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May 14, 2007

Pawtucket 3, Toledo 1

Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson and third baseman Chad Spann started a new tradition yesterday.

Before the PawSox’ series finale with Toledo, Johnson took the young infielder to Quiznos for lunch -- "and I never buy the sandwiches," Johnson quipped -- and last night, Spann had his best offensive night of the season, going 3-for-4 with a solo home run to lead off the eighth inning.

The shot to the berm in left field was Spann’s first homer of the season and was the capper of Pawtucket’s 3-1 win over the Mud Hens.

"I’m excited about Spann. He’s taken his lumps, but he’s handling himself with a maturity beyond his years," Johnson said of the 23-year old Georgia native.

Spann came into the game hitting just .202 with two RBI in 30 games this season. Last year, his fifth in the Red Sox farm system after being drafted in the fifth round of the 2002 draft, Spann was an Eastern League All-Star with Portland. He hit .294 with 50 runs batted in for the Sea Dogs, but had his season cut short in early August after injuring his left ankle running the bases.

Ever superstitious, Johnson told Spann at the end of the game that the two would be back at Quiznos today.

Pawtucket’s win got off to an inauspicious start, as outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury dropped a fly ball in shallow right-center. The ball was a tough get for Ellsbury, but he did get it in his glove and could not hold on. Mud Hens leadoff hitter Ramon Santiago wound up scoring when the next batter, Chris Shelton, doubled to left.

The double to Shelton was the only hit -- and the only baserunner -- allowed by Sox starter Kason Gabbard until the fifth inning. Gabbard had another strong outing, with just two hits and the unearned run in the scorebook, to go with seven strikeouts and one walk.

It was the first time in his last five starts that Gabbard earned a decision. He is now 3-1 with a 2.76 ERA; over his last four starts, he has allowed just four earned runs.

"It’s nice to see that he’s developing the ability to throw strikes with his secondary pitches," Johnson said. "When you get to the big leagues, you can’t throw fastballs to guys like David Ortiz and Manny (Ramirez)."

Pawtucket answered Toledo’s run quickly, cobbling together a run in the home half of the first. Ellsbury led off with a single, advanced on hits by Joe McEwing and David Murphy, and scored on a sac fly by Jeff Bailey.

Though a quick look at the boxscore shows that the Sox left 12 men on base -- they left the bases loaded in each of the first three innings and left two more in the fourth -- Johnson wasn’t bothered by it given how his team has struggled offensively in recent weeks.

"Right now, for us, it’s a positive," he said. "I don’t want to sound like an idiot, but if we load the bases in the first three innings, I’ll take that right now" since Pawtucket was getting men on base and finding the gaps.

Another example of how the PawSox have struggled this season: the win over Toledo was just the second time this season the Sox have won in 8 1/2 innings. The rest of their wins took a full nine innings or extra innings.

NOTES: After going 2-for-4 last night with a walk and a run scored, outfielder David Murphy has now hit safely in eight of his last 10 games, batting 15-for-41 (.366) in the stretch. ... Though top prospect Jacoby Ellsbury’s batting average with the PawSox dropped from .263 to .256 with his 1-for-5 night, his first-inning single to left means he has now reached base safely in all but one of the 10 games he’s played in Pawtucket. ... The Sox are 3-1 on their current 8-game homestand. ... Toledo outfielder Vincent Blue, called up from Erie earlier in the day, made his triple-A debut last night, going 0-for-2 with a walk. ... Last night’s attendance was 4,768. ... Pawtucket opens a four-game series with Durham tonight (7:05 p.m.). PawSox RHP David Pauley (0-1, 3.25 ERA) will oppose RHP Mitch Talbot (2-4, 8.71).

--SHALISE MANZA YOUNG

Posted by Corey Bourassa  at 9:47 PM to PawSox | Permalink

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