Highlighting Pawtucket’s first win in August was Chris Carter’s titanic two-run home run in the first inning, his team-leading 12th. Recent acquisition Chris Duncan, mired in a dreadful 4-for-33 slump, delivered a sacrifice fly in the seventh that snapped a 3-all game.
Cabrera nailed down his 19th save in as many opportunities, requiring all of 13 pitches en route to a 1-2-3 ninth that was punctuated with two strikeouts. Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson also made special note of the two innings Hunter Jones provided, this even though the left-hander was charged with surrendering the tying run in the eighth.
Then there’s the yeoman turned in by infielder Jeff Natale. It was the type of play that normally receives little fanfare, yet Johnson took the time to sing its praises while resting in the manager’s office.
Natale stepped to the plate with two on and no one out in the seventh, the baserunners the result of consecutive walks issued by Scranton reliever Kevin Whelan. Boasting the International League’s most feeble hitting attack (.230 team average), the PawSox were in the market to play small ball. Natale obliged, dropping down a well-placed bunt that advanced the two runners into scoring position and set the table for the heart of the PawSox’ lineup.
What followed was a walk to Carter, which loaded the bases, and Duncan’s deep flyball to left that allowed Ivan Ochoa to trot home. None of that would have been possible had Natale not been on-target with his bunt.
“It’s about doing the right thing at the right time,” said Johnson. “I have a phobia that if you don’t do the right thing, it could come back to haunt you. I almost didn’t do it with Natale because I have confidence in him, but the biggest killer right there is the double play. His bunt was probably the biggest play of the game.”
“R.J. gave me one pitch to see if I could hit it hard somewhere, (Scranton’s Amuari Sanit) threw a pitch I wasn’t comfortable with,” explained Natale. “Any time you have guys in scoring position, you want to pressure on the defense, which we haven’t done much of this year. It makes it a lot easier for the guys hitting behind me.”
Pawtucket, now 22-10 in day games (as opposed to 27-49 at night), adopted more “small ball” tactics in the eighth. A slow roller off the bat of third baseman Angel Chavez resulted in a rushed throw by Yankees shortstop Doug Bernier. The error allowed Bubba Bell (two hits) to scamper home with the eventual game-winning run.
“We haven’t gotten a play like Angel’s in ages,” said Johnson, whose club out-hit the first-place Yankees (9-7). “We’ve got the personnel do this. Hopefully over the remainder of the season we can start (stringing together some productive at-bats).”
Pawtucket tacked on an insurance run in the eighth when Mark Wagner connected on a RBI single. Wagner assumed Jeff Bailey’s place in the lineup in the seventh inning.
Charlie Zink was long gone by the time this one was decided. Making his first appearance in eight days, the knuckleballer allowed three runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings. Despite giving up a walk and a hit in 1/3 of an inning, T.J. Large was credited with the victory.
Johnson recently charted a course of seeking out positives within defeats. For one afternoon, he was given a reprieve.
“The biggest thing is that you don’t have to go out in the clubhouse and come up with something positive,” said Johnson. “We’ve got to play every day and put players in position that they can help our major-league club. We’re trying to find ways to win, regardless of the score, but you want to see results.”