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Hansack leads PawSox to 8-2 victory over Chiefs

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- It’s often said that numbers don’t lie. But they don’t always tell the truth, either.

That was so earlier in the season, when PawSox righthander Devern Hansack owned a lowly 1-6 record although he had clearly pitched better than that.

And it’s still true, even as Hansack has managed to square his record after having helped hurl Pawtucket to an 8-2 trouncing of the Syracuse Chiefs, before 5,110 at Alliance Bank Stadium, last night.

Hansack, who had a sizable group of friends and family on hand, threw 6 2/3 strong innings, allowing just two runs on four hits, to win his fifth straight decision and even his mark at 6-6.

It also allowed the PawSox to emerge from their nine game road swing that included stops in Scranton and Rochester (and an All-Star break to boot) with six wins.

“I had a big crowd of fans,” said Hansack, “so I just tried to put it together and go hard.”

Pawtucket seized a 2-0 lead in the top of the second, when Jeff Bailey and George Kottaras slugged consecutive pitches from Chiefs starter Jeremy Cummings over the right field fence.

Alex Prieto added a run in the third with a solo shot to left.

Meanwhile, with his changeup proving hard to hit, Hansack sailed through the sixth inning, allowing just two base runners, and at one point setting down 11 Chiefs in a row, even as his mates were building a 5-0 lead.

“He’s got outstanding stuff,” said Kottaras, his catcher. “Tonight, he was on. He could throw anything for strikes, anytime he wanted to. He was mixing up his pitches, and didn’t really get into a pattern.”

Hansack lost steam in the seventh, and allowed two runs before giving way to Craig Hansen, who took it home from there.

Pawtucket put the game away with three more runs in the top of the ninth.

AROUND THE BASES: The rabid PawSox faithful who will flock to McCoy Stadium tonight for the Triple-A debut of righthander Clay Buchholz aren’t the only ones the chomping at the bit to see for themselves what the highly touted Bosox pitching prospect can do.

You can count Pawtucket pitching coach Mike Griffin among that number, too.
It will be Griffin’s job to take Buchholz’s abundant talent and buff it up to big league readiness. It‘s a task he‘s eagerly looking forward to tackling.

“Absolutely,” said Griffin, who has tutored the likes of current Red Sox hurlers Jonathan Papelbon, Manny Delcarmen, and Kason Gabbard in his five years with Pawtucket. “We’ve all heard what he’s been doing. It’s no secret. I’m very excited about seeing him pitch. I can hardly wait.”

Griffin’s plan with Buchholz will be a simple one. Don’t mess with success, but be ready with a guiding hand when one is needed.

“Right now,” said Griffin, , “I’ve just to to watch and let him pitch for a couple of times out. He’s had so much success down in (Double-A) Portland, you just have to let the guy go out and pitch. We know he’s got the stuff. We know he’s got everything to pitch at the major league level. I’m going to tell him ‘go do your thing’. Hopefully, there won‘t be a lot to correct.”

Hansack is not the only PawSox on a tear. Kottaras went 8 for his last 17 with 5 RBI and two homers, while raising his batting average 23 points to .219. And Alex Prieto, who had notched only seven hits all year before the road trip comes home with a seven game hitting streak, in which he’s gone 12-for-24, while seeing his average vault from .119 to a more respectable .229. Jacoby Ellsbury, who had been mired in a 1-for-18 slump, finished with two singles. He also added two steals to bulk his total to 26, one off the IL lead…Brandon Moss, who tweaked his groin in Saturday’s tilt, was held out as a precaution, the first game he had missed all year. He is expected to be fine.

Buchholz (NR), who according to Johnson will be held to a three inning/50 pitch limit, will be opposed tonight (7:05 p.m.) by Ottawa LHP Eude Brito (1-5, 7.71).

--DAN HICKLING

Posted by Chris Venditto  at 9:45 PM to PawSox | Permalink

Game Story: Blue Jays 2, Red Sox 1

BOSTON — For different reasons, Josh Beckett and the Red Sox lineup found themselves in unfamiliar territory yesterday.

Beckett went into yesterday with the best run support — 6.8 runs per outing — of any Red Sox starter this season, but not until the sixth inning did the Sox manage a single run to back him in his search for his 13th win.

In a not-unrelated development, the Red Sox lineup was facing Toronto Blue Jays rookie Jesse Litsch for the first time — and it showed.

The Sox collected 11 hits on the afternoon — nine against Litch — but only one at the right time, while Beckett, working with little margin for error, made enough to result in a frustrating 2-1 loss to the Blue Jays.

“He pitched so well,’’ said manager Terry Francona of Beckett. “Other than (the two runs in the second), he was tremendous. And most nights, I’m sitting here saying, ‘Well, it was a couple of bad pitches early in the game, but overall, it was a great game.’ But when you score one, it ends up being one too many.’’

Beckett’s lone stumble came when he surrendered three straight, two-out hits — one double to Lyle Overbay, one to Aaron Hill and a single to Royce Clayton.

“I was trying to go in (on Hill),’’ said Beckett, “and I got it in, but left it up a little bit. And Clayton, I was trying to go down and away and it was right down the middle.’’

Beckett, who lost for the second time in his last three starts and tossed a season-high 118 pitches, wasn’t one to feel sorry for himself.

“I was the second-best pitcher today,’’ he shrugged. “Bottom line — you get out-pitched, you lose. And that’s what happened today. I definitely think I battled through some other innings. But I was the second-best pitcher in that inning and sometimes, that’s enough to lose a ballgame.’’

Meanwhile, Litsch was continually working himself out of trouble in his sixth major-league start.

“He can pitch,’’ said Toronto manager John Gibbons. “He hasn’t had any jitters since Day One he’s been here. That’s one thing about the kid — he’s overflowing with confidence.’’

The Sox put the leadoff man on three times and had multiple hits in the first and third innings, but couldn’t score until the sixth.

The Sox stranded eight base-runners and were just 4-for-15 with runners on base. With runners in scoring position, they were just 2-for-9.

“We didn’t put our hits together,’’ said Julio Lugo, who extended his hitting streak to a modest five games. “We hit some balls well; we just didn’t do it when we needed to. (Beckett) deserved to win. He had one bad inning, but we just couldn’t seem to hit the ball at the right time.’’

Case in point: the third inning, when Lugo and Crisp produced singles to start what looked like a promising rally. But Alex Cora’s sacrifice-bunt attempt resulted in Lugo getting cut down at third and David Ortiz followed with an inning-ending double-play.
Similarly, a one-out double form Doug Mirabelli was wasted in the fifth when Lugo popped out to catcher Jason Phillips and Crisp lined out to center.

In the sixth, the Sox finally cashed in when Cora doubled over head of Vernon Wells in center and Aex Rios misplayed Ortiz’s sinking liner into a run-scoring double. But with the potential tying run in scoring position, Manny Ramirez popped to second, and after a walk to Kevin Youkilis, Lowell popped to Phillips.

Eric Hinske singled to right, but Ortiz was cut down at the plate by Rios.
“With two outs,’’ said Ortiz, “you’ve got to take a chance, especially against a guy who was throwing the ball well.’’

“Sometimes,’’ said Mirabelli, “when you face a guy for the first time, you don’t know what to expect.’’

Things didn’t get any better after Litsch left in the seventh and the Sox faced more familiar reliever. They were 2-for-9 against Scott Downs, Casey Janssen and Jeremy Accardo and lost their sixth straight one-run decision.

--SEAN McADAM

Posted by Chris Venditto  at 7:41 PM | Permalink

Pregame Notes, July 15

Some tid-bits from Terry Francona's oregame press briefing

-- Jason Varitek is out of the starting lineup mostly because he took a beating behind the plate in last night's game. He was crossed up on a pitch from Daisuke Matsuzaka and was hit on the hand, and he also took a foul ball off the chin, which caused him to bite his tongue.
But Varitek still managed to clout the tie-breaking homer in the sixth inning.
"That's why he's got that 'c' (for Captain) on his chest," said Francona. "Things like that (foul balls off his body, etc.) don't get in the way of him being a good player."

-- J.D. Drew is out of the lineup for the second straight start because of tightness is his right hamstring. He may be able to start tomorrow night.

-- Curt Schilling's workout tomorrow has been altered somewhat. Schilling (right shoulder tendinitis) still will be throwing the same number of pitches in his side session on the field, but will parcel them out over two simulated innings instead of one, as had originally been scheduled.

-- Second baseman Dustin Pedroia, who was ill over the All-Star break, was given the day off from the starting lineup, replaced by Alex Cora, who has recovered from his similar All-Star-break illness.

-- Steven Krasner

Posted by Steven Krasner  at 12:19 PM | Permalink

Starting Lineups, July 15

BOSTON

Crisp cf
Cora 2b
Ortiz dh
Ramirez lf
Youkilis 1b
Lowell 3b
Hinske rf
Mirabelli c
Lugo ss

Beckett p

TORONTO

Johnson lf
Rios rf
Wells cf
Stairs dh
Glaus 3b
Overbay 1b
Hill 2b
Clayton ss
Phillips c

Litsch p

-- Steven Krasner

Posted by Steven Krasner  at 12:17 PM | Permalink

Sox Streakers for July 15

Note: Sox Streakers will be on a hiatus over the next week as Mike McDermott is off on vacation. It will be back Monday, July 23, when the Red Sox visit Cleveland. But continue checking Projo's SoxBlog in the week ahead for Art Martone's daily baseball column, pregame reports from our writers at Fenway, and all the other breaking baseball news.

Hot Streaks
-Hideki Okajima has pitched 17 consecutive scoreless innings.
-Manny Delcarmen has pitched 8.2 consecutive scoreless innings, and has struck out 10 batters in his last five appearances (6.2 innings).
-Julio Lugo is 9 for his last 15 (.600); last night he collected his 1,000th major league hit.
-For Toronto: Aaron Hill is 8 for 16 (.500) over his last four games.

Cold Streaks
-For Toronto: John McDonald is 0 for 10 in this series, and 1 for his last 17 against the Red Sox.

Blue Jays vs. Josh Beckett
-Vernon Wells, 8 for 18 (.444), 4 HR
-Alex Rios, 3 for 7 (.429), 1 HR
-Aaron Hill, 5 for 14 (.357)
-Jason Phillips, 3 for 12 (.250)
-Lyle Overbay, 4 for 17 (.235)
-Royce Clayton, 1 for 6 (.167)
-Reed Johnson, 1 for 6 (.167)
-Matt Stairs, 1 for 6 (.167)
-Gregg Zaun, 1 for 6 (.167)
-Troy Glaus, 2 for 13 (.154), 2 HR
-Frank Thomas, 2 for 14 (.143)
-Beckett is 2-2 with a 5.25 E.R.A. in six career starts against Toronto.

Red Sox vs. Jesse Litsch
-Litsch has never faced Boston.

More Stuff
-Josh Beckett today looks to become baseball's first 13-game winner.
-All-time series: Boston 237, Toronto 187

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 9:17 AM to Projo Sox Streakers | Permalink