HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
-- Pawtucket’s 1B/OF Jeff Bailey was named International League Player of the Week for the week of June 26-July 2…his line for the week: 8 G, .375 avg., 9-for-24, 3 2B, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 6 BB, .875 SLG…the highlight of his week came vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Phillies) in Game 2 of Sunday’s doubleheader, when he went 3-for-3 with a double, 2 homers, 5 RBI, 3 runs and a walk . . . The 27-year-old ranks among league leaders in home runs (tied for 5th with 16), slugging percentage (5th at .530) and RBI (tied for 7th with 51)…he is batting .267 in 75 games for the PawSox…Bailey signed with the Red Sox as a minor league free agent in November of 2003.
-- The Portland Sea Dogs on Monday welcomed their 5 millionth fan in Hadlock Field history…at 5:28 p.m., Mark Gallagher of Yorkshire, England walked through the Hadlock Field turnstile alongside his wife and was greeted by Sea Dogs President & General Manager Charlie Eshbach…Mr. Gallagher delivered the ceremonial first-pitch prior to Monday’s game and received a Sea Dogs prize package . . . The Sea Dogs are currently in their 13th season, with all of their home games coming at Hadlock Field…last season, Portland averaged a franchise record 6,290 fans per game…the Sea Dogs have expanded Hadlock Field 4 times since 1994, the most recent being the new U.S. Cellular Pavilion in 2006, which added 393 seats to the ballpark and increased capacity to 7,368.
-- RHP Kyle Jackson was promoted to Double-A Portland from Single-A Wilmington on Saturday…the 23-year-old went 6-0 with one save and a 1.59 ERA (8 ER/45.1 IP) in 24 relief appearances for the Blue Rocks, striking out 67 in 45.1 innings of work…he earned his first Double-A win in Game One of a doubleheader yesterday at Connecticut (Giants), allowing one run over 3.0 innings of relief . . . Jackson, a native of Nashua, NH, was Boston’s 32nd pick in the 2001 draft.
-- CF Jacoby Ellsbury tied a Blue Rocks franchise record with 4 stolen bases on Monday vs. Salem (Astros)…the 22-year-old went 4-for-4 on the day and ranks 3rd in the Carolina League with 23 swipes overall…Boston’s first pick (23rd overall) last year is batting .305, 2nd-best in the league.

Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox
International League North Division
41-43, 4th Place, 7.0 Games Back

SNYDER REMARKS: RHP Kyle Snyder has gone 1-0 with a 2.03 ERA (3 ER/13.1 IP) in his 2 starts for the PawSox…claimed off waivers from the Kansas City Royals on June 16, Snyder made one start with Boston (June 19 vs. Washington) before being optioned to Pawtucket on July 20.

DUSTIN CLEANING UP: 2B/SS Dustin Pedroia has gone 6-for-17 (.353) with 6 runs scored in 5 games in July after batting .324 (35-for-108) in 26 June contests…Boston’s first pick in 2004 (2nd round, 65th overall) is batting .289 with 20 doubles, 23 RBI and 36 runs in 69 games overall.

CALLOWAY DRIVER: OF Ron Calloway has gone 12-for-28 (.429) in his last 7 games to lift his average from .306 to .322, 5th-best in the league.

Double-A Portland Sea Dogs
Eastern League Northern Division
49-33, First Place, 4.5 Games Ahead

DUSTY…: C Dusty Brown has gone 8-for-21 (.381) with 3 doubles, a homer, 6 RBI and 4 runs in his last 5 games.

AND RUSTY: LHP Rusty Tucker boasts a 1.69 ERA (1 ER/5.1 IP) through his first 4 relief appearances for the Sea Dogs…the Gloucester native and University of Maine product signed with the Sox as a minor league free agent on June 23…the 25-year-old was originally selected by the Padres in the 21st round of the 2001 draft.

AND…CHAD: 3B Chad Spann has hit safely in 8 of his last 9 games (.359, 14-for-39) and 12 of his last 14 contests (.362, 21-for-58)…the 22-year-old, who was Boston’s 4th pick in the 2002 draft, ranks 4th in the league with a .300 batting average.

Single-A Wilmington Blue Rocks
Carolina League Northern Division
7-5, First place, 0.5 Games Ahead, Second Half
35-35, First Place, First Half

HOT, HOT, HOTTOVY: LHP Tommy Hottovy has allowed 2 earned runs or less in each of his last 5 starts, going 4-1 with a 1.42 ERA (5 ER/31.2 IP)…the Sox’ 3rd pick (4th round) in 2004 is tied for 8th in the league with a 2.77 ERA overall, going 8-6 in 17 starts.

KING JAMES: RHP Michael James has collected a save in 2 of his last 4 appearances and ranks 2nd in the league with 13 saves overall…the 25-year-old UConn product owns a 2.70 ERA (9 ER/30.0 IP) in 29 games out of the pen.

DURABLE DOBIES: LHP Andrew Dobies has worked at least 5.0 innings in all 16 of his starts this season, ranking 5th in the league with 91.2 innings pitched…the Sox’ 2nd pick (3rd round) in 2004 is 6-4 with a 3.93 ERA.

WHAT’S NEWSOM: RHP Randy Newsom boasts a 2.75 ERA (11 ER/36.0 IP) in 16 relief appearances, going 1-1 with one save…the Tufts University product has allowed just one earned run in his last 6 games (17.0 IP) for a 0.53 ERA…the 24-year-old is limiting the opposition to a .197 batting average, including a .179 mark by lefties and a .211 mark by righties.

Single-A Greenville Drive
South Atlantic League Southern Division
10-4, 2nd Place, 1.0 Game Behind, Second Half
35-35, Tied for 5th Place, 7.0 Games Back, First Half

THE TAKE ON BLAKE: RHP Blake Maxwell has allowed just one hit and no runs in 9.2 innings over his last 8 appearances…the 21-year-old has collected a win and 3 saves in those 8 games…he is tied for 6th in the league with 10 saves and tied for 4th with 32 appearances…Boston’s 43rd pick (40th round) in 2005 is 4-1 with a 3.60 ERA overall.

BOW DOWN TO BOWDEN: RHP Michael Bowden has allowed 2 earned runs or less in each of his last 7 starts, going 3-1 with a 1.25 ERA (5 ER/36.0 IP) in that span…the Sox’ 5th pick last year is 5-4 with a 3.08 ERA in 16 starts overall.

TIM TIME: LHP Tim Cox has allowed just 3 earned runs in his last 7 games for a 1.09 ERA (24.2 IP)…the native of Australia, who turns 20 on Saturday, boasts a 2.29 ERA in 20 games (all but one as a reliever).

Short-Season Single-A Lowell Spinners
New York-Penn League Stedler Division
7-8, 3rd Place, 4.0 Games Back

PLACE YOUR BATES: 1B Aaron Bates has gotten off to a fast start, batting .379 (22-for-58) with 2 homers, 5 RBI and 9 runs in 15 games…22-year-old was Boston’s 6th pick (3rd round) in this year’s draft out of North Carolina State.

NO PENA, NO GAINA: LHP Mario Pena has gone 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA (3 ER/17.0 IP) through his first 3 starts…the 21-year-old has 9 strikeouts and only 2 walks in 17.0 innings.

WHOAH, BROTHER: RHP Joshua Papelbon has not allowed a run through his first 4 appearances (5.0 IP)…the University of North Florida product notched his first pro save with a scoreless inning on Monday at Tri-City (Astros)…the 23-year-old was selected by the Sox in the 48th round of this year’s draft.

Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Red Sox
Gulf Coast League Southern Division
7-7, 3rd Place, 2.0 Games Back

CAPTAIN CAPELLAN: LHP Jose Capellan has allowed just 2 runs in 14.1 innings (1.26 ERA) through his first 3 outings (2 starts)…the 19-year-old has 14 strikeouts and only 3 walks 14.1 innings.

A JONES FOR MICHAEL: 1B Michael Jones has 2 homers, 5 RBI, 6 runs and 5 walks in his first 9 games…the 21-year-old signed with Boston as a non-drafted free agent in May of 2005.