May 9, 2008
The Pawtucket Red Sox game against the Norfolk Tides scheduled for tonight at McCoy Stadium has been rained out, and will be played as part of a double header tomorrow at 6 p.m.
Posted by Mike McDermott 
at 3:40 PM | Permalink
May 8, 2008
The Pawtucket Red Sox earned an even split of their four-game home series with the Durham Bulls by winning 3-2, today at McCoy Stadium.
Rehabbing Sean Casey was 2 for 4 with a pair of singles and a run scored, while Alex Cora, also on a rehab assignment, was 1 for 4 with a single and a run scored.
David Pauley (3-2) pitched six innings for the win, striking out five and walking one while surrendering both Durham runs in the sixth. Bryan Corey picked up the save by striking out two batters in a perfect ninth inning.
Posted by Mike McDermott at 3:01 PM | Permalink
April 30, 2008
The Pawtucket Red Sox touched up Francisco Liriano, the onetime Minnesota Twins phenom who was recently demoted to Rochester, for four runs in 4.1 innings en route to a 4-2 victory today at Rochester. Liriano walked five and surrendered a home run to Jeff Bailey.
Knuckleballer Charlie Zink pitched six strong innings to get the win.
Click here to see the box score.
Posted by Mike McDermott at 3:08 PM | Permalink
April 20, 2008
Pawtucket officials have just announced that outfielder Bobby Kielty has been placed in the disabled list.
Kielty had been playing through pain in his left hand. When the PawSox returned from their road trip Saturday, Kielty went to a doctor. He was sent to another doctor today and the team announced as this afternoon's game against Buffalo was beginning that Kielty was being placed on the seven-day disabled list, retroactive to Saturday.
Outfielder Bryan Pritz, who spent most of last season with Portland, was activated to take Kielty’s spot. Pritz had been on the PawSox DL since the start of the season.
The Pawtucket game has begun with another surprise. David Pauley, the scheduled starting pitcher, did not take the mound. No reason was given. Pauley was in the clubhouse before the game. Edgar Martinez, normally a reliever, made the start for him. PawSox officials said an explanation will be provided when the game is finished.
Posted by Paul Kenyon at 1:10 PM | Permalink
April 10, 2008
The PawSox finished off a four-game sweep of Lehigh Valley with a 5-2 win this afternoon. Starter David Pauley worked 4.1 solid innings, while relief pitcher Lincoln Holdzkom picked up the win.
Posted by Mike McDermott at 3:00 PM | Permalink
April 8, 2008
The Pawtucket Red Sox are playing a matinee game today against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, and the PawSox are ahead, 3-1, in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Starting pitcher Chris Smith, filling in for the injured Bartolo Colon, struck out seven batters over four shutout innings, while designated hitter Chris Carter continues to be red hot at the plate. Carter's 2-for-2 with a double, a walk, an RBI and a run scored, and he is now 10-for-20 on the season.
Meanwhile, Bobby Kielty, a key member of the 2007 world champion Red Sox, is starting in right field rather than collecting his ring at Fenway. Kielty is 1-for-1 with a single and a pair of walks.
Posted by Mike McDermott at 2:17 PM | Permalink
August 31, 2007
PAWTUCKET – Already out of the playoff picture, Pawtucket was playing for pride yesterday, and the opportunity to finish out the season with a .500 record.
In order to finish the season 71-71, the PawSox needed to win their remaining five games.
But the Scranton Wilkes/Barre Yankees didn’t take it easy on the PawSox last night, even though they had already locked up the International League North regular-season title.
Scranton Wilkes/Barre defeated the PawSox, 9-3.
“We made a couple of mistakes, had a few physical breakdowns, and they capitalized on every one,” Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson said. “That’s probably why the won the division and are a playoff bound club. You got to tip your hat to them.”
Pawtucket starter Mike Burns pitched well in four of his 5 1/3 innings outing, striking out six batters, but he gave up four runs on five hits in the momentum-shifting fourth inning and fell to 4-9 on the season with the loss.
“I thought Burns did a pretty good job,” Johnson said. “When you look at it, it wasn’t like there was a lot of bullets hit all over the ballpark, but hey, that’s why that club is where they are. You can’t take anything away from them.”
Facing Kei Igawa, who was a bust (2-3, 6.79 ERA) for the New York Yankees after they bid over $26 million dollars just to talk to him and then signed him to a five-year, 20 million dollar contract on Dec. 27, 2006, George Kottaras ripped a two-out RBI double down the left-field line that scored Jeff Bailey and gave Pawtucket a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning.
Kottaras was 2-for-3 last night with two doubles and an RBI. He is hitting .320 (33-for-103) with six home runs, 11 doubles, and 21 RBI in his last 29 games.
“He did a real nice job,” Johnson said of Kottaras. “George has finished up very strong here. He’s done a real nice job. There is a lot of life in his bat and it’s fun to watch him.”
Pawtucket’s lead was short-lived.
Scranton/Wilkes Barre scored four runs with two outs in the top of the fourth inning to take control of the game.
Wil Nieves began the Yankees’ slugfest with an infield RBI single. Mike Kinkade scored from third base on the play and Eric Duncan advanced to second base. Juan Francia drove in Duncan with a single hit to right field and Nieves sprinted to third base on the hit.
Both Francia and Nieves scored when Kevin Thompson blasted a double down the left-field line.
Pawtucket didn’t go away quietly. Bobby Scales, who has at least one hit in nine of his last 10 games, crushed his 11th home run of the season – a two-run bomb sent over the fence in left field – to cut Scranton/Wilkes Barre’s lead to 4-3.
In the top of the fifth, Scales tried to make what would have been an amazing diving catch in shallow right field on a Kinkade blooper, but the ball dropped in and bounced over his head. Instead of a single, Kinkade ended up with a triple.
It appeared that Burns was going to get out of the inning unscathed when he struckout Bronson Sardinha for the second out, and then Alberto Gonzalez hit a routine grounder to second base. But Jed Lowrie misplayed the ball and Kinkade scored on the error to give the Yankees a 5-3 cushion.
Edgar Martinez came on to pitch for Pawtucket in the sixth inning, but he didn’t fare much better. He allowed four runs on four hits in 2 1/3 innings.
The Yankees padded their lead in the top of the eighth inning when Jose Cruz, Jr. hit a RBI sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Juan Francia. Then after Doug Mientkiewicz hit a RBI sacrifice fly to right field, Bronson Sardinha hit a bases loaded RBI single to left field, scoring Thompson.
Pawtucket inserted Craig Hansen to stop the bleeding but he couldn’t. Alberto Gonzalez belted a ground-rule double down the right field line that scored Cruz and Kinkade and extended Scranton Wilkes/Barre’s lead to 9-3.
Igawa pitched seven innings and limited Pawtucket to just three runs on five hits with nine strikeouts. Of his 101 pitches, 71 of them were strikes.
“Igawa threw the ball really well,” Johnson said. “We only got five hits on the night. We got the most of it though. We got three runs on five hits.”
NOTE: The PawSox will play a double-header today with the first game beginning at 12:30 p.m. and the second at 6:05 p.m. Fans will not be allowed to enter McCoy Stadium until 4:45 for the nightcap instead of the normal two hours prior to game time. The gates will open at 10:30 a.m. for the 12:30 p.m. first game.
--ROB LEE
Posted by Chris Venditto at 10:51 PM | Permalink
August 24, 2007
BY DAN HICKLING
Special to the Journal
BUFFALO -- When you’re locked into fourth place in the dying days of the season, you take the positives where you can find them.
For the Pawtucket Red Sox that would be the hitting streak, now up to a franchise record 20 games, compiled by Jacoby Ellsbury.
Ellsbury hit safely in both ends of the PawSox’ double-header with the Buffalo Bisons, staged at Dunn Tire Park in Buffalo.
The PawSox were blasted by Buffalo, 7-0 in the opener, but got even in the nightcap with a 7-4 win, their first over the Bisons in their last 11 tries.
Ellsbury enjoyed a big night, going 4-for-7, and swiping a base (his 32nd) to regain the sole lead in the International League.
After lacing a third inning single in Game 1 to tie the club mark that had been jointly held by Dave Stapleton and Dave Berg, Ellsbury knocked Jeff Harris’ first pitch of the nightcap into center field to establish the new standard.
In the opener, PawSox starter David Pauley (6-6) was tagged for all seven Bison runs, including six in the bottom of the fifth.
A fielding error by Jed Lowrie, who was making the first appearance at third base of his three year professional career, allowed two of those runs.
Pauley then gave up a two-run double to Andy Marte, the last man he faced before departing.
Pawtucket managed just five hits off Bison hurler John Koronka (3-3), who went the distance striking out six while walking one.
In the nightcap, the PawSox scored four runs in the top of the fifth to take the lead, then held on from there.
Starter Devern Hansack (9-7) while Travis Hughes picked up his 22nd save, extending his team record.
Although the PawSox have long since been out of the IL playoff picture, the club has been a key link in what has been a very vibrant Red Sox player development chain.
Having moved the likes of reliever Manny Delcarmen and starter Kason Gabbard (since traded) to the big leagues, skipper Ron Johnson and his staff were handed the likes of Ellsbury, Jed Lowrie, Dusty Brown, and Clay Buchholz, all of whom earned battlefield promotions from Double-A Portland during the year.
And under Johnson, all of the above continue to develop nicely.
''To have guys move up through the system is the goal,'' said Mike Hazen, Boston‘s Director of Player Development, while making the rounds of the club‘s affiliates. ''To see them make progress and improve, to the point that they’ve earned a promotion, is definitely satisfying. Those guys who have moved up, the Ellsburys, the Lowries, they’ve earned those promotions. So it’s extremely satisfying.''
Another of the midseason arrivals is right-handed reliever Lincoln Holdzkom, who has become a valuable set up man in the PawSox pen since his Ju;y 27 promotion.
Holdzkom, who was picked up by the Sox before the season after being waived by the Chicago Cubs, had allowed just one earned run in his previous eight outings, prior to last night.
''I just feel healthy now,'' said Holdzkom, who had never pitched above Double-A before arriving in Pawtucket.''It’s been a while since I’ve been on the DL. I‘d been out for the last two and half years with various (shoulder) injuries. It finally took until June for me to feel healthy. And health is of major importance. This is my first full season in about three years, and everything is finally paying off. If you’re not healthy, it’s hard to have confidence in your stuff. And if you have a lack of confidence, you’re going to pay the price.''
HERE AND THERE: Infielder Royce Clayton, who was signed Wednesday by Boston to a minor-league contract, made his PawSox’ debut in Game 1. If all goes well for Clayton, the 16-year big league veteran is a strong candidate for a September callup by the Bosox. Clayton takes the roster spot vacated when left-handed reliever Javy Lopez was called up by Boston …Meanwhile, LHP Jon Lester, who was optioned to Portland to make room for Lopez, will start for the Sea Dogs on Monday against Trenton. He would have been sent to Pawtucket, except that his next turn coincides with that of Clay Buchholz, who is scheduled to throw that day at Rochester.
Posted by Corey Bourassa at 11:08 PM | Permalink
August 23, 2007
Today's afternoon game between the Pawtucket Red Sox and the Buffalo Bisons has been postponed, and will be replayed tomorrow as part of a doubleheader.
Posted by Mike McDermott at 2:43 PM | Permalink
August 22, 2007
BUFFALO, N.Y. - It just wasn’t Clay Buchholz night.
Buchholz knows September call-ups are coming and he has every intention of being on the Boston Red Sox shopping list when they pluck players from Pawtucket, so last nights outing couldn’t have come at a more inopportune moment.
Ryan Mulhern went 2-for-4 and Joe Inglett (3-for-4) had four RBI to the lead Buffalo Bisons to a 7-6 win over Pawtucket in front of 10,586 fans at Dunn Tire Park Wednesday night.
A sandwich pick (42nd overall) in the 2005 First-Year Player Draft Buchholz is rated by Baseball America as the top pitching and No.2 overall prospect in the Boston chain.
Promoted to Pawtucket on July 12, Buchholz didn’t have to wait long for his first taste Major League action as he made his Fenway Park debut on August 17 in the Red Sox 8-4 win over Los Angles Angels. Buchholz logged six innings, struck out five and yielded three earned runs on eight hits.
But he wasn’t anywhere near as effective Wednesday night against the Bisons.
Relying mostly on his curve and fastball, Buchholz struggled with his command all the night, especially in the first inning when he issued back-to-back walks to Keith Ginter and Andy Marte to load the bases.
Buchholz did manage to work out of the jam when he induced a first-pitch fly out to Bisons catcher Mike Rose.
The Bisons (69-61) did score one run in the first when Mulhern’s RBI double brought Inglett home. Reaching base on a hit-by-pitch Iglett advanced to second base when Buchholz (1-2) picked off attempt sailed beyond the reach of first baseman Jeff Bailey.
A strikeout pitcher Buchholz never found his normal groove of attacking batters and his breaking pitches seemed to hang over the plate more frequently than usual. Something the Bisons took full advantage of.
Buchholz (three strikeouts) lasted just three innings giving up three runs on four hits and a walk. Buchholz threw 63 pitches with 36 of them landing in the strike zone.
Buchholz also had to do an emergency duck-and-tuck in the third when Andy Marte sent a screaming line drive up the middle that almost hit Buchholz.
While lackluster offense early on didn’t help Pawtucket (62-68) the Bisons received timely hitting as they plated each of its first three runs with two-outs.
Bisons starter Jeremy Sowers (4-5), who ironically enough was pitching on his own bobble-head night, took a no-hitter into the fifth inning. He retired 14 of the first 15 batters he faced, shortstop Jed Lowrie drew a walk in the first, before catcher George Kottaras broke up the no-hit bid with a single to left field.
Junior Spivey drove Kottaras in when he sent a Sowers 2-0 offering over the left field wall for his first home run of the season, trimming the Bisons lead to 3-2.
Inglett extended the Bisons lead to 6-2 in the sixth when he stroked a bases-clearing line-drive triple to right field off Craig Breslow.
The PawSox kept it exciting as they mounted two late inning rallies, The first coming in the seventh when Sowers walked Kottaras to load the bases after back-to-back singles from Jeff Bailey and Bobby Scales, but they were unable to punch a run across the plate.
Lowrie cracked a three-run shot off of Bisons reliever Jason Stanford in the ninth to trim the lead to 7-6, but the rally stalled there.
“We had a really poor night situational (hitting). That’s why you play 27 outs because you never know. We got that big three-run homer…we had enough opportunities we had enough hits but if we put the ball in play (situational) its probably a different ball game,” said Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson.
“Sowers stymied us for five innings Spivey had the homer so we put some pressure on them. But you’ve got to get them across.”
--DAVE RICCI (Special to the Journal)
Posted by Corey Bourassa at 10:40 PM | Permalink
August 21, 2007
PAWTUCKET -- There’s been a lot of focus surrounding catchers in the Boston Red Sox organization this week.
After Red Sox backup catcher Doug Mirabelli was placed on the disabled list last Friday with a strained right calf muscle, Boston summoned the services of Kevin Cash from Pawtucket to replace him. Cash started two games behind the plate for the Red Sox, including a solid job working as Tim Wakefield’s batterymate Monday in Tampa.
PawSox catcher George Kottaras, who is considered a prospect by the Red Sox, rebounded from a recent knee injury suffered in a home-plate collision during the team’s last home stand earlier this month, and put on an offensive display with two homers in Monday’s loss.
Now Dusty Brown put is in the mix.
Called up from Double-A Portland on Saturday, the 25-year-old catcher made his Triple-A debut on Sunday and was behind the plate again last night and helped the PawSox to a 9-7 victory over Syracuse Chiefs at McCoy Stadium with a 1-for-4 performance, including two RBI.
The Red Sox will need a solid backup catcher for Jason Varitek, and eventually someone who will replace the Boston legend. The Red Sox had the future catcher with Kelly Shoppach, but traded him to Cleveland as part of the Coco Crisp deal two seasons ago and now the Red Sox are looking elsewhere.
Cash, Kottaras and now Brown all want to make an impact.
“Even when I was in Portland I felt [like I was in the mix] because I was playing real well, especially behind the plate,” said Brown. “I kept hearing good things from rovers, but now that I’m up here I get to play against the other guys I’m in the mix with and see how I compare, and let other people see how I compare. It’s good to be here.”
With the PawSox trailing by a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, Brown provided a much-needed spark with a two-run single to tie the game at 7-7.
“It’s great,” he said. “It’s awesome. I couldn’t have picked a better spot to get a hit.”
Pawtucket’s Ed Rogers and Jacoby Ellsbury added a RBI each in the bottom of the eighth for a 9-6 lead before closer Travis Hughes allowed one run in the ninth, but still earned his 21st save of the season to become the club’s all-time leader in that category.
“It wasn’t pretty but I got the job done,” said Hughes, who broke Cory Bailey’s mark of 20 set in 1993. “It’s been a good year. I just need to stay consistent because it doesn’t matter how you start the year, it’s how you finish. I’m glad I got [the record], but it just means I’ve been here all year.”
It was an eclectic game for the PawSox as they close out the home stand and head out on the road. Ellsbury went 1-for-5 to extend his hitting streak to 17 games. Brandon Moss belted a pair of solo home runs, and Bobby Scales 2-for-4 with a home run.
“There were a lot of good things that happened on the field tonight,” said PawSox manager Ron Johnson.
Still, it seems like the catching position in the organization is answering some questions this week, and Brown has quickly made an impact.
“This guy is a good receiver,” said Johnson. “He got rave reviews from Double-A.”
Now that he’s that much closer to the big leagues, Brown can taste it.
"You’re one step closer and only a phone call away,” he said. “Now it’s even a shorter phone call.”
--JOE McDONALD
Posted by Chris Venditto at 10:53 PM | Permalink
August 19, 2007
PAWTUCKET -- The Syracuse Chiefs witnessed the explosiveness of Jacoby Ellsbury first-hand yesterday.
With the Chiefs and Pawtucket Red Sox locked in a 1-1 tie and Ellsbury on first base via a walk, Junior Spivey dumped a weak flare into short right field. Ellsbury took off on the hit and easily cruised into third base. As right fielder Michael Vento bobbled the ball, Ellsbury quickly picked up speed again and sailed home without even sliding.
Ellsbury’s race from first to home proved to be the winning run in the PawSox’ 2-1 victory over Syracuse. The Sox have now won eight of their last nine games and six in a row over the Chiefs over the last week. Syracuse has lost 10 straight and face Pawtucket two more times this week.
While Ellsbury’s run in the eighth provided the winning margin, the key to the victory was pitching. Starter Devern Hansack dominated the Chiefs over seven impressive innings, limiting Syracuse to three hits and one unearned run. Hansack didn’t get the win but he’s thrown well for over two months and has just one loss in his last 13 starts (7-1, 5 no decisions).
Craig Breslow and Travis Hughes (6-6) combined to escape a little trouble in the eighth and Hughes survived an eventful ninth to pick up the win.
``When you win a few, there’s a momentum and an atmosphere that’s created,’’ said PawSox manager Ron Johnson. ``When things are going well, you can feel the players expect to win. In the ninth, there was the feeling that (Hughes) is going to get out of that one.’’
Hansack struck out a season-high 11 batters, the most by a Pawtucket pitcher in two years. The 29-year old righty was in complete control through his first six innings. The Chiefs scored a scratch run in the second inning when Chad Mottola singled to center and then raced to third when Dusty Brown’s throw on a steal attempt of second base bounced into center field. Mottola scored the game’s first run when Hector Luna grounded out to third.
Hansack wasn’t threatened much from then on. He threw 103 pitches over seven innings and registered strikeouts with his fastball in the low-90’s, a biting slider and a knee-freezing change-up.
``I had everything working today,’’ he said. ``I was just going out there trying to keep their score down and give us a chance.’’
Johnson was impressed by Hansack’s ability to throw all of his pitches for K’s under pressure.
``The thing I liked is the use and command of his secondary pitches,’’ Johnson said. ``His change was really good. He had some big swing-and-miss pitches.’’
The PawSox tied the game at 1-1 when Jed Lowrie lined a two-out home run to right. The Sox didn’t do much with Syracuse starter Justin James or reliever Matt Roney. But when Jordan DeJong entered in the eighth, they pounced. Ellsbury drew the one-out walk and then Spivey dumped his single into right. That sent the speedy outfielder on his race around the bases.
``I couldn’t see the ball and when RJ held me up, I slowed up and looked at the ball,’’ Ellsbury said. ``I saw the right fielder bobble it and I made the call (to go).’’
--KEVIN McNAMARA
Posted by Chris Venditto at 5:09 PM | Permalink
August 18, 2007
PAWTUCKET – Home cooking hasn’t tasted very well for the Pawtucket Red Sox this season. They hope that changes the rest of the way.
The PawSox play 11 of their last 17 games at McCoy Stadium and hope they all end like last night’s 5-4 thriller. The Sox scratched out a ninth inning run on two walks, a hit batsman and a game-winning single by Joe McEwing to knock off the Syracuse Chiefs in the first game of a four-game set.
The Sox are now 27-34 at McCoy, nearly the worst home record in the International League. But Pawtucket is coming off what could be a critical, but tiring, 11-game road trip. The Sox finished 6-5 on the tour that took them to Scranton, Syracuse and Ottawa. Friday’s game with the Lynx was rained out but that was a fortunate break since the Sox were able to begin a grueling nine-hour bus ride home a few hours early.
``It’s a grind this time of year. At the start of the season you see that it’s a marathon, not a sprint. It’s very true,’’ said McEwing, a 34-year old veteran who’s played in the majors for nine years with four different teams. ``It seems like we’ve been on the road forever but we’re hoping to finish the year playing good baseball.’’
Starting pitcher David Pauley didn’t throw like someone who was crumpled in a bus for most of the night. He no-hit the Chiefs for the first 4.2 innings as Pawtucket built a 4-0 lead after five innings. All four runs came in the bottom of the fifth. After a Brandon Moss double and walk to Bobby Scales, a sacrifice bunt and another walk loaded the bases. Then Alex Prieto delivered the big hit, lining a hard single up the middle that scored two runs. Jacoby Ellsbury followed with an opposite-field liner into the left field corner that scored two more runs. Prieto made a great slide over Syracuse catcher Sal Fasano for the fourth run.
Pauley tired a bit and let up two runs in the sixth, the second of which came after a mental mistake when he failed to look Wayne Lydon all the way back to third base on a grounder back to the mound. Ryan Roberts led off the seventh with a solo homer to make it 4-3 and end Pauley’s outing. Edgar Martinez came on and allowed an unearned run after a single, a two-base throwing error by Scales and a fielder’s choice plated the tying run.
Martinez settled down and combined with Javy Lopez to pitch a shutout eighth inning. Bryan Corey did the same in the ninth and ended up picking up the win (he’s now 5-8) as Pawtucket rallied off Jaime Vermilyea. Junior Spivey worked his way to a one-out walk and then Vermilyea hit the ninth batter in the order, Alex Prieto, in the leg. Ellsbury walked to load the bases and that brought up McEwing, who’s hit safely in 13 of his last 16 games at a .340 clip.
Sensing that Vermilyea was struggling with his control, McEwing sat on the first pitch and lined a fastball that sunk into center in front of Lydon for the game-winning hit. ``I tried to be aggressive in that situation,’’ McEwing said. ``
--KEVIN McNAMARA
Posted by Chris Venditto at 10:12 PM | Permalink
August 14, 2007
OTTAWA — It may be a modest one, as high-water marks go, but the Pawtucket Red Sox last night hit a standard that had eluded them the whole season.
They won their fifth game in a row, something they failed to do on four previous occasions.
That achievement came their way by taking a 5-3 count from the Ottawa Lynx, before 1,786 at Lynx Stadium.
“We’re just playing good right now,” said Ed Rogers, a former Lynx, who scored what proved to be the winning run in the sixth inning. “Everything is working together, right now. We’re playing as a team.”
The Pawsox fell behind 2-0 in the third, when starter Devern Hansack (8-7) allowed two of his seven hits in his 62/3 inning stint.
Pawtucket was held scoreless for five innings by Lynx starter J.A. Happ. But in the sixth, Happ, who had fanned 10 PawSox, issued a walk to Jed Lowrie.
Then, with two away, Brandon Moss singled to left, which set the stage for Bobby Scales’ three run shot over the left field wall, putting Pawtucket up 3-2.
It was his eighth homer of the season, and second in as many nights.
“I’m really pleased for Bobby Scales,” said PawSox skipper Ron Johnson. “The last time up, he struck out with the bases loaded. Then he comes back and hits a three run homer to give us the lead.”
Ottawa replied with a run in the bottom of the sixth, but next inning, Pawtucket regained the lead for good, when Rogers led off with a single, worked his way to third, then was singled home by Jacoby Ellsbury.
Joe McEwing added some breathing room in the ninth, by clubbing a solo homer on an 0-2 pitch.Closer Travis Hughes nailed down the last two outs to pick up his 19th save.
“It’s great that everybody is picking up their game toward the end of the season,” Hughes said. “It shows that everybody still has energy to play.”
AROUND THE BASES: Although his first day on the job in that Aug. 8 doubleheader in Scranton is one he’d rather forget, outfielder Bobby Kielty is showing that he’s just about ready for a promotion to Boston.
Kielty, of course, was signed as outfield insurance by Boston after Oakland let him go in July, then was assigned to Pawtucket for a tune up.
“I’m starting to feel pretty good,” said the 29-year-old Californian. “I just needed to get my timing down.”
After going a combined 0-for-6 with five strikeouts in his PawSox debut, Kielty hit safely in the next five games, going 7-for-20, with two homers and four RBI.
“Those first couple of games were pretty bad,” he said. “But I should be ready to go.”
Kielty said he received no concrete guarantees from the Sox about being called up, but is of course, hoping to make a strong case for himself.
“Nothing’s really going on right now,” he said. “I’ll wait and see what happens. I think if I’m performing well, I’ll get a shot.”
The baseball trail is a long and sometimes twisted one, and as it happens, Kielty was a teammate of PawSox knuckleballer John Barnes back in 2000, when both were Minnesota Twins farmhands and Barnes was a promising slugger who would go on to compile a .301 lifetime average.
Kielty said he wasn’t taken completely by surprise when he found out that Barnes had made the mound conversion.
“It’s definitely funny,” Kielty said. “because he was a great hitter. But he always wanted to try pitching. I knew he had a good knuckleball back then, because he liked to throw it, and it was hard to catch. It wasn’t a huge surprise. I think it’s pretty cool.”
The teams will continue their series tonight (7 p.m.), when RHP Mike Burns (4-7, 4.25) will start against Lynx RHP John Ennis (4-4, 3.73).
--DAN HICKLING (Special to the Journal)
Posted by Corey Bourassa at 10:49 PM | Permalink
August 13, 2007
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — When an opponent tries to hand you the game, or even begs you to take it, you might as well go ahead and take them up on their offer.
Last night, the Pawtucket Red Sox, who were the beneficiaries of five Syracuse errors, did just that, in taking a messy extra-inning 8-6 triumph before 7,809 at Alliance Bank Stadium.
Junior Spivey’s two-run double in the top of the 10th inning proved to be the difference in what was a truly bizarre affair.
“It was a good game,” said Spivey, “I was just fortunate to come up with a hit right there. I’d been scuffling at the plate, so that’s a start.”
Spivey’s hit came with one out and the bases loaded off Syracuse reliever Blaine Neal (5-7) and came after the second error of the game by Chiefs first baseman Kevin Barker.
Both errors, including one in the fifth inning, opened the gates for six unearned PawSox runs, helping them to a four-game sweep of their set with the Chiefs.
“It was one of those nights,” said left fielder Bobby Scales. “How many times are you going to see a team make five of them? You’ve got to take advantage of them. When a team gives you that many extra outs, you’ll be disappointed if you didn’t win the game.”
The first frame itself was a matter of get and give back.
Syracuse committed three errors in that inning which the PawSox parlayed into a 2-0 lead.
But the Chiefs replied in their half with a two-out, three-run shot by John-Ford Griffin off Pawtucket starter David Pauley.
In the fourth, Syracuse plated three more runs to expand their lead to 6-2.
But the PawSox got back into the game in the fifth, tallying four times to tie the score, 6-6.
It was Barker’s bobble of a throw from shortstop Sergio Santos that allowed lead off man Jacoby Ellsbury to reach safely.
Two outs later, Ellsbury scored ahead of Bobby Kielty, who slugged a towering home run off Chiefs starter Mike MacDonald, to make it 6-4.
Brandon Moss followed with a single, before Scales deposited a line drive into the left field bullpen.
“There’s no substitute for the two run homer,” said Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson, “to get you back into the ballgame.”
A quartet of relievers held Syracuse scoreless for five innings, which bought the PawSox enough time to put together the winning rally.
“I just didn’t want to get too jumpy, right there,” said Spivey. “I didn’t want to hit the ball on the ground. I wanted to get it in the air, and I was able to do that.”
Reliever Lincoln Holdzkom (1-0) earned his first Triple-A win while Travis Hughes closed out the Chiefs in the 10th to pick up his 18th save.
--DAN HICKLING (Special to the Journal)
Posted by Corey Bourassa at 11:03 PM | Permalink
August 12, 2007
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- When he’s at his best, Clay Buchholz is all but unhittable. And even when he’s not, he’s pretty darn good.
Last night against the Syracuse Chiefs, Buchholz displayed a bit of both, which was good enough to help the Pawtucket Red Sox notch a 6-3 win before 6,621 at Alliance Bank Stadium.
Joe McEwing (3-for-5) and Jed Lowrie (2-for-4) paced the Pawtucket attack each knocking in two runs as the PawSox won their third straight.
Buchholz (1-1) issued just two walks in his five-inning stint, one of whom eventually scored.
He also allowed just three hits, but two of those were solo shots over the right field fence.
“I think he’ll (admit),” said PawSox catcher Kevin Cash, “that he wasn’t as sharp as he would have like to have been. Stuff wise, he probably had bits and pieces of it. But that shows how talented he is.”
Indeed.
The young phenom, making just his sixth Triple-A start, was often overpowering. He struck out nine hitters (for the third straight outing), and earned his first win since his July 11 promotion from Double-A Portland.
“It’s really refreshing,” said McEwing, the gray haired veteran of the youthful Buchholz, “to see a guy who can dominate a game. To see the maturity and adjustments that he makes, game to game. Today, he might not have had his best stuff, but they still only had three hits.”
Run scoring singles in the second by Alex Prieto and Ed Rogers off Syracuse starter Josh Banks (10-9) put Pawtucket ahead, 2-1.
Next inning, McEwing cracked a lead off double, then was singled home by Lowrie.
Pawtucket then opened up a 6-2 lead, when McEwing smacked a two-run double, then was singled in for the second time by Lowrie.
“If you have quality at bats,” said McEwing, “and you play to win, everything else takes care of itself.”
It may have taken him a while, but Buchholz slowly hit his stride.
In the third, he gave up a lead off homer to Sal Fasano followed by a single to Ryan Roberts before striking out the side.
Buchholz retired the first two batters in the fourth before allowing a lead off shot by former Red Sox prospect John Hattig. He struck out Fasano, but the ball bounded away allowing Fasano to reach safely.
But closed out the inning by freezing Roberts with a 94 m.p.h. fastball.
“The outcome was great,” said Buchholz. “But in the same sense, I didn’t have everything I had in the last couple of starts. But by the time the fourth inning rolled around, I knew what I had in my pocket, and I went after them with that.”
Buchholz closed out his 80 pitch performance by retiring the Chiefs in order, striking out the last two he faced.
A trio of PawSox relievers, Craig Breslow, Javier Lopez, and Bryan Corey, took it from there, allowing just runner over the final four frames.
AROUND THE BASES: McEwing has pretty much owned Banks this season, going 7-for-8 against him, with four doubles and a homer to go with two singles. “It‘s just one of those things,” said McEwing. “You have success against one guy, while another guy could own you. It‘s a very humbling game.”…Only once before in his young professional career had Buchholz given up two homers in one game. That came last year while he was pitching for Low-A Greenville…Syracuse manager Doug Davis was tossed out in the fourth inning by umpire Kevin Causey after Davis argued a close play at first base…The PawSox will wrap up their stay, here, tonight (7:00 p.m.), when RHP David Pauley (6-5, 3.94) will draw the start against Syracuse RHP Mike MacDonald (4-8, 4.93).
--DAN HICKLING
Posted by Chris Venditto at 10:10 PM | Permalink
August 11, 2007
Syracuse, N.Y.--The Pawtucket Red Sox took advantage of the opportunities that the Syracuse Chiefs gave them in a 6-5 win last night at Alliance Bank Stadium.
A throwing error allowed a potential double-play ball hit by Junior Spivey in the third to plate a pair of runs as the PawSox put together a four-run inning off of Syracuse starter Jeremy Cummings (2-2).
Ed Rogers followed with a double to the right-field corner to score Spivey. George Kottaras, who reached on a walk, scored when Chad Mottola bobbled the ball before trying to cut down Kottaras at the plate.
Kottaras seemed to be pain free, returning to the lineup from a knee injury.
Spivey put the PawSox on the board in the second when he singled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Rogers.
Jed Lowrie caught Syracuse reliever Jamie Vermilyea napping as he stole second in the fourth inning after he singled to left. Vermilyea’s throw to second sailed into centerfield. Lowrie advanced to third and scored when Brandon Moss reached on a fielder’s choice after another botched double-play attempt by Syracuse.
While Syracuse was throwing the ball around on defense, the Chiefs managed to squeeze out four runs on the PawSox knuckleballer Charlie Zink (2-1).
Russ Adams doubled and scored in the first while John Hattig homered to left in the second inning. Adams walked and scored on Kevin Barkers double in the third while Barker walked and scored on Chad Mottola’s two-out single in the fifth.
Abe Alvarez saw his first action since coming off the disabled list. Alvarez relieved Zink in the seventh and issued a walk and a strikeout.
Bryan Corey came on in the eighth and after striking out Mottola gave up a single to Hattig and a double to Robinson Diaz. With one out and runners on second and third PawSox manager Ron Johnson gave the ball to Javier Lopez.
Jacob Ellsbury made a great diving catch of a ball off the bat of John-Ford Griffin. Hattig scored on the sacrifice fly that pulled Syracuse to within a run, but Lopez managed to strikeout Wayne Lydon to end the threat.
Travis Hughes pitched a scoreless ninth for his 17th save of the season.
Note--
Pawtucket sends Clay Buchholz (RHP 0-1, 3.20 ERA) to the mound tonight to face Josh Banks (RHP 10-8, 4.62) for Syracuse.
Spivey was hit by a Lee Gronkiewicz fastball on his upper left arm in the eighth after Syracuse catcher Robinson Diaz was hit by Zink in the sixth.
Jacoby Ellsbury singled in the sixth to extend his hitting steak to eight games. Brandon Moss singled and scored in the four-run third inning to extend his hitting streak to seven games. Bobby Kielty extended his hit streak to four games with a single in the third.
Former major leaguer Fred McGriff was at the game as he was inducted to the Syracuse Baseball Wall of Fame. After talking about how it was an honor to play at Fenway even when the fans got on him, he offered his batting advice against a knuckleball like Zink. "Knuckleballers can be tough," McGriff said. "With kunkleballers like Tim Wakefield and Charlie Zink you have to go after the first pitch. Wakefield always tries to just get the first pitch over and then his pitches improved. With Zink I think I would definitely swing at the first pitch."
--ED GONSER, Special to the Journal
Posted by Chris Venditto at 10:46 PM | Permalink
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 | Permalink
August 9, 2007
MOOSIC, Pa. -- Two long days, four tough losses. Two of those of the walk off variety.
The PawSox found a way to make a two-day stay in Scranton seem twice as long, by losing back-to-back double headers to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees.
The second of those came last night when Pawtucket dropped dropped counts of 4-2 and 3-2 (in extra innings) before a sellout crowd of 10,310 at PNC Field.
The nightcap was settled by Scranton’s Eric Duncan, whose one-out single off Travis Hughes ended an 11-inning marathon.
Duncan lashed the first pitch he saw from Hughes (5-6) into left field, scoring pinch-runner Andy Canizzaro from third.
Pawtucket has now lost five straight, scoring just seven runs in the process.
The offensively challenged PawSox went down meekly in the opener, after falling behind 4-0 in the second inning.
Starter Devern Hansack (7-7) was charged with all the runs, two of which were doubled in by Bronson Sardinha.
Pawtucket squandered scoring chances in the early innings, but pulled to within two runs in the fourth.
New arrival Bobby Kielty, late of the Oakland A’s, singled to lead off that frame, then legged it in from first when Brandon Moss, just back from a brief stay with Boston, doubled to center.
Moss later scored on Junior Spivey’s ground out.
Game 2, at least, provided some interesting twists and turns, but unfortunately for Pawtucket, produced the same sad result.
Trailing 1-0 heading into the fifth, the PawSox scratched out a pair of runs off reliever Ross Ohlendorf to take the lead.
Light-hitting catcher Kevin Cash, led off the frame with a homer to left, his fourth of the season.
One batter later, Ed Rogers reached on a fielder’s choice, then was doubled in from second by Jacoby Ellsbury.
But Scranton knotted the score in the bottom of the fifth with a run off reliever Lincoln Holdzkom.
The PawSox left the go-ahead run stranded at third in both the eighth and ninth innings.
AROUND THE BASES: Moss was still a little bleary-eyed from his all-night cross country flight on the Bosox charter, which landed in Baltimore, yesterday morning. Nonetheless, he was still buzzing from his first taste of the big leagues, a three day stay while Boston was in Anaheim.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” said Moss, “because I’d never been there before. I was a little nervous, but everything settled in and I got more comfortable. It was awesome, I loved it.”
Moss went just 1-for-7 (with a walk) in two games with the Bosox, but was pleased to get that first big league hit, a single, under his belt.
“I was wondering if I was going to get that,” he said, “because I’d hit some balls well earlier in the game. I thought, ‘man, I might not ever get that hit’. But it finally came, and it was a big relief.”
To make room for Moss on the PawSox roster, RHP Craig Hansen was placed on the disabled list (retroactive to Aug. 6) with a contusion of his pitching forearm, suffered in an off-field mishap…Although Johnson wasn’t completely certain, he said that RHP Charlie Zink, who had received a “temporary” promotion from Double-A Portland last week, would finish the year with Pawtucket. “He’s earned it,” he said. ..As if things weren’t tough enough for the PawSox, they were without the services of both catcher George Kottaras (sore knee) and first basesman Jeff Bailey (sore neck)…In Game 2, PawSox lefty Craig Breslow, who has been exclusively a reliever, made the first start of his six year professional career…
After the game, the club motored on to Syracuse, the second stop on their three-city, 10-day sojourn, to begin a four-game set with the Chiefs. RHP Mike Burns (3-7, 4.39) will get the start tonight (7 p.m.) against Syracuse RHP Jeremy Cummings (2-1, 2.64).
--DAN HICKLING
Posted by Chris Venditto at 11:01 PM | Permalink
August 4, 2007
Whoever said baseball is a game of inches wasn’t too far off with their statement.
The Pawtucket Red Sox came very close on a couple of occasions last night, but fell just a bit short and lost to the Rochester Red Wings, 2-1, in 10 innings Saturday night at McCoy Stadium.
Both starting pitchers provided solid performances for their clubs as the PawSox’ Mike Burns and the Red Wings’ Dave Gassner each worked eight scoreless innings and allowed four hits apiece.
It’s been an interesting season for Burns, who replaced Kason Gabbard in the rotation after Gabbard was promoted to Boston on June 26. Burns has made eight starts since and is 3-3, but it’s been his last two outings that have stood out. Despite the no-decision last night, he’s only allowed only one run in his last 14 innings of work.
“He was outstanding,” said Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson. “He did an absolutely outstanding job. Mike was really fantastic, but you have to score; that’s what it’s all about.”
After both pitching staffs pitchers put up a pair of zeros through the first eight innings, the Red Wings scored a run in the top of the ninth. for the marginal lead. After PawSox reliever Craig Breslow issued a lead-off walk to Denard Span and a sacrifice bunt moved the runner to second. With two outs, the Red Wings’ Garrett Jones provided an RBI-single, hitting a 3-0 changeup.
But Pawtucket wouldn’t go quietly.
Jed Lowrie led off the bottom of the ninth with a single and, with two outs, reached third on a Brandon Moss single to the right side. With runners on the corners, Joe McEwing drove a hard liner down the first-base line and into the corner in right field, scoring Lowrie for the game-tying run. Moss was on his horse when Johnson sent him home, attempting to push across the would-be winning run. But, the throw arrived in plenty of time, 9-4-2, to get him and send the game into extra innings.
“I sent Moss because, it was weird because it was twilight, and I saw (the right fielder) laying on the ground out there and then I was hoping the ball was thrown away. But, it was a nice try by Brandon. Like I’ve said before, they play hard. We got after it and our pitching was good, but it’s tough to win a 1-0 ballgame.”
Despite allowing two runners on with two outs in the top of the 10th inning, Breslow was in control. On two different pitches to Span, the PawSox left-hander thought he had strike three. But home-plate umpire Andy Vincent called back-to-back both pitches balls. Span then provided the game-winning hit, a RBI-single to right field.
“I thought they were strikes,” said Breslow. “I don’t think I could have made better pitches. The first one was close; it could have gone either way. The second one was better. They were obviously two very big pitches. If the umpire saw them as balls, then so be it.”
Johnson replaced Breslow with Bryan Corey and when Breslow was walking off the mound he had words with the umpire.
“I though Breslow’s stuff was good,” said Johnson. “There were a couple of close calls there.”
Pawtucket went down in order in the bottom of the inning and Breslow suffered the loss.
--JOE McDONALD
Posted by Corey Bourassa at 11:03 PM | Permalink
August 1, 2007
PAWTUCKET — Everyone handles pressure differently.
Some people fold under it, while others thrive.
PawSox pitcher Clay Buchholz feels a lot of pressure every time he takes the mound, but he doesn’t let it get to him. He uses that adrenaline to throw the ball harder.
He knows that expectations are high for him and he’s OK with that.
The promising right-hander with a 97-mph fastball, wicked curveball, sensational slider and a changeup, had another strong outing last night.
There were 10,199 fans on hand to see Buchholz strike out nine batters in 6 1/3 innings. He scattered five hits with no walks while allowing two runs but he didn’t factor in the decision. The score was tied 2-2 when he left.
In the end, Buffalo snapped Pawtucket’s two-game winning streak in the 10th inning when Jason Cooper belted a two-out double down the left-field line.
Pawtucket left-fielder Bobby Scales misplayed the ball and Mike Rose scored all the way from first base on the error to lift Buffalo to a 3-2 victory.
Buffalo closer Mike Koplove closed the door on the PawSox in the bottom of the 10th.
The game was a pitchers’ duel between Buchholz and Buffalo starter Jeremy Sowers, the Bisons’ 2006 Most Valuable Pitcher. Sowers only allowed four hits and two runs in 5 2/3 innings.
It was a stellar outing for Buchholz compared to his last start when he walked four batters in four innings against Toledo.
Surprisingly, Buchholz only used his fastball once to get the third strike last night. None of his other strikeouts came on a pitch that was thrown harder than 86-mph.
Buchholz struck out the first two batters he faced, and five of the first seven Bisons.
Asdrubal Cabrera led off the top of the fourth with a single hit up the middle for Buffalo’s second hit of the game. He advanced to second base on a Buchholz balk and that came back to bite Buchholz. After he struck out Ben Francisco, Ryan Mulhern hit a hard ground ball towards the gap between third and shortstop.
Pawtucket third baseman Ed Rogers dived for the ball, but it got by him. Cabrera rounded third base and beat the throw home to give Buffalo a 1-0 lead.
On a 3-2 Buchholz pitch with two outs in the top of the fifth inning, Jason Cooper lined a solo home run over the fence in left field to extend Buffalo’s lead to 2-0.
The PawSox evened the score in the bottom of the sixth frame.
After Ed Rogers hit a leadoff single, Scales (2-for-4, 2 doubles, run scored) doubled to put runners on second and third base. Jed Lowrie hit an RBI sacrifice fly to deep center field, scoring Rogers. Scales tagged up and sprinted to third base on the play.
Scales scored on a Brandon Moss grounder to third base with two outs. Buffalo third baseman Andy Marte misplayed the ball, resulting in an error.
--ROB LEE
Posted by Chris Venditto at 11:15 PM | Permalink
July 31, 2007
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Attention Red Sox Nation: Curt Schilling is back.
The ace of the Red Sox staff ended his rehabilitation stint with the PawSox last night on a strong note at Cooper Stadium, and Pawtucket scratched out a 10th-inning run to sneak away with a 5-4 win, a split of the four-game set and the eight-game road trip.
“I’m healthy, I feel good, I feel strong and I’m ready to go back and help
(Boston) them,” Schilling said.
Over 7,100 fans flocked to see Schilling, many of them clad in the familiar red-and-blue Red Sox gear, clamoring for a up close and personal look at the 6-foot-5, 235-pounder.
The big man didn’t disappoint. He threw seven solid innings, scattering just four hits. Schilling didn’t allow a walk, struck out four and had an early stretch where he retired 10 in a row.
“He’s been very consistent each outing,” PawSox skipper Ron Johnson said.
“(In) all of them, he had above average command. It’s a good time for everybody in The Nation.” At times, it seemed more like a home game for Schilling, kind of a Fenway Park West atmosphere with the throng in attendance cheering loudly when he announced during pre-game introductions, with a smattering of boos mixed in throughout in a place that was the former Triple-A home of the hated New York Yankees.
“This is Red Sox Nation,” Schilling said. “That’s no surprise. They are almost like ants. You always feel like you are at home. They’re going to be fans in every city that are going to be loud enough to make you feel like you are in Boston.” The right-hander threw 21 first-pitch strikes to the 24 batters he faced and had just one three-ball count all night, on Clipper right fielder Abraham Nunez. Even then, he fought all the way back to fan the former Florida Marlin.
“I’ve been watching this guy in the big leagues for a long time and I kind of know what he’s got,” said Nunez, who also managed to get a hit off Schilling. “That splitter is nasty.” In four of the innings, Schilling threw two balls or less and he didn’t throw one in the seventh.
“We threw a lot of strikes and got some quick outs,” Schilling said. “When they made contact, they got some ground ball outs instead of swings and misses. To get up and down seven times, warm up, feel good and strong is a good thing.” Only one of the hits was hard, a two-out single to left by Columbus catcher Juan Brito in the fifth.
Schilling had over a 3-to-1 ratio of strikes to balls on the night, throwing 60 strikes in 77 pitches, a little less than the 90 he anticipated.
Schilling was put on the disabled list June 19 because of tendinitis in his throwing shoulder and made two other rehabilitation starts for Pawtucket, both with glowing results.
He finished the assignment with 18 strikeouts in 15 innings.
George Kottaras has caught Schilling in all three games and was able to give the sure-fire Hall of Famer a bit of input on pitch selection.
“If I had a feeling about something, he told me to put it down there,” said the PawSox catcher. “We were putting much on the same page all night.” Schilling has been able to rebuild his arm strength and work on straightening out his mechanics, which he admitted wasn’t right before hitting the DL.
“I threw a lot of different pitches for strikes, and I worked on my command on a lot of different pitches,” Schilling said.
Schilling headed back to the big club following the game and will make his first appearance back in the starting rotation either for the series finale at Seattle Aug. 5, or open the three-game set against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Aug. 6.
Before going on the disabled list June 19, he was 6-4 for Boston with a 4.20 ERA in 15 starts.
Schilling came within one out of a no-hitter in Oakland June 7, but 11 days later gave up 11 hits in a 9-4 loss to Atlanta.
“This was about Schill,” Johnson said. “I know he was very pleased with it and I’m sure next time he’ll get his shot in the big leagues and he’ll be good to go.” Just like Sunday, left-hander Craig Breslow gave up the lead in the eighth as Columbus erased a 4-0 lead on four hits and a error to tie the game.
But the PawSox got the go-ahead run in the 10th on a bases-loaded walk by Columbus closer Chris Booker (1-5) to Alex Prieto, who finished with a pair of hits and two RBI.
Bryan Corey (4-6) got the final two outs of the ninth to get the win, and closer Travis Hughes allowed just a single in the 10th to earn his 15th save.
--By DONN WALDEN, Special to the Journal
Posted by Chris Venditto at 10:48 PM | Permalink
July 30, 2007
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- While hot dogs were selling for a dime a pop at Cooper Stadium last night, runs certainly went at a premium price.
So the story has went for the PawSox of late. Pawtucket had went a week straight without scoring more than four runs and had struggled against Columbus all season.
You could sense the PawSox starting to snap out of their funk Sunday and last night Pawtucket did just enough to snag a 3-1 win from the Clippers.
"The total game ‹ from pitching to defense to the timely hitting to the fundamental stuff -- I was really impressed with this team," said Pawtucket skipper Ron Johnson.
The victory also helped the PawSox end a five-game losing skid to Columbus, which already clinched the season series heading into tonight¹s finale.
Pawtucket hopes to get the split in this four-game set via the back door by sending the rehabbing Curt Schilling to the bump.
Mike Burns (3-7), a late replacement for original starter Devern Hansack (stiff neck), was nearly untouchable in six innings of work. The right-hander gave up just four hits and a run while fanning four in his second straight quality start.
George Kottaras' three-run home run was all that Burns needed, and the PawSox bullpen, which allowed eight runs in four innings Sunday, got the job done despite some hairy moments.
"The season is winding down and we feel like we have a team that can make a push (for the playoffs)," Burns said. "But every time it seems like we get on a roll, we let two, three or even four things get away from us. It was a big win." Pawtucket entered the game hitting a meager .205 against Columbus in the first six games of 2007. The PawSox, which entered the day ranked next-to-last in the International League in batting, were worse with runners in scoring position (2-for-21 in this series) and abandoned 15 runners in Sunday¹s 10-6 loss.
Pawtucket took advantage of Columbus starter Chris Michalak's second-inning yips. The left-hander (3-5) hit two batters in the inning -- Michael Tucker and Bobby Scales -- around a pair of outs.
Kottaras, symbolic of the PawSox's woes with ducks on the pond, put a charge into a 2-1 fastball from the former Cincinnati Red, turning it into the game-winning blast over the right-field fence.
Kottaras was hitting just .147 with runners in scoring position, but extended his hit streak to five games with the bomb.
"The mission is to try to score as many runs as you can and take advantage of your opportunities," said Kottaras, who now has six homers on the year.
Since replacing Kason Gabbard in the rotation, Burns has a 3.55 earned-run average in seven starts and has allowed just three runs in his last 12 2/3 innings.
His only blemish came in the fourth when, after retiring nine in a row, allowed a solo home run from Michael Restovich. It was Restovich¹s second shot in as many nights.
Burns' teammates saved another run in the sixth. With two down, Kory Casto walked and Restovich looked like he was going to play the role of spoiler when he sent a gapper to center. David Murphy tracked the ball down, sent a perfect relay to Alex Prieto, and his strike to Kottaras was in plenty of time to nail Casto.
"They made a heckuva play," Burns said.
Then in the eighth, reliever Craig Hansen allowed a bunt single to Brandon Watson and a slicing double to left by Clipper killer Bernie Castro. In a pickle, Hansen rared back and threw gas by both Casto and Restovich to thwart the rally.
Closer Travis Hughes also gave Johnson some nail-biting moments in the ninth, allowing two straight hits to open the frame, and wild pitched the runners into scoring position with one down. But Hughes mowed down the final two batters to pick up his 14th save.
Pawtucket relievers recorded the final eight outs by strikeout.
"(Sunday) we played five innings and then we caved," Johnson said. "Today, we played nine innings, and that's what you need when you play a team like this." Prieto had two hits, including a double, for the PawSox, who despite having just five hits on the night went 2-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
The win guaranteed Pawtucket its second consecutive winning month (15-12) with just today¹s game left.
And when all was said and done, the PawSox were eating steak and the Clippers were left to their weiners.
--DONN WALDEN, Special to the Journal
Posted by Chris Venditto at 10:37 PM | Permalink
July 28, 2007
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The PawSox continued a disturbing trend that has wreaked havoc on them the entire season -- lack of offensive punch.
Pawtucket, which entered the game 12th in the International League in runs scored, managed just five hits in a 6-2 loss to the Columbus Clippers Saturday night at Cooper Stadium.
PawSox manager Ron Johnson was prophetic prior to the game when assessing where his club was at through 103 games.
"When we score some runs, we have the potential," said the third-year kipper. "We've had some stretches where we've had tough times scoring. You don't want to put it on anybody (in particular), it's just reality.
"Our pitching is respectable, but we've battled to keep our heads above water offensively. That's what it is. If we go out and put some runs on the board, we've got a good chance to win."
They had chances against Clipper starter Josh Hall (1-0), making his season debut. Hall allowed the PawSox to get the leadoff batter aboard in four of the first five innings, but only had a single tally to show for it.
Meanwhile, right-handed starter David Pauley (6-4) put up his second consecutive quality start and continued to put up impressive numbers against Columbus in 2007. He allowed a seventh-inning earned run, his first in 12 1/3 innings against the Clippers, but was victimized by three errors. Pauley allowed seven hits and two walks while striking out four in six-plus innings.
Hall, who was recalled from double-A Harrisburg on Thursday, gave up just three hits and three walks in his five innings of work, fanning four in just his second start of the campaign.
It was the seventh consecutive game that Pawtucket has scored less than four runs after a stretch that saw the PawSox score five or more times in eight straight games.
Veteran infielder Joe McEwing had two of the hits for Pawtucket, which got the leadoff man aboard in six innings.
Four Columbus hitters -- Bernie Castro, Kory Casto, Larry Broadway and Abraham Nunez -- each had two hits to pace the 11-hit Clipper attack.
Down by three in the eighth, the PawSox tried to rally off Clipper reliever Winston Abreu. David Murphy led off with a single and Michael Tucker forced a 10-pitch walk, but Pawtucket, who was 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position, failed to produce a timely hit.
Pauley should have been out of the second inning without any damage, but second baseman Bobby Scales booted an easy grounder off the bat of Melvin Dorta with two out, allowing Lombard, who doubled with one down, to score from third. The right-hander escaped further damage when Dorta was gunned down trying to steal second.
PawSox catcher George Kottaras led off the third with a walk and McEwing slapped a full-count fastball over the head of center fielder Brandon Watson for an RBI double that tied the game. Hall wiggled out of the predicament when he induced three straight grounders to Broadway at first.
Pauley shot himself in the foot in the third. With one out, he threw a bunted ball by Castro down the right-field line, with Castro scooting all the way to third base. After a strikeout, Pauley's full-count pitch to Michael Restovich went between the wickets of Kottaras, allowing Castro to score. Two batters later, Nunez slapped a ball past Brandon Moss at first, scoring Restovich to put the Clippers up 3-1.
Pawtucket cut the gap to one in the seventh as Brady Clark, signed by parent club Boston on Thursday, lifted a sacrifice fly that enabled Jeff Bailey to score. However, Columbus reliever Hector Carrasco induced another fly ball to end the threat.
The Clippers put two more on the board in their half of the frame as Broadway, who had two hits, had a one-out, RBI single off the glove of Lincoln Holdzkom, who was called up from double-A Portland on Friday.
Lombard's ground out then scored Casto, who had greeted the rookie right-hander with a swinging bunt single. Casto then slapped a two-out, RBI hit in the eighth to end the scoring.
Pineiro watch
Right-hander Joel Pineiro, who was designated for assignment by Boston on July 22, will get his second start for the PawSox tonight.
In his first outing, he allowed just a walk in three innings of work.
Johnson expects him to up his pitch count to around 80 to 85, which will hopefully get Pineiro around four to five innings of work.
"With a guy like that, we just see how he goes as he goes along. The veteran guys like that will pretty much let you know." In 31 relief appearances with the big club this season, he is 1-1 with a 5.03 earned-run average.
-- DONN WALDEN
Special to the Journal
Posted by Chris Venditto at 10:30 PM | Permalink
July 27, 2007
TOLEDO , Ohio – The PawSox used a “bend-but-don’t-break” pitching performance to beat Toledo 4-2 and split this four-game series with the Mud Hens at Fifth Third Field.
Starter Clay Buchholz and relievers Craig Hansen, Edgar Martinez and Bryan Corey combined to limit the Hens to five hits, shutting out Toledo after the first inning.
The Mud Hens jumped in front when Henry Mateo drew a one-out walk against Buchholz, one of four he issued in four innings of work, and Timo Perez slammed a two-run homer to right, his 11th round-tripper of the season.
The Mud Hens had their chances, with the best coming in the third when they loaded the bases with none out off Buchholz. But the 22-year-old right-hander struck out Chris Shelton on three pitches, retired Brent Clevlen on a fly to shallow right, and got David Espinosa on a grounder down the first-base line.
Shelton led off the sixth with a double off Hansen but never left second as Hansen retired the Hens without incident.
In the seventh Mateo reached third when he drew a one-out walk from Martinez, stole second, then took third on a groundout before Martinez got Jack Hannahan to ground out and strand Mateo in third.
Toledo eventually stranded nine baserunners in the game and was 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
Hansen (3-1) earned the win with his two scoreless innings of relief, and Bryan Corey – a former Mud Hens – got the game’s final four outs to claim his second save in this series.
Pawtucket tied the game in the third by opening the inning with four straight hits. Alex Prieto led off with a single, the first of his three hits on the night, then moved to third on Brady Clark’s double off the wall in left.
Both runners came home when Jed Lowrie, who was promoted from Double-A Portland just before the game, singled down the right-field line.
Toledo starter Anastacio Martinez left the game at that point after suffering a blister on his right, or pitching, thumb, and reliever Jeremy Johnson gave up a single to the first batter he faced, David Murphy.
But the Red Sox didn’t score again as Johnson got Bobby Scales to hit a grounder to first, and Chris Shelton threw Lowrie out at the plate. Brandon Moss then struck out and Joe McEwing was retired on grounder back to the pitcher Johnson.
The PawSox took the lead for good with a pair of runs in the sixth. With one out McEwing singled off Johnson, and George Kottaras greeted Toledo reliever Vic Darensbourg by singling up the middle, moving McEwing to third.
Ed Rogers hit a slow roller down the third-base line and Jack Hannahan only was able to retire Rogers at first as McEwing scored and Kottaras took second. Prieto then added an insurance run by doubling high off the wall in left.
Clark was hit by a pitch from reliever Preston Larrison to put two runners on base, but Lowrie hit into a fielder’s choice to end the threat.
NOTES: Lowrie was one of two players the PawSox received from Portland before yesterday’s game. The other was RHP Lincoln Holdzkom, who was 4-1 with a save and a 3.47 ERA in 30 appearances for Portland. Lowrie hit .297 with eight home runs and 49 RBI in 93 games with the Sea Dogs. To make room for the pair of the roster the PawSox sent IF Zack Borowiak and RHP Barry Hertzler to Portland.
----JOHN WAGNER
Special to the Journal
Posted by Thom Cahir at 10:48 PM | Permalink
July 26, 2007
TOLEDO, Ohio – The ending was a little hairy, but otherwise Curt Schilling’s second rehab outing for Pawtucket was nothing but smooth sailing.
Schilling allowed just one hit in five scoreless innings, striking out eight Mud Hens and not walking a batter in a game the PawSox eventually lost 3-2 in 10 innings.
“How about Schilling – this was a positive night for Red Sox Nation, because Curt Schilling was really good,” Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson said. “His pitches were low going through four innings, and he was really impressive.
“He commanded everything he had, and he was excited about his stuff. He’s made two very good rehab starts for us.”
Schilling retired the first 14 Mud Hens he faced in order before giving up a double to deep center by Brent Clevlen.
“He left a split-finger up, and I just tried to square it up,” Clevlen said. “He was throwing strikes. He had the split-finger going for him, and we kept chasing it.”
The next batter, David Espinosa, then hit a high hopper off Schilling’s glove. Second baseman Bobby Scales tried to throw Espinosa out at first but failed; Clevlen tried to score on the play, and first baseman Jeff Bailey threw Clevlen out at the plate.
“That was a nice play – and a big play in a 1-0 game,” Schilling said. “I was happy to not give up runs.”
Schilling’s line for the night included just two hits and no walks in five innings. The 40-year-old struck out eight and threw first-pitch strikes to 11 of the 16 hitters he faced. He finished with 66 pitches thrown, 44 for strikes.
“I felt good, I felt strong,” Schilling said. “I got stronger as the game went on, and I felt really strong in the fifth.
“There were a lot of good things out there.”
In his first rehab outing he allowed just two hits in three innings against Louisville July 21; he said he will make one more rehab start for Pawtucket next Tuesday in Columbus.
“It’s most important that I feel strong,” Schilling said. “My split [split-finger fastball] is as good as it’s ever been, and to have the velocity makes it even better.”
Schilling, who was 6-4 for Boston this season before going on the disabled list June 19 because of tendonitis in his right shoulder.
After last night’s game Schilling declined comment on any subject not related to last night’s start.
In the game Pawtucket scored a run in the top of the ninth, only to see the Mud Hens tie the game with a run in the bottom of the ninth off Travis Hughes.
Then in the 10th Clevlen hit a bases-loaded, two-out single to right to score Henry Mateo with the game-winning run.
NOTES: Yesterday Boston signed outfielder Brady Clark to a free-agent contract and assigned him to Pawtucket. He led off for the PawSox and had a hit in four at-bats. Jacoby Ellsbury was placed on the disabled list retroactive to July 22 to make room for Clark on the PawSox roster.
--JOHN WAGNER (Special to the Journal)
Posted by Corey Bourassa at 10:57 PM | Permalink
July 25, 2007
TOLEDO, Ohio – Pawtucket’s 12-2 loss to the Mud Hens last night was as ugly as the final score would indicate.
Oh, it was a close, tight, winnable game for the first five innings or so. But the Red Sox wasted scoring opportunities in the middle innings, then saw Toledo blow the game open with four runs in the sixth and five more in the seventh.
“Not much to talk about on this one,” Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson said afterwards.
David Murphy gave the PawSox an early lead when he slammed his ninth home run of the season, an opposite-field shot just under the scoreboard in left.
And starter Joel Pineiro, making his first appearance for Pawtucket since the parent club in Boston designated him for assignment July 22, was impressive in his three innings of work. The only baserunner he allowed was Chris Shelton, who walked with one out in the second but was thrown trying to steal second by Kevin Cash.
“Joel Pineiro did a really nice job,” Johnson said. “He got three innings, and his pitch efficiency was good.”
But Devern Hansack picked up for Pineiro and gave up a home run to Andres Torres on the third pitch he threw. Hansack got one out before walking Timo Perez, then throwing one pitch to Jack Hannahan and leaving with a stiff neck.
Edgar Martinez came on and walked Hannahan before giving up a run-scoring single to Shelton.
Pawtucket retied the game in the top of the fifth with an unearned run that scored on the second of Joe McEwing’s four singles on the night, but the Hens pulled away with a four run sixth-inning rally that was fueled by three walks, one by Martinez and two more by Barry Hertzler.
“When you’re in a situation like that in the sixth inning, you’re kind of hoping and holding on,” Johnson said. “You’re hoping to get some kind of break to stay in the game, and we didn’t get it.
“I turned the page on this one right there.”
Things got worse when the Mud Hens scored five more times off Hertzler in the seventh. Hertzler’s line included seven hits and three walks in 1 2/3 innings, raising his ERA with the PawSox from 13.81 to 16.31.
Perez led the Mud Hens with five RBI, tying Toledo’s season high, while Torres had three. Thanks to 12 hits and eight walks allowed by Pawtucket pitching every Hen hitter reached base at least once.
After that the only excitement came when Jeff Bailey, who was hit by a Ron Chiavacci curve-ball in the sixth, was hit by a pitch from Eulogio De La Cruz to lead off the eighth. Both benches emptied, but no punches were thrown and order was quickly restored.
The PawSox had won eight of their last 11 games before last night, which Johnson said will allow his team to set aside the lopsided loss.
“You’ve got to push aside games like this anyway because there’s no alternative,” Johnson said. “If you’re going to carry this thing into the next day, what are you going to do?
“We’re going to come out and exchange lineup cards today, and we’re going to play regardless of how well feel about it. So let’s move on.”
NOTES: RHP Curt Schilling will start for the PawSox tonight in Toledo. Schilling is expected to throw approximately 65 pitches, which means he will cover roughly four to five innings.
--JOHN WAGNER (Special to the Journal)
Posted by Corey Bourassa at 10:43 PM | Permalink
July 24, 2007
TOLEDO, Ohio — Brandon Moss was challenged twice in Pawtucket’s game against the Toledo Mud Hens last night.
He rose to the challenge each time, delivering two hits that produced a pair of RBI in a 3-2 victory at Fifth Third Field.
Moss blooped a single over a drawn-in infield to score a run in the fourth, then delivered a clutch run-scoring triple in the ninth to give the PawSox their eighth win in the last 11 games.
“Mossie came up big for us twice,” PawSox manager Ron Johnson said. “But he’s been doing that for us all season, and that’s why he has the numbers he has.”
Pawtucket’s ninth-inning rally began with Michael Tucker’s leadoff single off Toledo closer Aquilino Lopez. Moss fell behind in the count, 0-2, then worked the count full and fouled off another pitch before slamming a triple to straight-away center that scored Tucker.
“I fell behind when I (fouled off) a couple of fastballs,” Moss said. “But he got me back in the count when he missed his spot a couple of times. Then, at 3-2, he threw a good slider, and I was fortunate to foul it off.
“Then he threw me another fastball, and fortunately I didn’t miss that one.”
Even though the PawSox eventually stranded Moss at third, Johnson liked the way his team found a way to score the game-winning run in the ninth.
“Mike had a really good at-bat there because we needed a hit (to start a rally),” Johnson said. “Then with a 3-2 (count to Moss), you kind of roll the dice (and send the runner).
“You have your best hitter at the plate, so why not? If he does something like he did, and gets the ball in the gap, we have a chance to create something.”
If he misses (the pitch), it’s none on and two out. Hang with them.”
The rally came too late to make a winner of starter Mike Burns, who deserved better after a rough start. After retiring the leadoff batter, Burns allowed Henry Mateo to slam his first home run of the season over the fence in right.
Burns then retired the next 10 Mud Hens in a row, setting down 17 of 19 before Toledo tied the game off him in the bottom of the seventh. Jack Hannahan opened the frame with a long fly to deep left-center that went off the glove of Bobby Scales and bounced against the wall before falling to the ground for a double. Hannahan took third on a flyout by Chris Shelton, then came home on a long sacrifice fly to right by Brent Clevlen.
“Mike has done an outstanding job [in the rotation], just getting better and better,” Johnson said. “The last game he went into the sixth with a two-hitter.
“And I thought he did a great job of damage control [in the seventh]. Bobby Scales probably would be the first one to tell you he should have caught the ball, but Michael didn’t let the game speed up (and gave up just one run).”
The PawSox scored their first run in the fourth inning off Toledo starter Jordan Tata. David Murphy opened the frame with a single, then took second on Tucker’s groundout.
Murphy moved to third on a wild pitch, then trotted home when Moss blooped a single over the drawn-in infield.
Pawtucket got an unearned run in the fifth when George Kottaras led off with a double, then came around to score when Tata fielded a Ed Rogers sacrifice bunt by Ed Rogers but threw wildly to first.
Craig Hansen relieved Burns after the Hens tied the game in the seventh and picked up the win with 11/3 scoreless innings, while Bryan Corey retired the Mud Hens in order in the ninth to claim his first save of the season.
And Moss said that combination of good pitching and timely hitting has been the key to the recent success of the PawSox.
“Our bats are finally starting to heat up,” Moss said. “We’ve had good pitching all year, but in the early part of the year we’d get three or four hits and not score any runs. It was a tough time. Now our bats have heated up and we’ve been able to pick up our pitchers a little bit.”
-----JOHN WAGNER
Special to the Journal
Posted by Thom Cahir at 11:04 PM | Permalink
July 23, 2007
When Brandon Moss entered the batters box in the bottom of the 10th inning for Pawtucket, he knew he had the chance to win the game.
And that’s just what he did.
With runners on first and second base and one out, Moss ripped an 0-2 Brian Shackelford pitch between the first and second base gap. The ball continued rolling into right field.
David Murphy (3-for-5, 2 runs scored) rounded third base and sprinted home. Louisville right fielder Dewayne Wise’s throw home went wide right and Murphy slid in safely to score the game-winning run. Pawtucket won 3-2.
Moss was 0-for-4 prior to his game-winning hit.
“I was just trying to have a good at-bat, especially with runners in scoring position,” said Moss, who leads the PawSox in RBI with 62. “I was just trying to barrel the ball up, especially with him being down 0-2. I knew he was going to throw a strike. I didn’t know if it was going to be a fastball or a cutter but I knew it was going to be in the strike zone so I just got geared up and got ready to hit. It worked out well thank goodness.”
Pawtucket starter David Pauley had a perfect game going through four innings but Aaron Herr broke it up in the top of the fifth frame with a leadoff double.
“He pitched outstanding,” Moss said of Pauley. “You don’t see a much better performance than that. He pitched great.”
Herr’s hit didn’t faze Pauley. He retired the next three batters to end the inning. Pauley pitched 7 2/3 innings in all, allowing only two runs on six hits with seven strikeouts and no walks.
“He was outstanding,” Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson said of Pauley. “He had really good stuff. He had really good command of his stuff and we needed that today. We had a tired bullpen and it has been used a lot in the last couple of days so we needed that kind of performance.”
Travis Hughes closed out the game for Pawtucket, going 2.1 innings. He allowed just one hit with four strikeouts.
“He was outstanding,” Johnson said of Hughes.
Pawtucket racked up 13 hits last night, but only two came in a clutch situation which resulted in the close game. Pawtucket was 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position, including 0-for-3 with the bases loaded.
Joe McEwing snapped out of his hitting slump in style when he sent a Victor Santos offering into the bullpen in left field for a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning to give Pawtucket a 1-0 lead.
Jeff Bailey drove in Murphy with an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth inning to give Pawtucket a 2-0 cushion. Louisville manager Rick Sweet decided that he had seen enough and pulled Santos (3.1 innings, 5 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts) after that.
It turned out to be a wise decision. Relief pitcher Jason Kershner got George Kottaras to ground into a 4-6-3 double-play to end the inning.
Louisville caught up to Pauley in the sixth frame and cut Pawtucket’s lead to 2-1 on a Chris Dickerson RBI sacrifice fly.
The PawSox had a chance to do a lot of damage in the bottom of the sixth inning when they loaded the bases with no outs but they came away empty handed.
Louisville put runners on first and third base with no outs in the top of the eighth inning against a tiring Pauley but he got Janish to ground into a 6-4-3 double-play. Ryan Hanigan, however, scored on the play from third base even the score.
--ROB LEE
Posted by Corey Bourassa at 10:57 PM | Permalink
July 22, 2007
PAWTUCKET – Boston’s highly touted prospect Clay Buchholz displayed an overpowering fastball that was consistently clocked between 93- and 96-miles-per-hour, a paralyzing curveball, a very effective changeup, and a slider that fooled several of Louisville’s batters yesterday in front of a crowd of 9,530.
But even his impressive performance – 10 strikeouts, three hits, two earned runs, five innings pitched – couldn’t stop the PawSox from falling, 11-1, to the Bats.
That’s because Louisville exploded for six runs on six hits in the top of the sixth inning against Pawtucket relief pitcher Barry Hertzler (1 inning, 6 runs, 6 hits, 2 walks), who got booed by the crowd for his sub-par performance.
Pawtucket never recovered.
Yesterday, however, was about Buchholz and developing him into a future Major League pitcher. He certainly lived up to the hype yesterday after allowing three runs (2 earned) on five hits in his first PawSox outing.
“I felt good out there,” Buchholz said. “I felt balanced…I just go out there and pitch to get outs. Being out there I don’t just want to throw fastballs the whole game and let them get hit hard so I try to go out there and mix up my pitches.”
Buchholz, who went 7-2 with a 1.77 ERA for Portland (AA) where he led all of minor league baseball for much of the season in strikeouts (116), threw 74 pitches yesterday, 53 for strikes. He threw 26 fastballs, 25 changeups, 13 curveballs, and 10 sliders.
“He threw the ball really well,” Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson said. “I was really impressed with his stuff. It was fun to watch…It was a good outing. He threw good stuff. His fastball, curveball, slider, and changeup all looked really good.”
Buchholz, the Red Sox minor league pitcher of the year last season (11-4, 2.42 ERA, 140 strikeouts), looked sharp early. He only gave up one hit while striking out three over the first two frames.
He said that the difference between the Double-A hitters and the Triple-A hitters is that the Triple-A hitters adjust more quickly. That was evident yesterday. The Bats were able to score two runs on Buchholz their second time through the batting order.
Buchholz ran into a bit of trouble after walking Paul Janish with one out in the top of the third inning. Janish advanced to third base on a Chris Dickerson double and scored on a Ryan Hanigan single.
Dickerson tagged up and scored from third base on Joey Votto’s sacrifice fly to center field to give the Bats a 2-0 lead. Buchholz did not give up another hit after that. He struckout six of the last eight batters that he faced.
“It’s a game of pitches and if you throw a good pitch and they hit it, then you have to tip your cap to them but I really get frustrated out there whenever I throw a bad pitch and it gets hit but that’s what they are supposed to do,” Buchholz said of the hanging breaking ball that Dickerson launched for a double. “They are getting paid to play too so if you hang them up there then they are going to hit it hard.”
Pawtucket cut Louisville’s lead in half in the bottom of the fifth frame when Zach Borowiak (1-for-2, double, 2 walks, RBI) drove in Kevin Cash (2-for-4, run scored) with a double, but that’s as close as Pawtucket got.
Louisville blew the game open in the top of the sixth inning when Jay Bruce and Jesse Gutierrez each hit RBI singles, Dickerson hit an RBI triple, Hanigan hit an RBI double, and Janish hit an RBI fielder’s choice grounder. Gutierrez scored on a throwing error in the inning.
Louisville starter Elizardo Ramirez (2-2) scattered five hits and allowed just one run in 6 2/3 innings with three strikeouts.
Pawtucket only managed six hits yesterday.
--ROB LEE
Posted by Corey Bourassa at 5:12 PM | Permalink
July 20, 2007
PAWTUCKET – Pawtucket righty Devern Hansack earned his team-leading seventh win of the season last night and his sixth win in a row.
He has teammate Jeff Bailey to thank for that.
Bailey led an explosive PawSox offense that amassed 10 hits by going 2-for-3 with a home run, a walk and four RBI to power Pawtucket to a 6-4 victory over Louisville.
“You get a guy like that hot, a production guy like him and [David] Murphy right now, they can kind of carry you,” Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson said.
Bailey and Murphy carried Pawtucket last night. Murphy was 2-for-4 with a solo home run.
Hansack pitched six innings, scattered five hits, allowed four runs, and struckout nine.
“He’s been pretty dirty all year just look at his ERA and strikeout totals,” Johnson said of Hansack, who is 7-6 with a 3.35 ERA. “What I like about Devern is the development of his changeup. His changeup is becoming a big time swing and miss pitch. His arm speed is right along the lines with his fastball…Devern Hansack is as consistent as you can get.”
Hansack only made two mistakes last night. Louisville hit a home run on both of them. One was a three-run shot by Joey Votto. The other was a solo home run by Chris Dickerson.
“Devern gave up a couple of home runs but that was just because he was being aggressive,” Bailey said. “That was fine because we still kept the lead.”
“He only made two mistakes and they did what you are supposed to do with mistakes,” Johnson said. “They smoked them…But they are good hitters though. Votto is a good hitter. He makes me nervous every time he comes to the plate. Dickerson has hit a couple of homers against us. He’s a big strong kid. But we got enough early to hold on.”
Despite Louisville’s two home runs, the Bats never led in the game. The PawSox jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on four two-out hits and never looked back.
After Bobby Scales (1-for-2, 2 runs scored, walk, hit by pitch) and Michael Tucker (2-for-4, double, run scored) both singled, Brandon Moss drove-in Scales with a single hit down the first-base line, putting runners on first and third base.
Bailey then sent a Richie Gardner offering into the bullpen in left field for a three-run home run. It was his second three-run home run in as many nights, and his 12th home run of the season.
“It was the pitcher’s mistake,” Bailey said. “I think he was trying to sink it but it didn’t sink much. I got it. It’s nice to get that kind of lead early in the game.”
David Murphy led off the bottom of the second inning with a solo home run for Pawtucket to give the PawSox a 5-0 cushion.
After Scales walked, he sprinted to third base on a Tucker double. Bailey drove-in Scales with an RBI single to center field to make it 6-0.
Votto cut Pawtucket’s lead in half with a three-run home run in the top of the fourth inning.
After Hansack struckout the side in the fifth, Dickerson hit a sixth-inning lead-off home run and Pawtucket’s lead fell to 6-4. But Hansack did not allow another hit after that.
Louisville had a chance to win the game in the top of the ninth inning when former Boston star Mark Bellhorn (2004, 2005) came up to bat with two outs and a runner on first and second base, but Pawtucket closer Travis Hughes struck him out to earn the save.
----ROB LEE
Posted by Thom Cahir at 10:34 PM | Permalink
July 19, 2007
PAWTUCKET – As the sold out crowd began leaving McCoy Stadium yesterday after Ottawa had taken a 9-1 lead by scoring three runs in the top of the eighth inning, Pawtucket showed the fans that stayed why it should no longer be considered a team that is going to roll over and go away quietly after falling behind in a game.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Jeff Bailey hit a three run home run, Bobby Scales hit a two run home run, and Alex Prieto hit a solo home run to cut Ottawa’s lead to 9-7.
But the PawSox offense stalled there and they suffered a 9-7 loss to the last-place Lynx.
“It got real exciting there towards the end,” Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson said. “I think that was one of our better innings offensively this year as far as driving the ball. That was something special right there.”
Johnson said that the PawSox showed a lot of courage by nearly pulling off what would have been a remarkable comeback.
“It was just one of those things where we gave up a few too many and came up just a little bit short at the end but I was real proud of the ball club,” Johnson said.
Scales went 2-for-3 with a walk, two home runs, two runs scored and three RBI to lead the PawSox offense.
“You’d like to do it in a win,” Scales said about hitting two home runs against his former team. “We had opportunities to win the game and that is the main thing. I know this is the minor leagues and I know that we are here for development purposes but as long as they keep a scoreboard, the aim is to win the game.”
With the score tied 1-1, Ottawa took control of the game in the top of the sixth inning. After Gary Burnham put Ottawa on top, 2-1, with an RBI single, the Lynx loaded the bases for Jim Rushford who hit a grand slam home run on a Mike Burns (2-7) changeup. It was Rushford’s first home run of the season.
“That was probably the longest drought I’ve been in and I was starting to think that I wasn’t going to hit one all year but I came up in the right situation, got a pitch that I could handle, and put a good swing on it,” Rushford said.
Ottawa added three insurance runs in the top of the eighth on Danny Sandoval’s RBI double and Pedro Swann’s two RBI single.
Burns did everything asked of him in the first five innings, limiting Ottawa to just one run on two hits.
“He actually dominated through the first five innings of the ball game,” Johnson said. “His pitches were very low.”
Ottawa, however, batted through the order and exploded for five runs on five hits against a tiring Burns in the momentum-turning sixth inning which forced Johnson to pull him.
The game was close prior to the sixth inning.
Ottawa jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Joe Thurston hit a one out double to deep right-center field. Jason Jaramillo drove him in with a single hit up the middle. Burns calmed down and got the next two batters to ground out and end the inning.
Burns (5 1/3 innings, 6 hits, 6 runs, 2 strikeouts) did not give up another hit until sixth inning, but the PawSox couldn’t amount much of an offense either. Pawtucket didn’t get a hit until the fifth inning. Scales, who entered yesterday’s game tied for third place in the International League with a .316 batting average, sent the first pitch of the PawSox fifth into the bullpen in left field for a solo home run, tying the score, 1-1.
Pawtucket, however, only got one more hit off of Ottawa starter J.A. Happ (2-4), who pitched six innings and limited Pawtucket to just one run with six strikeouts.
“Happ, he’s pretty good,” Scales said. “He wasn’t doing anything particularly tricky, but he’s got a surprise fastball. You see it, you feel like you’re on it, but then you get beat by it. He’s pretty good.”
--ROB LEE
Posted by Corey Bourassa at 4:43 PM | Permalink
July 18, 2007
PAWTUCKET – A strong performance from lefty Jon Lester and some late-inning heroics led to a 9-4 victory for the Pawtucket Red Sox over the Ottawa Lynx last night at McCoy Stadium.
Lester pitched seven strong innings, scattering seven hits and allowing three runs with three strikeouts to earn the win.
“I liked his outing,” Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson said. “I thought he was throwing real good stuff…I liked the way he stayed composed in this outing…I liked everything about Jon’s outing.”
Lester said that he relied on his fastball and cutter to confuse the Lynx batters.
“I really didn’t have a feel for my curveball early on,” Lester said. “Later in the game it came around better but mainly I was throwing fastball and cutter and I mixed in a couple of changeups, hit some spots and got some outs.”
Pawtucket, which did not get a hit until the fifth inning, produced nine runs on eight hits over the final four innings to secure the win.
With the score tied, 3-3, entering the bottom of the seventh, Pawtucket batted through the order and scored six runs on five hits to take control of the game.
George Kottaras extended his hitting streak to six games with an RBI double he crushed to the wall in right-center field, scoring Brandon Moss (2-for-3, walk, 2 runs scored) to break the tie.
Ed Rogers (2-for-4, 2 RBI) drove in Bobby Scales with an RBI single to put runners on first and third. After Alex Prieto fouled out to third base, Jacoby Ellsbury hit an RBI infield single, scoring Kottaras.
Then David Murphy (1-for-4, HR, 3 RBI), who hit a home run in Tuesday’s game, blasted a three-run home run over the right-field fence to break open the game.
“That was a big three-run bomb,” Johnson said. “That was a beautiful thing to see.”
Lester dominated the Lynx their first time through the order, only allowing one hit with two strikeouts, but their second time through the order, the Lynx got the best of Lester.
Five of the Lynx nine batters reached base against Lester their second time up. Dusty Wathan hit an RBI single to right field that scored Gary Burnham to give Ottawa a 1-0 lead.
Lester, however, got help from his defense to get out of the inning before the Lynx could do any more damage. After Jim Rushford fouled out to third base, Lester got Randy Ruiz to ground into a 6-4-3 double play.
Ottawa starter Landon Jacobsen owned the PawSox through the first four innings, but when Moss produced Pawtucket’s first hit in the bottom of the fifth, it ignited the PawSox bats.
Rogers tied the game for Pawtucket when he hit an RBI bloop single to left field, scoring Moss. Ottawa’s left fielder lost the ball in the sky and Rogers ended up on second base while Scales, who was hit by a pitch, sprinted to third base.
Alex Prieto hit a broken-bat single to the shortst
