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Wednesday, 25 June 2008 |
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By BRENDAN MCGAIR Sports writer PAWTUCKET — It’s been a frustrating season for Devern Hansack.
What immediately jumps out, heading into last evening’s start against Richmond, is Hansack’s win-loss record (2-8) and 5.40 ERA. Yet as the saying goes, you can’t always judge a book by looking at the cover.
“It’s not what he’s looking for, but you have to look at the quality of his stuff. I think you have to thrown out the numbers when evaluating Devern,” said Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson. “I look for big things from Devern in the second half simply because he’s shown signs. I think you’re going to see some good stuff.”
It turns out Johnson was a tad off. Deciding not to wait until after the All-Star Break, Hansack pitched hands down his best game to date, tossing eight shutout innings in Pawtucket’s 6-1 win over Richmond before 7,109.
Hansack permitted just two singles, striking out four while walking no one. At one point he set down 17 straight Braves, a streak that was snapped by a two-out hit by Barbaro Canizares in the seventh. Going back to his previous start, Hansack has now tossed 14 consecutive scoreless innings.
“His stuff was consistent and in the zone,” said Johnson after Pawtucket moved two games ahead of Scranton in the IL North.
Hansack needed just 89 pitches, which left the door open for him to finish what he started. Johnson said the only reason why Hansack didn’t come out
for the ninth was because Jose Vaquedano needed work.
“He was pitch efficient and could have probably finished,” said Johnson. “but that was enough for today.”
You have to go back to April 11 in Louisville to fully understand why Hansack, who lowered his ERA to 4.81, has gotten off to a slow start. The game’s third batter sent a line drive off his right forearm, an injury that resulted in Hansack spending three weeks on the disabled list.
The other problem Hansack has run into has been his inability to avoid the big inning. The best example came in his June 3 start in Charlotte. Hansack was cruising along until he was touched for four runs in the seventh, an inning he did not finish.
“Hopefully he’s coming around,” said catcher Dusty Brown, who contributed a two-run triple as part of a four-run fourth inning for Pawtucket. “He’s been good all year. He’s just run into some bad luck. He wasn’t able to stay away from the big inning, but the stuff has always been there. It’s just a matter of him getting ahead of hitters.”
A key for Hansack is for him to get his slider over for strikes. He forced eight groundball outs and 12 flyouts.
“You are going to pay if you miss the location, which Devern has had happen,” said Johnson. “He was forcing contact and making guys miss.”
Hansack first made waves when he pitched a rain-shorted no-hitter on the final day of the 2006 season in Fenway Park. That high note culminated a season in which he returned to baseball after spending 2004-05 pitching for his native Nicaragua. Last season was the 29-year-old’s first season in Triple-A in which he led Pawtucket in wins (10), innings (139 2/3) and strikeouts (131).
Hansack’s struggled helped open the door for a few members of Pawtucket’s rotation. David Pauley was awarded a spot start with the Red Sox in April while Charlie Zink has enjoyed an All-Star-caliber first half. Zink could very well be the next PawSox in line to receive a start with Boston.
Yet as Johnson pointed out, Hansack is by no means a forgotten member of the Red Sox organization.
“Not at all,” said Johnson when asked if Hansack has perhaps gotten lost in the shuffle. “He’s on the 40-man roster for a reason.”
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EXTRA BASES: The game was delayed 28 minutes due to rain. … Two names on Richmond’s roster are familiar faces to Johnson: Andrew Shibilo, who Johnson managed in Trenton (2002) and Portland (2003), and Jerome Gamble, who Johnson had in Portland (2003-04). … Shibilo totaled 44 appearances for the PawSox in 2002-03. He tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings Tuesday … Fans have until Friday to vote their favorite PawSox into the 2008 Triple-A All-Star Game, set for July 16 in Louisville. Go to pawsox.com and scroll down to the online ballot link. … Clay Buchholz (2-1, 2.00 ERA) takes the mound tonight. He has not pitched more than six innings in any of the six starts he’s made with Pawtucket. … Tonight is Armed Service Night. … The PawSox presently have the best fielding percentage in the IL at .983 (49 errors in 2,867 total chances). The Sox have also committed the fewest errors in the league as well. |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 26 June 2008 )
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