PawSox split, Salem finds bats in big win

4/11 Cup of Coffee: In the first of Saturday's pair of seven-inning games against Rochester, Daisuke Matsuzaka shined in a rehab start as Pawtucket squeaked out a 1-0 win. Matsuzaka, who threw five shutout innings and reached 92 mph on the stadium gun, had 3 strikeouts and a walk, though he hit 2 batters and gave up 2 hits. For the PawSox offense, Kevin Frandsen singled and went first to third on a Dusty Brown base hit before Aaron Bates knocked him in with a single of his own. Alan Embree pitched an inning of scoreless relief, striking out 2, and Dustin Richardson put a pair on base in the top of the seventh before notching his first save of the season. Both Frandsen and Brown went 2 for 3 on the afternoon.

In game two of the doubleheader, Rochester used a four-run sixth to salvage a split, beating the PawSox 4-2 at McCoy. Starter Adam Mills threw 4 scoreless innings for the home side, striking out 1. Red Wings starter Glen Perkins walked the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth and was replaced by Matt Fox. Fox struck out Mark Wagner and Bates before hitting Daniel Nava with a pitch and allowing a single to Bubba Bell, both of which brought in a run. Kris Johnson took over for Mills in the fifth but ran into problems in the sixth when Josh Reddick misplayed a fly ball to right. The next batter hit a 2-run single to tie it up, and a bases loaded walk and a sacrifice fly later in the inning made it 4-2 Rochester. Pawtucket threatened with 2 on in the sixth inning, but nothing came of it. Nava and Bell were the only players to collect hits for the PawSox.

Much like Pawtucket, Portland had trouble getting their bats going Saturday as well, falling 4-1 to Reading. The Phillies jumped on starter Kyle Weiland in the second inning, scoring 3 runs on a slew of base hits. They added another run in the third on a Brandon Pinckney double. Weiland finished his 5 innings having allowed 9 hits. He struck out 2. The Sea Dogs only run came in the top of the fifth, when Jose Iglesias doubled and scored on a Jason Place groundout. Portland loaded the bases in the seventh, but couldn't make anything of it. Iglesias went 2 for 4 on the evening, and leadoff hitter Che-Hsuan Lin went 2 for 2 with a pair of walks. Ryne Lawson pitched the final 3 innings, holding the Phillies without a run and striking out 2.

A night after going 14 innings with just a single run, Salem's bats got back on track in an 8-3 win over Potomac. Starting pitcher Fabian Williamson threw 5 strong innings, holding the Nationals to just 4 hits and 1 run. Caleb Clay took over from there and got the save, giving up 2 runs on 3 hits. The Sox scored 4 in the third inning, thanks to a Drew Hedman RBI double, a Ryan Dent RBI triple, and a two run shot by Tim Federowicz. Dent knocked in another in the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly before Salem pulled away in the eighth. Alex Hassan scored on a double by Oscar Tejeda before Will Vazquez drove in a pair with a single to round out the scoring for the Sox. Drew Hedman was 3 for 4 with a pair of doubles, and Tejeda finished the game 2 for 4.

In the final game of the evening, Delmarva topped Greenville 6-4. The Shorebirds got to Drive starter Manny Rivera early, scoring 2 runs on 3 extra base hits in the first inning. Greenville tied it up in the second when Reymond Fuentes scored on a double by Jeremy Hazelbaker, who went on to score on a wild pitch by Delmarva's Matt Hobgood. Delmarva scored twice more in the top of the third, and Shannon Wilkerson's RBI single in the bottom half of the inning brought the Drive back to within 1, but the Shorebirds pulled away. Wilkerson finished the game 3 for 4 with a double and an RBI. Chris McGuinesss knocked in a consolation run in the ninth. Rivera went 5 innings, giving up 4 runs on 6 hits and striking out 2. Anatanaer Batista threw 2 innings of 2-run relief, and Jeremiah Bayer followed him up with 2 perfect innings.

Player of the Night: Drew Hedman, who was 3 for 4 with 2 doubles and an RBI in Salem's 8-3 victory over Potomac.

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