Can The 2014 P-Bruins Channel Their Parents From 2011 In Round 2?

If this were not sport imitating art—no, outclassing art—a plagiarism suit would be in order.

The Bruins are raring to engage a rival from eastern Pennsylvania in the Eastern Conference semifinals, the same stage where they met the same adversary last season. There, they will vie to redeem an incomparable collapse that saw them spill a three-games-to-none lead en route to Game 7 defeat.

Just substitute “Providence” for “Boston,” “AHL” for “NHL” and “Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins” for “Philadelphia Flyers.” Apart from that, the pre-series parallels lend this 2013-14 saga a Xerox of 2010-11 for Bruins buffs.

For stretching addicts, one can add the fact that last year’s Providence-Scranton set began and ended on Bruins property. This time, the second round will start in Pennsylvania with the No. 6 Baby Pens sitting one seed above the Baby Bs.

Furthermore, the P-Bruins stamped their passport to this rematch with a winner-take-all first-round triumph over a historic playoff nemesis. Saturday’s 6-3 romp at MassMutual Center secured the 22-year-old franchise’s first postseason victory in three tries against the Springfield Falcons and four tries against any Springfield-based adversary.

Here are five other ice chips of trivia pertaining to the upcoming Bruins-Penguins Calder Cup playoff renewal:

·       Seven members of the current Providence roster were in action for that fateful 5-0 falter last May 22: Tommy Cross, Craig Cunningham, Jared Knight, Bobby Robins, Ryan Spooner, Niklas Svedberg and David Warsofsky. All except Cross dressed for the opening round series with Springfield.

·       Five other P-Bruins who started the previous Wilkes-Barre/Scranton series are now suiting up with the parent club. Defensemen Matt Bartkowski and Torey Krug were called up amidst each team’s 2013 postseason run. Fellow blueliner Kevan Miller and forwards Jordan Caron and Justin Florek stayed with Providence through at least last season’s end.

·       The Penguins are fielding five holdovers from 12 months ago: Defensemen Brian Dumoulin, Reid McNeill and Philip Samuelsson; centers Zach Sill and Dominik Uher.

·       Former Boston Bruins winger Chuck Kobasew has been with the Penguins’ farm club for the better part of the last two months. The 12-year professional veteran led Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with three goals and six points in a 3-1 first-round upset of the Binghamton Senators.

 

      That 3-3-6 scoring log of his matches his 11-game postseason output as a member of the Spoked-Bs in 2009. Boston’s Game 7 second-round loss to Carolina that year was Kobasew’s last postseason game in any league until this spring.

 

      The last time Kobasew partook in the Calder Cup playoffs? That would be 2005, when future teammate Patrice Bergeron and the P-Bruins ousted his Lowell Lock Monsters in the second round.

·       The AHL Penguins bear another veteran NHL winger in Tom Kostopolous, who like Kobasew last saw Stanley Cup tournament action in 2009. Kostopolous was on the 2007-08 and 2008-09 Montreal teams that traded first-round victories with Kobasew’s Bruins.

 

      In addition, his previous AHL campaign also ended at the hands of the P-Bruins, who dethroned his Manchester Monarchs in six games in those aforementioned 2005 playoffs.

Starting Nine: 9 Facts To Take Into The PawSox-Mud Hens Series

For the second half of their May-opening homestand, the Pawtucket Red Sox will go from facing the best of the I.L. West to engaging the worst of the West. The Indianapolis Indians leave Rhode Island in the wake of a four-game split still leading the league with a 20-10 record. Conversely, the Toledo Mud Hens come in at 11-19, putting them at the bottom of their four-team sector.

Despite their record, which amounts to the third-lowest winning percentage in the league, the Hens have an unsurpassed 29 home runs on the year. Although, 10 of those dingers are not in their dugout as J.D. Martinez has stuck with the parent Detroit Tigers since an April 21 call-up.

Right fielder Ezequiel Carrera leads all members of Toledo’s active roster with a .302 batting average.

The Hens have mustered three runs or fewer in each of their last five games, going 1-4 in that span. Between 14-3 and 1-0 losses at Syracuse on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, they are on a 14-inning scoreless skid.

The Sox and Hens crammed their entire 2013 season series into a single eight-day slew last summer, starting in Toledo and finishing at McCoy. The Mud Hens sandwiched their lone two wins around six straight Pawtucket triumphs June 22-27.

Last season’s 16-3 trouncing of Toledo on June 25 was the PawSox’ most explosive and lopsided victory in 2013. Brandon Workman garnered credit for the win, all nine home batters registered at least one hit, seven drove in at least one hit and eight crossed the plate at McCoy that evening.

If he is activated between now and Thursday’s series finale, this week could be Brayan Villareal’s first chance to confront his former allies. The 26-year-old reliever played 53 games for Toledo over two-plus seasons until a three-team trade last July 30 saw his rights transferred from the Tigers to the Red Sox. Villareal is currently on the seven-day disabled list and has not seen action since April 13.

The Sox have another former Detroit farmhand in Justin Henry. Henry’s Triple-A career consists of 137 games played with the Mud Hens and six against them in Pawtucket attire. He hit 7-for-234 with three doubles, three walks, three strikeouts, four runs scored and five RBIs in the 2013 season series. 

Former PawSox catcher Luis Exposito is with the Hens after spending all of 2013 and the better part of 2013 with the Norfolk Tides. To date, his Toledo tenure has yielded a .279 batting average with two home runs, five RBIs and seven runs scored in 14 games played.

Post-game Pop-ups: PawSox 3, Indians 2

Swift Summation
The Pawtucket Red Sox averted their first series loss of 2014, salvaging a four-game home split with the International League-leading Indianapolis Indians. They completed their fifth split in eight overall series Sunday afternoon with a tight, 3-2 victory at McCoy Stadium.

Two pairs of mutually uneventful innings sandwiched a third frame that saw each team muster a single run.

With two away in the top of that frame, Chris Dickerson reached base for the second time in as many plate appearances, rolling a single to right. He moved to second via PawSox starter Allen Webster’s wild pitch on the first offering to Michael Martinez.

Martinez supplanted Dickerson by driving the next pitch to right field, enough to plate the first run, and extending his base hit by beating Daniel Nava’s throw.

The Red Sox retorted in the bottom half when Ryan Lavarnway leveled a fly ball to the left-center warning track. When Chase d’Arnaud failed to haul it in, it gave the Pawtucket cleanup man a pass to second base and Ryan Roberts a ticket home from first base.

In the bottom of the sixth, Lavarnway drilled Indians starter Jackson’s first offering to left for a leadoff single. One pitch later, Bryce Brentz reached on a fielding error by Martinez at second, placing himself and Lavarnway on the corners.

Lavarnway came home for a 2-1 PawSox lead with the help of Garin Cecchini’s line drive single up the middle.

Dickerson drew a 2-2 knot for the Indians in the seventh, sending a two-out single to center and scoring d’Arnaud from second base. But the Sox responded with little delay to grip a permanent upper hand.

Roberts led off the bottom half with a double to the left field corner, then came home on Nava’s follow-up rolling single to right.

PawSox Pluses

With winds blowing north of 20 miles per hour for much of the day, Pawtucket’s offense made an ally out of the elements. The home batters elevated a bevy of balls to send a total of 18 onto or above the outfield lawn.

Lavarnway led that charge by batting 3-for-4 with a run driven in and a run scored. Even his non-hit cultivated a benefit when his seventh-inning sacrifice grounder nudged Nava to second base.

Roberts joined Lavarnway in the multi-hit club and translated both his third-inning single and sixth-inning two-batter to runs scored.

 

In relief of Webster, Chris Hernandez and Alex Wilson combined for zero hits, one walk and four strikeouts in 2.1 innings. Wilson and his mates benched all five of his challengers in the eighth and ninth. 

Sox Stains

Brentz’s weekend-long struggles against the Indians went the distance as he finished the series 0-for-11.

Brentz’s most productive plate appearance on Sunday was his five-pitch walk in the seventh. Before that, he stranded three prospective scorers by constituting the final out of the first via the "K" and that of the third on a shallow fly. That strikeout was his fifth in four days against the Indians.

In all, the PawSox stranded 10 total runners, including six in scoring position and three on third. Their most egregious missed opportunity came in the aftermath of Cecchini’s lead-granting RBI single in the sixth. After a walk to Corey Brown loaded the bases with one down, Dan Butler whiffed on an 0-2 pitch and Brock Holt popped out to catcher Omir Santos. 

Indians Notes

Gregory Polanco and Andrew Lambo were conspicuous by their quietness at the dish Sunday.

Polanco, who batted third, entered the day having hit safely in each of the previous three games, batting 4-for-12 overall. The cleanup man Lambo had likewise hit on all three preceding days, going 4-for-11 with a pair of doubles, a home run, two RBIs and four runs scored.

On Sunday, however, they combined to reach base once. That was when Lambo drew a one-out walk following Polanco’s second "K" of the day in the eighth.

Dickerson reached base in each of his first four plate appearances, walking and singling twice apiece.

 

Southpaw Daniel Schlereth pitched 1.2 seamless innings as the visitors' second reliever. He retired all five of his challengers in the eighth and ninth, including three strikeouts.

 

With the loss, the Indians dropped to 20-10, making them the last team in the league to crack double digits in the "L" column.

Miscellany

Webster achieved multiple 2014 season high marks in the seventh. On his 96th pitch of the day, which temporarily a two-time season high, he fanned Blake Davis for a season-high sixth strikeout. That out also ensured his first 6.2 IP venture in seven total outings.

Although, his new season-high 98th delivery amounted to the 2-2 equalizer, denying him a shot at a win and impelling manager Kevin Boles to summon Hernandez from the bullpen.

By swiping second in the second inning, Snyder became the sixth individual PawSox player to steal a base in 2014.