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PawSox rout Louisville |
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Thursday, 12 June 2008 |
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By ERIC BENEVIDES Sports writer PAWTUCKET — The offense came alive on Wednesday night.
Joe Thurston's three-run homer to right field and Dusty Brown's grand slam home run into the berm in left highlighted a big seventh-inning rally that helped the Pawtucket Red Sox run away with an 11-3 victory over the Louisville Bats at McCoy Stadium and end a mini three-game slide.
The 11 runs by the PawSox were their most in a game since they scored a season-high 14 in a win on the road over the Durham Bulls, and it marked the fifth time this season that they have scored 11 or more runs in a contest.
Thurston, who has been en fuego in his last six games, going 14-for-32 with three homers and nine RBIs, also had a run-scoring single in the contest and was one of four PawSox players with multiple hits.
But while the PawSox (39-29) clicked offensively, they also received another superb spot start from righthander Edgar Martinez. Using an effective slider for most of his outing, Martinez delivered 4 2/3 innings, striking out four batters and yielding five singles, three walks, and a run. He threw 55 of his season-high 90 pitches for strikes.
Martinez had made a spot start last Friday night in Charlotte and picked up the win by tossing five solid innings on 66 pitches, striking out four and allowing four hits, two runs, and a walk. Martinez, who was 1-1 with two saves and a 5.40 ERA in 16 relief appearances, also made a last-minute start on April 20 at home against Buffalo and pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings.
"I felt really comfortable on the mound," admitted Martinez, who will stay in the rotation until injured starter Kyle Snyder (who has been on the DL since June 3 with a right groin strain) is able to return to action. "I know (the ballclub) is going to want me to start for a while and I'm going to try to do the best I can."
The Bats tried to break on the board in Martinez's final inning of work by collecting three of their four hits. Kevin Barker, who reached base on a fielder's choice grounder, tried to score from second on a two-out single up the middle by Alvin Colina, but center fielder Jonathan Van Every threw a bullet to Brown behind the plate to cut down Barker.
But Louisville finally got its run off Martinez in the fifth. With one out, he plunked Michael Griffin with a pitch and walked Andy Green, and with two gone, Ryan Hanigan hit a sinking liner to center that was almost gloved by a diving catch by Van Every, but just fell in front of him and allowed Griffin to score.
That's when PawSox manager Ron Johnson pulled Martinez and brought in southpaw Hunter Jones to avoid further damage, and Jones extinguished the threat by striking out Barker for the final out.
Bats starter Ramon Ramirez, who was making just his fifth career Triple-A start, zipped through the PawSox's lineup through the first four innings, retiring 12 of the 13 batters he faced (giving up just a two-out walk to Jed Lowrie in the fourth) and allowing just one batted ball to reach the outfield.
But in the fifth, Pawtucket finally got to Ramirez and wasted little time in tying the score, as George Kottaras led off with a walk, and on a hit-and-run play, scored on Keith Ginter's ringing double down the left-field line.
After Brown walked, Ramirez got Gil Velazquez to ground into a 6-4-3 double play, but Ginter, who went to third on the play, trotted home on a line triple to right by Van Every that drew chalkdust and bounced around in the right-field corner. Jeff Bailey then belted a long double to left-center to drive in Van Every and force Louisville manager Rick Sweet to send Ramirez to the showers.
Ramirez's replacement, Matt Belisle, was instantly greeted by a sharp ground single to right-center by Thurston that just found its way under the glove of Green at second base and allowed Bailey to score the run that gave the PawSox a 4-1 command. Lowrie followed with an opposite-field double down the left-field line, but Belisle was able to retire the next batter he faced on a groundout.
Jones, who earned the win to even his record at 2-2, allowed a run in the sixth on a homer into the berm in left by Adam Rosales (only his second in 197 at-bats this year) and ran into trouble in the seventh when he walked the first batter he faced (Green) and gave up an infield base hit to Drew T. Anderson.
Johnson again went to his bullpen and brought in Eric Hull, who instantly got Hanigan to tap into a 6-4-3 double play, but Hull then gave up a run-scoring double to Barker that sailed over the head of left fielder Chris Carter and made it a one-run affair.
But the hosts used a little longball to break the contest wide open in the bottom of the inning. They made it a 7-3 game on a long three-run homer by Thurston, who welcomed reliever Marcus McBeth to the game by wrapping a 1-0 pitch around the right-field foul pole for his fifth homer of the season and third in seven games.
McBeth, who entered the game with a 9.95 ERA, continued to get into trouble by walking a pair of batters, giving up a single to Kottaras, and surrendering a grand slam homer to Brown, who belted his second roundtripper of the season into the berm in left.
Chris Smith, who has been sensational since moving to the bullpen in late April, tossed two more scoreless innings and has allowed just two earned runs in 17 1/3 innings of relief.
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EXTRA BASES: Lowrie's double in the fifth extended his hit streak to 13 games. ... Brown has 15 RBIs in his last 16 games. ... Kottaras, who came into the series with just seven hits in his last 65 at-bats, had his second straight multiple-hit game. ... The PawSox are still two games behind the first-place Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (41-27) in the standings and 1 1/2 behind the second-place Syracuse Chiefs. ... Knuckleballer Charlie Zink (7-2, 2.44) takes the mound for the PawSox in tonight's 7:05 p.m. game against the Bats and righthander Justin Mallett (2-1, 3.00). Zink is tied for fourth in the IL in victories and seventh in the league in ERA. Tonight is also "PawSox Sunglasses" Night, and the first 4,000 fans that enter the stadium will receive sunglasses with the team's logo on them.
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 14 June 2008 )
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Saturday night I attended the semi-final girls basketball
game vs Townies Girls team as an aunt of one of the EP players. It was an exciting
all-around game for both teams, and I give credit to my niece and the Townie girls
too for a great season. <br />I just have to say though, that I was
particularly impressed with the talent, poise and unflappable playing style of this
Tolman girls team! It can only speak well of a great coaching staff, and their love
and encouragement of these talented girls. After the game, the low-key humilty that
the Tolman girls displayed, showed real sportsmanship and class. I have a feeling
that this season is the "Year of the Tiger" and hope that they go straight on to
victory in the championship. No matter what the outcome though, they've gained a new
loyal fan in me, and I look forward to following the next seasons with real
interest. This is the way that high school sports should be played! You go Tolman
girls! - Regina Orio
THANK YOU TO THE PAWTUCKET TIMES AND THE WOONSOCKET CALL
FORV THEIR GREAT COVERAGE OF HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING IN YOUR PAPERS IT IS VERY MUCH APPERICATED!! A SPECIAL THANKS TO TERRY NEAU FOR HIS EXCELLENT COVERAGE OF CUMBERLAND CLIPPERS WRESTLING AND FOP ALL THE GREAT PICTURES YOU PUT IN THE CALL THEY ARE AWESOME!!!THANKS AGAIN!!! - Dawn Lariviere
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