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By ERIC BENEVIDES Sports writer PAWTUCKET ---- They may have their sights set on returning to the Boston Red Sox on Saturday and solidifying their team's bench, but on Thursday afternoon, veteran infielders Alex Cora and Sean Casey did their part to help the Pawtucket Red Sox chalk up a victory.
Cora and Casey each laced a base hit and scored a run in a three-run rally in the home half of the third inning that lifted the PawSox and starting pitcher David Pauley to a 3-2 victory over the Durham Bulls in the finale of their four-game series at McCoy Stadium.
Cora, who for the second straight night, played second base for the first seven innings, just had that one hit in four at-bats, while Casey, who served as the designated hitter, went 2-for-4 and joined outfielder Jeff Bailey and catcher Dusty Brown in the multiple-hit club.
Cora was slated to be today's DH, but seeing how he only touched the ball only once defensively in Wednesday night's game (he received credit for an assist on a rundown), he returned to second base and saw his share of action. He fielded three grounders (and started a 4-6-3 double play on the first one), caught a soft line drive, and dropped another one that he promptly picked up and tossed to first.
"Everything was good," remarked PawSox manager Ron Johnson, who plans to use Cora at shortstop and Casey at first base in tonight's series opener against the Norfolk Tides. "They got their at-bats and Alex had a lot of plays at second and he handled them as we knew he would. I think they have to be pleased with the way they felt out there."
Cora, who went on the disabled list in mid-April with a sprained right elbow, said he was feeling 100 percent before the game, but left the stadium during the game's final inning. But Casey, who earned a trip to the DL by spraining his right hip running the bases in an April 25 game against the Tampa Bay Rays, was still around the clubhouse and all smiles after completing his first of two rehab appearances.
"I think (Red Sox general manager) Theo (Epstein) told me before I got here, 'If you don't get on base, you're going to have to stay on your rehab assignment until you do,' " Casey said with a laugh. "But everything felt good out there, and it was great to get out there again, get on the bases, and really test (the hip) out."
While most of the afternoon's attention was on Cora and Casey, Pauley quietly enjoyed a nice outing. The righthander, who was coming off his worst performance of the season last Saturday in Syracuse (nine runs and seven hits in four innings of work), bounced back nicely and improved his record to 3-2 by tossing six strong innings of five-hit ball. Pauley struck out five batters, walked two, and threw 52 of his season-high 86 pitches for strikes.
"I thought he did a really nice job," added Johnson. "What I was most pleased about David today was his professionalism and his mound presence. Even in his last inning, when he had a couple of guys on, he made some really good pitches and got himself through it, and that was really good to see. He has stuff -- there's no doubt about it -- but David really made me feel like he was going to hold up our three-run lead."
After squandering a bases-loaded threat in the first inning, the PawSox (now 19-16) grabbed that 3-0 lead in the third off Durham starter Mike Prochaska (1-3), who entered the game with a 9.00 ERA in four starts.
The first three batters of the inning -- Bailey, Cora, and Casey -- singled to instantly load the bases, and after Prochaska bounced a wild pitch on a 2-1 offering to Sandy Madera that allowed Bailey to race home with the first run, he walked Madera three pitches later to reload the bases.
Prochaska bounced back to strike out Chris Carter for the first out, but Brown drove in Cora with an infield hit that was gloved deep in the hole by a diving attempt by shortstop Reid Brignac, and Sean Danielson walked to force in Casey. Prochaska escaped further damage by getting Chad Spann to tap into a 4-6-3 double play, but the damage was already done.
In the fifth, the PawSox had a golden opportunity to add to their lead when one-out singles by Carter and Brown knocked Prochaska out of the game. His replacement, Colter Bean, eventually walked Spann to load the bases, but was soon able to wiggled off the hook and keep it a three-run game.
"We had our share of opportunities, but we couldn't cash in on them," admitted Johnson, whose crew stranded a total of 10 runners. "We scored three, which was nice, but we had guys on base all afternoon. This was one of those games where -- with a key hit here or there -- we might have scored six, seven, or eight runs. but they kept stopping us from getting that hit, and those kind of games make me a little nervous."
Pauley, meanwhile, cruised through the first five innings, allowing just two softly-hit singles, but in the sixth, the Bulls finally got on the board when Josh Labandeira led off with a solo homer into the PawSox's bullpen in left field. One out later, Elliot Johnson doubled off the wall in center, and with two gone, Dan Johnson ripped a line single to right to drive in another run and make it a 3-2 game.
But Johnson's hit was the Bulls' last of the contest. Pauley got out of the inning by retiring the next batter on a groundout, Chris Smith worked the seventh and eighth inning and retired all six batters he faced, and Bryan Corey struck out two of the three batters he faced in the ninth for his first save of the season.
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EXTRA BASES: Red Sox outfielder Brandon Moss, who underwent an emergency appendectomy last Saturday night at Massachusetts General Hospital, was spotted at the stadium for the second straight day getting in some running and cardio work. Moss will continue his workouts in Fort Myers, Fla. this weekend and could be ready to play in a few rehab games for the PawSox in a couple of weeks. ... After Wednesday night's contest, Cora treated the PawSox to an assortment of food from Cappricio's in Providence. Yesterday, Casey did the post-game shopping for dinner by hitting the Capital Grille in Providence for a spread that included huge portions of filet mignon. ... Bailey, the PawSox's new leadoff batter, owns a six-game hit streak that has seen him collect 11 hits in 24 at-bats and hit safely in 15 of his last 17 contests. He is currently batting .327, which is good enough for fifth among the International League's leaders. ... In tonight's 7:05 p.m. opener with the Tides, PawSox southpaw Michael Tejera (2-2, 3.86) will oppose righthander Liz Radhames (0-3, 5.35). ... On Saturday, the PawSox will host first of their four free youth clinics from 2-3:15 p.m. at the stadium, and the first 4,000 fans ages 14 and under who enter the stadium for the 6:05 p.m. game will receive a PawSox photo baseball featuring full color action photos of Red Sox players (and PawSox alumn) Jonathan Papelbon, Jon Lester, Manny Delcarmen, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Dustin Pedroia.
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