, 1-1) chipped in two hitless innings out of the bullpen.
In the top of the second inning, Lehigh Valley catcher Nick Rickles clubbed a three-run homer just over the wall in left to stake the IronPigs to a 3-0 advantage.
IronPigs center fielder Collin Cowgill led off the top of the third by lifting an opposite-field homer to right to make it 4-0.
In the fourth, Pawtucket third baseman Iván De Jesús Jr. yanked a two-run blast through the wind to left - his first big fly of the season - to halve the deficit, 4-2.
Walding, though, added a two-run double off Poyner in the seventh.
The five-game series with the IronPigs continues Sunday at 1:35 p.m. Pawtucket right-hander William Cuevas (1-2, 4.75) is scheduled to oppose stud IronPigs righty Enyel De Los Santos (5-1, 1.39). The game will be televised live on myRITV. Radio coverage on WHJJ (920 AM and 104.7 FM) and throughout the PawSox Radio Network begins with the pre-game show at 1:05 p.m.
The nine-game, eight-day homestand runs through Monday (May 28). Good seats are available, and fans can visit the McCoy Stadium box office, which is open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. through 5 p.m., and during all home games. Fans can also call (401) 724-7300 or log on to PawSox.com for tickets.