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Baseball Today: Friday, April 4 »
April 3, 2008
BY JOE McDONALD
Journal Sports Writer
THE SCORE: Pawtucket 3, Indianapolis 0
THE HIGHLIGHTS: Bartolo Colon. Bartolo Colon. Bartolo Colon. In his first -- and possible only -- start for the PawSox the veteran right-hander was outstanding in his five scoreless innings of work. He threw 74 pitches (45 strikes) and allowed just one hit with one walk and five strikeouts, while earning the victory. He was consistently hitting 94-95 MPH on the radar gun, and his splitter and change-up were working, too. The veteran right-hander, who signed a minor-league deal with the Red Sox at the start of spring training, was in total command of the strike zone and was working in a fluid tempo.
KEY TO THE GAME: PawSox newcomer Jonathan Van Every blasted a two-run homer in the bottom of the third inning to give Pawtucket a 3-0 lead. The 28-year-old outfielder, who signed as a free-agent with Boston last December, has played at McCoy Stadium as an opponent with the Buffalo Bisons. Last night he gave the 10,681 fans in attendance a glimpse of what could be to come this season. "It felt wonderful," he said. "Coming in here as a new player you always want to make an impact immediately and lucky for me I did it with my first swing of the bat. Hopefully I didn't spoil the fans with them thinking I'm going to do that every time, but it was definitely nice to get the first one out of the way."
PROSPECT WATCH: Craig Hansen. Yes, that Craig Hansen. After struggling in his first three seasons as a pro, this former first-round draft pick proved during spring training that he's finally beginning to come around. The hard-throwing right-handed reliever was solid again last night, working two scoreless innings without allowing a hit. He walked two and struck out three. It's clear he's taking the proper steps and PawSox manager Ron Johnson said following last night's game he's been impressed with Hansen's maturity this year.
THEY SAID IT: "He did an outstanding job," said PawSox pitching coach Rich Sauveur on Colon's outing. "He was throwing the ball very well during spring training and he continued it tonight. It's not my call, but if anyone watched that game tonight you'd say, 'Yeah, he's ready.' He threw some fastballs tonight that were very lively and some sliders that were very sharp. He's a big-league pitcher and he showed tonight he wants to get back there. It's just a matter of time."
Posted by Art Martone 
at 10:15 PM | Permalink
