Ellsbury got things started with a single that was misplayed into a two-base error by Ottawa center fielder Chris Roberson.
Run-scoring hits by Scales (single) and Jeff Bailey (double) followed before Brandon Moss capped the outburst by slamming a fastball from Lynx starter Heath Totten (1-2) over the right-field wall.
It was Moss’ team-high eighth homer of the season.
“That’s a nice little scripted situation,” said PawSox bench boss Ron Johnson. “You get those guys on. The pig gets fat and the hog gets greedy.”
Pawtucket starter Abe Alvarez (3-3) rolled easily through the first five frames, leaving the Lynx stymied with his off-speed selections.
“That was vintage Abe Alvarez,” said Johnson. “He changed speeds. He filled up the [strike] zone. He got a lot of front foot swings.”
Said Alvarez, “Once I started getting into a groove, I started to speed things up. I got them to hit ground balls.”
Alvarez was on his way to a scoreless outing after retiring the first two Lynx in the bottom of the sixth.
But while covering first on a routine grounder by Dustin Wathan, Alvarez dropped Bailey’s throw, which opened the door to a three-run Ottawa rally, slicing the Pawtucket lead to 4-3.
“Jeff made a great play over there,” said Alvarez, “and I just kind of took my eye off the ball for a second, found the base [with my foot] and it hit off my glove.”
But that proved to be just a small speed bump for the PawSox.
The PawSox immediately replied with a three-spot of their own, with Scales singling in two runs to put the game away.
“I think we’re starting to break out of it,” said Scales of the PawSox effort to escape the North Division cellar. “We had some really tough luck early in the year, but I think things are starting to go our way.”
AROUND THE BASES: One PawSox who is angling for a return to “the Show” is newly signed OF Michael Tucker. Tucker, who has logged 12 major league seasons with seven different clubs, was signed by Boston as a minor league free agent last week, after working out at the Red Sox minor league complex at Fort Myers, Fla. “That’s what we’re working toward,“ said Tucker. “That’s what we talked about before I even signed a contract. I’m trying to acclimate (myself) as quickly as possible. These guys have been playing, and I’m trying to catch up with them. Get back into a groove.”… It may be one of the great anomalies of the season to date. The Lynx, who own the fourth best team batting average in the IL (.268 heading into yesterday), have hit just six home runs all year. Pawtucket batters, next to last in the league (.240) have now blasted 30 round trippers… The PawSox are off tomorrow, but begin an eight-game home stand Thursday, with Syracuse coming in for a four-game set. Rehabbing lefty Jon Lester (2-3, 5.58) will get the series-opening start against Chiefs RHP Josh Thompson (1-0, 1.69).
