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August 10, 2007
Syracuse, N.Y.--Mike Burns gave an overworked Pawtucket Red Sox bullpen a much needed night off. The PawSox offense did its part too in an 11-3 pasting of the Syracuse Chiefs yesterday at Alliance Bank Stadium.
"It was a phenomenal effort," Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson said of his starter’s first complete game since "A" ball. "He knew he’d be out there awhile. We had no one in the bullpen. We had Burns and Burns today."
The effort came on the heels of the doubleheader, where the second game went extra innings and used the entire PawSox bullpen Thursday in Scranton, it magnified the start by Burns knowing there was no one to go to.
"Mike (Burns) was unbelievable tonight," Kevin Cash (1-4 with 2 RBIs) said. "He gave everybody a rest. Wherever I set up he’d hit the spot. His performance was huge. There was no one in that bullpen that could have gone out and been able to pitch at 100 percent."
Cash was behind the plate for his 34th consecutive inning in the last 48 hours as George Kottaras continues to mend from a knee injury. He’s remains day-to-day.
Burns (4-7) had allowed only one earned run in his last 14 innings. That came to an end quickly when Russ Adams and Kevin Barker hit back-to-back solo homers to right in the first inning.
That didn’t rattle Burns as the righty allowed only one run on five hits over the next eight innings.
"It was a battle all night," Burns said. "The bullpen needed the rest. We put up 11 runs and I had to do whatever I could to go as far as I can. It was a matter of getting the outs as quick as you can. The whole goal of going nine innings was to keep the pitch count down."
Burns tossed 99 pitches over the nine innings, 77 for strikes.
It’s been three days since Bobby Kielty was signed by the Red Sox organization and assigned to the Pawtucket.
It appears that decision was a good one for both parties.
Kielty crushed a two-run homer to left in the third inning that helped Pawtucket to an 11-3 win over the Syracuse Chiefs yesterday at Alliance Bank Stadium.
Kielty now owns a modest three-game hitting streak, notching his first homer and RBI in a PawSox uniform.
Kielty has been sitting around for about three weeks and his timing seems to be coming around.
"I finally was able to lean in on a ball," Kielty, (2-5 with two RBIs and scored twice) said of the monster homer. "The bottom line is Burns threw a great game tonight. We needed that big time."
The switch hitting right fielder reached base in each of his first four at-bats. A key throwing error by Adams allowed Kielty to reach in the fifth which opened the flood gates in the six-run inning. Kielty also singled and scored in the sixth.
"I have to hand it to our offense tonight," Johnson said. "We had been struggling and they came out and scored a bunch of runs."
It was veterans like Kielty that helped blow open the game.
"You have to have guys like that at this level if you’re going to win," Johnson said. "McEwing and Kielty came up big for us tonight. You have to have that veteran presence."
McEwing, and Cash, a former Chief, each delivered two-run doubles in the fifth inning.
All the runs came off of former major league veteran Mark Redman (0-1). Redman was recently signed by Syracuse after spending time with the Atlanta Braves and the Texas Rangers earlier this season.
"We had a good day at the plate," Kielty said. "I had faced Redman once or twice but that was the first time I hit a home run off him. It’s funny the way things go in baseball. He’s a good pitcher and he’ll find his way back to the big leagues."
Notes--The PawSox activated lefty Abe Alvarez off the disabled list while first baseman Jeff Bailey has landed on the DL with a strained neck.
The win snapped a five-game losing streak.
First base umpire Brian Kennedy tossed Syracuse manager Doug Davis in the seventh inning. Davis argued close calls at first on outstanding defensive plays by PawSox shortstop Jed Lowrie. Lowrie had to go deep into the hole and fire to first baseman Bobby Scales, who did a pair of splits to nip Robinson Diaz and Ryan Roberts.
Tonight, Pawtucket’s Charlie Zink (RHP, 1-1, 7.41), will face Jeremy Cummings (RHP 2-1, 2.64), for Syracuse.
--ED GONSER, Special to the Journal
Posted by Chris Venditto 
at 10:30 PM to PawSox
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