September 12, 2014 at 6:04 AM
Cup of Coffee: Owens struggles, pushing PawSox to the brink
9/12 Cup of Coffee: The PawSox hit the road, and fell to a 4-3 decision for the second straight night. The loss puts the team in a 2-1 deficit in the best-of-five Governor's Cup.
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After splitting two games at McCoy Stadium, the International League championship moved to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. It was the third straight one-run game of the series, with Pawtucket coming up on the wrong end of the last two and now finding itself on the brink of elimination. Left-hander Henry Owens got the start, his second of the postseason. Owens pitched around three walks in the first two innings, but the Bulls caught up to him in the third, using a pair of doubles to mount a three-run inning. Durham would not relinquish its advantage. Overall, Owens lasted four innings, allowing three runs on three hits. He walked three and struck out five.
Pawtucket actually struck for the first two runs of the contest. Ryan Lavarnway doubled in the second inning and came home on a Corey Brown base hit, giving the team a 1-0 lead. The PawSox tacked on a second run in the third as Deven Marrero and Justin Henry delivered back-to-back singles, with Marrero coming in from third when Ivan DeJesus grounded into a 6-4-3 double play.
The Bulls added a big insurance run in the sixth when Nick Franklin (TB) took Noe Ramirez deep for a solo homer. It was the only run surrendered by Ramirez in three innings of work. Jose Valdez added a scoreless inning of relief, striking out a pair. The Red Sox rallied for a run in the ninth. Lavarnway struck out with what could have been the second out of the inning, but it got by the catcher and the former Yale star raced to first. He then came around to score on a double by Garin Cecchini. With the tying run on second base, Durham reliever Josh Lueke (TB) was able to induce a Brown ground out followed by a Blake Swihart pop out that ended the game.
Recently-signed outfielder Rusney Castillo did not appear in the game for Pawtucket.
The two teams will meet for Game Four on Friday at 7:00 in Durham. Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez will make his Triple-A debut as Pawtucket tries to fend off elimination and keep it's chances alive for a second Governor's Cup in three years.
Photo Credit: Henry Owens by Kelly O'Connor