HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: Outfielder David Murphy (Triple-A Pawtucket) earned International League Player of the Week honors for the period ending June 11. . . the 24-year-old batted .400 (10-for-25) with 3 doubles, 2 triples and 2 homers in 7 games last week, posting a .920 slugging percentage thanks to the 7 extra-base hits. . . last Sunday, Murphy’s 8th-inning, 3-run homer brought the PawSox back from a 2-1 deficit and led the club to a 5-2 win vs. Richmond . . . Since his promotion to Triple-A last month, Murphy has hit .338 with 3 home runs and 13 RBI in 18 games, and he enters tonight riding an 11-game hitting streak (.381, 16-for-42). . . Boston’s first-round selection in the 2003 Draft (17th overall), Murphy was Boston’s 2005 Minor League Defensive Player of the Year after committing only 4 errors in 135 games for Double-A Portland . . .Outfielder Gabe Kapler was promoted to Triple-A Pawtucket and made his season debut Monday vs. Richmond. . . in 3 Triple-A games, Kapler is 2-for-9 with a double and 2 RBI. . . he played last weekend for Double-A Portland, batting .400 (4-for-10) with 3 doubles, a triple and 2 RBI in 3 games for the Sea Dogs. . . Kapler ruptured his left Achilles’ tendon last September 14 in Toronto.
LHP Phil Seibel (Double-A Portland) tossed 5.0 scoreless innings Sunday vs. Erie to extend his scoreless innings streak to 22.1, breaking the franchise record of 21.1-straight scoreless frames set by righthander Craig Hansen in 2005. . . Seibel is 2-3 with a 1.20 ERA in 9 starts for the Sea Dogs, limiting foes to a .157 batting average, as the southpaw continues his return from “Tommy John” ligament replacement surgery in October, 2004 . . . RHP Mike James and 3B Andrew Pinckney (Single-A Wilmington) this week were named Carolina League All-Stars and will play in the June 27 contest in Salem, VA.
. . . James, 25, is 0-1 with 11 saves and a 1.88 ERA (5 ER/24.0 IP) in 22 games for Wilmington this season. . . the University of Connecticut product last night allowed his first runs since April 23, snapping a run 15 scoreless appearances in a row covering his last 15.0 innings . . . A 34th-round selection by the Red Sox in the 2004 Draft, the 24-year old Pinckney is batting .249 with 12 doubles, 3 triples and 20 RBI in 55 games for the Blue Rocks. . . in 2005, Pinckney earned mid- and post-season South Atlantic League All-Star honors . . . Outfielder Jay Johnson (Single-A Greenville) has reached base safely in 23 games in a row, batting .351 (34-for-97) in that span to raise his batting average to .285 (from .223). . . Johnson posted a 12-game hitting streak from June 1-12, batting .321 (17-for-53) with 5 doubles, a triple, a homer and 12 RBI during the tear. . . he went 0-for-3 with a walk last night to snap the hitting streak. . . the 24-year-old was selected by the Red Sox in the 13th round of the 2005 Draft.
Boston’s typical daily slate of 4 minor league games expands to 6 next week as the short-season Single-A Lowell Spinners and the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Red Sox begin their 2006 schedules. . . Lowell hosts Vermont on Tuesday while the GCL Red Sox travel to Bradenton to play the Pirates on Tuesday.

Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox

32-32, 3rd Place, 8.0 Games Back

HOLTZ ON: LHP Mike Holtz, on Boston’s 15-day disabled list recovering from a left elbow strain, is on rehab assignment with Triple-A Pawtucket. . . in 2 appearances this week with Pawtucket, the southpaw has allowed one run on 2 hits and a walk with 4 strikeouts in 1.2 innings. . . Holtz posted no record with a 16.20 ERA (3 ER/1.2 IP) in 3 relief appearances with the Red Sox before going on the disabled list May 19 (retroactive to May 17).

GINTER’S TOUGH LUCK: RHP Matt Ginter Tuesday night dropped to 3-8 following a tough 1-0 setback at Norfolk. . . Ginter boasts a 3.52 ERA (30 ER/76.2 IP) in his 13 starts this season and has walked 16 batters in 76.2 innings, an average of only 1.9 walks per 9 innings. . . in his last 6 losses, the PawSox have scored a total of 9 runs, including a 4-0 complete-game loss June 3 at Louisville and Tuesday’s 1-0 loss.

SEE YOU, SERRANO: RHP Jimmy Serrano was granted his release this week so that he could sign with a professional team in Korea. . . in his last 7 starts, Serrano had allowed one earned run in 39.2 innings, good for a 0.23 ERA in that span. . . overall this season, Serrano went 4-5 with a 2.50 ERA (20 ER/72.0 IP) in 13 games, 11 as a starter.

WALKS GALORE: The PawSox lead the International League with 266 walks, 26 more than their next closest competitors (Columbus and Buffalo have 240 walks this season apiece).

TIME TO CELEBRATE: On June 23, Pawtucket celebrates the 25th Anniversary of The Longest Game ever played in professional baseball with a reunion luncheon at the Providence Marriott at Noon. . . attending the luncheon are former PawSox 3B and Baseball Hall of Famer Wade Boggs (who celebrates a birthday today), Red Sox Hall of Famers Bruce Hurst and Joe Morgan, and several other team members from both the 1981 PawSox and Rochester Red Wings who participated in the famous 33-inning game at McCoy Stadium. . . Red Sox NESN broadcaster and former PawSox radio broadcaster Don Orsillo will serve as Master of Ceremonies. . . tickets for the luncheon are available by calling (401) 724-7300 to reserve a table. . . tables of 10 are priced at $1,000 and all proceeds benefit the PawSox Charitable Foundation.

Double-A Portland Sea Dogs

37-23, First Place, 7.0 Games Ahead

.303 FOR SPANN: Chad Spann is batting .429 (18-for-42) with 4 doubles, a triple, a homer and 8 RBI in his last 11 games to lift his batting average to .303, its highest point of the season. . . Spann was selected in the 5th round of the 2002 Draft.

STREAK SNAPPED AT 10. . . : Portland last night saw its 10-game winning streak come to a close with an 8-4 loss at Bowie. . . the 10-game run matched their longest in franchise history. . . the Sea Dogs previously won 10 in a row to start the 2005 campaign. . . thanks to the streak, Portland has extended its lead in the Eastern League’s Northern Division to 7.0 games.

AND TYLER’S, TOO: Outfielder Tyler Minges went 0-for-4 last night to his season-best hitting streak at 10 games. . . he batted .474 (18-for-38) with 5 doubles, 2 homers, 7 RBI and 13 runs scored during the run. . . thanks to a walk, however, Minges has now reached base safely in 13 straight games. . . overall this season with Portland, Minges is batting .336 with 9 doubles, 3 homers and 17 RBI in 30 games.

HE DOES GOOD WORK: RHP Matt Goodson won his Double-A debut Tuesday at Bowie, limiting the Bay Sox to one run on 3 hits and a walk in 6.0 innings, fanning 4 in Portland’s 9-3 win. . . he retired 13 of his final 14 batters faced en route to victory. . . Goodson, 23, was Boston’s 23rd round pick in the 2004 Draft. . . he is 0-3 despite a 3.83 ERA in 8 starts for Single-A Wilmington this season.

AN A.J. SIGHTING: Former Sea Dogs pitcher A.J. Burnett is scheduled to make a rehab start against the Sea Dogs Saturday in New Hampshire.

Single-A Wilmington Blue Rocks

31-35, Tied for 2nd Place, 2.0 Games Back

SPECIAL K: RHP Kyle Jackson, a 23-year-old native of Nashua, NH, is 4-0 with one save and a 1.93 ERA (8 ER/37.1 IP) in 19 relief appearances. . . he has struck out 54 in 37.1 innings, an average of 13.0 strikeouts per 9 innings. . . Jackson has allowed just one home run in 37.1 innings and is limiting foes to a .147 batting average.

DON’T WALK: LHP Justin Sturge, 25, is 2-1 with a 1.42 ERA (6 ER/38.0 IP). . . Boston’s 12th round draft pick in 2003 has walked only 9 batters in 38.0 innings, an average of 2.4 walks per 9 innings. . . he has yet to allow a home run in 38.0 innings pitched this season.

BEAU KNOWS BEAU: RHP Beau Vaughan tossed 2.1 scoreless relief innings last night to help the Blue Rocks to a 5-4, 12-inning win at Potomac. . . Vaughan has not allowed a run in his last 5 outings, covering 10.2 innings, and has a pair of wins in that span (including last night). . . in the last 5 appearances, Vaughan has struck out 11 and walked only one in the 10.2 frames.

ALL NATALE: Since his promotion from Single-A Greenville last month, INF Jeff Natale has reached base safely in all 14 games with Wilmington. . . selected by the Red Sox in the 32nd round of the 2005 Draft out of Trinity College, the 23-year-old is a native of New Haven, CT and resides in Hamden.

WHAT A GUY! RHP Kevin Guyette made his Wilmington debut last night and allowed just 2 runs on 3 hits (2 solo homers) and one walk in 5.0 innings, fanning 5. . . he left in line for the win but Potomac came back to tie the game off Wilmington’s bullpen. . . the Blue Rocks won 5-4 in 12.0 innings. . . he was promoted from Greenville, where he went 5-2 with a 3.88 ERA (22 ER/51.0 IP) in 13 appearances, 8 as a starter to begin the year. . . with the Drive, Guyette allowed just one home run in 51.0 innings.

Single-A Greenville Drive

33-31, 5th Place, 7.0 Games Back

START ME UP: Greenville’s starting rotation currently features 4 pitchers who boast an ERA below 4.00. . . RHP Michael Bowden is 4-3 with a 3.98 ERA in 12 starts, RHP Clay Buchholz is 3-2 with a 3.61 ERA in 10 starts, RHP Chris Jones is 3-1 with a 2.84 ERA in 10 starts and LHP Mike Rozier is 4-2 with a 3.98 ERA in 11 starts.

A GREAT CATCH: Mark Wagner, recently named to the 2006 South Atlantic All-Star team as the Southern Division’s catcher, is batting .307 with 6 homers and 30 RBI in 45 games this season.

TIM TERRIFIC: LHP Tim Cox is 2-3 with a 2.85 ERA (15 ER/47.1 IP) in 16 relief appearances this season. . . the Sydney, Australia native has walked only 7 batters in 47.1 innings, an average of 1.3 walks per 9 innings. . . he has pitched 3.0 innings or more 12 of his 16 outings this season, including each of his last 3 with a 2.00 ERA (2 ER/9.0 IP).

A STRONG DEBUT: LHP Ryan Phillips made his 2006 debut for the Drive Sunday at Charleston after missing the season’s first 62 games with a right intercostals strain. . . despite taking the loss, Phillips allowed only 2 runs (one earned) on 3 hits and 3 walks in 3.2 innings, fanning 4 in Greenville’s 2-1 setback. . . the Red Sox selected Phillips, 22, in the 11th round of the 2004 Draft.

THIS IS ZOO!PER! For those in Greenville, the “Zoo!perstars” will appear at West End Field this Saturday to help celebrate Father’s Day Weekend as the Drive host Asheville. . . the Zoo!perstars are “a crazy combination of animalistic superstars” who together form a “zany, lovable act that has been wowing fans since 1998”. . . Zoo!perstars scheduled to appear include Harry Canary, LeBronco James, Shark McGwire, Clammy Sosa and Tiger Woodschuck.