Baseball Game Preview: Methuen Rangers vs. Beverly Panthers

The Methuen Rangers will head out on the road to take on the Beverly Panthers at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.

Methuen barely beat Dracut the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Rangers never let the Middies get on the board and left with a 12-0 victory on Monday. The win continues a trend for the Rangers in their matchups with the Middies: they've now won six in a row.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Beverly). They put the hurt on Salem with a sharp 12-2 victory on Tuesday. The team's explosion at the plate also rewarded the Panthers with their most commanding win of the season.

Beverly got a great performance from Graham Gavin as he struck out 11 batters over five innings while giving up just two earned runs off four hits. Gavin has been consistent: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in seven consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, Ted Fisher was incredible, going 2-for-3 with three runs, three RBI, and one stolen base. Those three RBI gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Callan McCay, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with three stolen bases and three runs.

Beverly always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .571. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.

Beverly is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six games. That's provided a nice bump to their 10-8 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.8 runs on average over those games. As for Methuen, their record now sits at 8-11.

Methuen couldn't quite get it done against Beverly in their previous meeting back in April of 2024 as they fell 8-4. Can the Rangers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.