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PawSox draw nearer to Scranton |
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Thursday, 14 August 2008 |
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By ERIC BENEVIDES Sports witer PAWTUCKET --- Edgar Martinez stopped the bleeding.
The Pawtucket Red Sox starting pitcher tossed six shutout innings on Wednesday night against the top team in the International League's North Division, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, allowing just four singles and two walks and helping the PawSox score a 5-1 win and earn a split of their two-game series at McCoy Stadium.
The victory was just what the doctor ordered for the PawSox, who had dropped their last three games and seven of their last 10 to fall out of first place in the standings. A loss to the Yankees would have dropped them 3 1/2 games out of first place for the first time since mid-May.
Instead, the PawSox are now 75-51 and 1 1/2 games behind the Yankees (76-49) with 16 games to play in their regular season. And they have a comfortable 9 1/2-game command over the Toledo Mud Hens (65-60) in the I.L. wild-card chase.
The PawSox can thank Martinez for getting them back on the winning track. Martinez only struck out two batters, but he was helped by three double-play grounders and threw 53 of his 93 pitches for strikes.
Martinez, who improved to 7-2 and lowered his ERA from 4.03 to 3.79, has done a marvelous job since he was inserted into the starting rotation back in early June when Kyle Snyder landed on the disabled list. In his last nine starts, he is 5-1 with a 3.26 ERA.
The PawSox gave Martinez all the support he needed by producing a run in the second inning, two in the fourth, and another run in the fifth.
Their run in the second came with two outs, as Josh Wilson doubled down the left-field line and scored on a bloop single to right by Gil Velazquez that just fell in front of right fielder Shelley Duncan. Wilson was almost thrown out at the plate on a strong one-hop throw by Duncan, but the throw bounced past catcher Chad Moeller.
Two innings later, the PawSox quickly doubled their lead when Jeff Corsaletti and Wilson got things going with back-to-back doubles belted into the gap in right-center. Wilson then went to third on a soft grounder to second by Velazquez, and with two outs, Jeff Bailey drove him home with a line single to left.
The lead then grew to 4-0 in the fifth, when with one out, Dusty Brown doubled to deep center and came home on a line single to left by Sandy Madera.
The visitors' best threat came in the eighth when they loaded the bases with no outs on singles by Brett Gardner and Matt Carson off reliever Beau Vaughan and a walk to Juan Miranda by reliever Hunter Jones.
But Jones only surrendered one run, that coming on a sacrifice fly to left by former Cleveland Indians first baseman Ben Broussard.
The PawSox eventually got that run back in the bottom of the inning on a mammoth home run by Madera, who led off the frame by hammering a 1-2 pitch from reliever Scott Patterson onto the roof of the shed in straightaway center. The homer was Madera's fifth in 30 games with the PawSox.
The PawSox finished the game with 11 hits and four players in the multiple-hit club -- Madera, Corsaletti, Bailey, and Wilson. Corsaletti and Wilson each doubled twice.
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Notes: The PawSox were quite busy in the transactions department on Wednesday. The day started with knuckleballer Charlie Zink's returning to the PawSox (following his major league debut on Tuesday) and fellow 13-game winner David Pauley's getting called up to Boston. Reliever Lincoln Holdzkom was also designated for assignment, and Snyder, who had been on the disabled list since June 3 with a recurring right groin strain, was activated. ... After the game, Bailey was called up to the Red Sox and Pauley was returned to the PawSox. Pauley flew down to Syracuse after Boston's game at Fenway Park against the Texas Rangers and will make his scheduled start in tonight's 7 p.m. series opener against the Chiefs. ... The PawSox are also expected to add reliever Marcus McBeth to the roster in the next few days after he was placed on waivers by the Cincinnati Reds and claimed by the Red Sox. McBeth pitched in 24 games for the Louisville Bats, the Reds' Triple-A affiliate, and was 1-1 with two saves and a 6.20 ERA. Last year, he had a dozen saves for the Bats and went 3-2 with a 5.95 ERA in 23 games for the Reds. ... Bailey's fourth-inning single upped his hit streak to eight games. ... After the PawSox play their two-game series in Syracuse, they will head to Buffalo for another two-game series against the Bisons.
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 16 August 2008 )
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