(PAWTUCKET, RI) -- In 2014, Anthony Ranaudo shined as a member of the Pawtucket Red Sox. On Thursday, Ranaudo, now a member of the Charlotte Knights, looked like that same pitcher who captured the 2014 International League Most Valuable Pitcher award.



Ranaudo (5-3, 3.14) tossed eight shutout innings to lead the first place Charlotte Knights to a 4-0 shutout victory over the PawSox in the opening game of their four-game series from McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, RI on Thursday. The win was Charlotte's third straight.



Making his 12th start of the season with Charlotte, the former Boston Red Sox farmhand gave up just three hits and one walk over eight impressive innings. The Freehold, NJ native fanned four batters and tossed eight shutout innings for the second time this season. He also held Indianapolis scoreless over eight innings on June 17 at BB&T Ballpark.



Thursday's start was Ranaudo's first at McCoy Stadium since a dominating season for the PawSox in 2014. The 6'7" right-hander excelled on the mound at home in 2014 with Pawtucket and posted a 7-3 record with a 1.76 ERA in 12 games at McCoy Stadium. Overall that season, he went 14-4 with a 2.61 ERA in 24 starts.



The Knights recorded nine hits on Thursday in the second half opener. Charlotte, who wrapped up the first half by taking over first place on Sunday with a 5-4 win over the Gwinnett Braves, currently leads the second place G-Braves by 1.5 games in the International League South Division standings.



Jason Bourgeois put the Knights on the scoreboard in the third inning with an RBI double. With the team ahead by a score of 1-0, Danny Muno continued the scoring with an RBI single to score Bourgeois. Charlotte had a 2-0 lead after three innings. That's all they would need.



Jerry Sands started off the sixth inning with a double. Two batters later, Sands scored on a Jake Peter sacrifice fly to make it a 3-0 ballgame. The Knights added one more run in the ninth inning when Marcus Lemon singled home Slade Heathcott to make it a 4-0 game.



In the bottom of the ninth inning, Chris Beck closed the door on Charlotte's 43rd win of the season with a scoreless frame. Beck, who was optioned back to Charlotte from Chicago on Sunday, struck-out two batters.



The two teams will continue their series on Friday from Pawtucket, RI with a 7:05 p.m. game. Pre-game radio coverage starts at 6:50 p.m. on ESPN Charlotte 730 AM and CharlotteKnights.com. The "Voice of the Charlotte Knights" Matt Swierad will have the call for all of the action.