Patience Proves Virtuous in 4-3 Walk-Off Win
Published on August 1, 2011 under International League (IL1)
Pawtucket Red Sox News Release
Pawtucket trailed 3-2 heading into the ninth inning, but a single, a trio of walks and a hit-by-pitch produced a pair of runs and a 4-3 walk-off victory over the Louisville Bats.
Nate Spears led-off the ninth inning with a single up the middle. He advanced to second base on a soft groundout to third by Luis Exposito, before Brent Dlugach popped up in foul territory to first baseman Danny Dorn who made a one-handed basket catch as he negotiated the tarp down the right field line and had the wherewithal to spin and fire the ball into third base to prevent Spears from moving up 90 feet.
Daniel Nava pinch-hit for Ronald Bermudez who was 2-for-3 in the game up to that point, but Lousiville's Jordan Smith, who came on to start the ninth inning, walked Nava on five pitches. The next batter was Che-Hsuan Lin, and after taking a called strike Smith plunked Lin on the shoulder with a high fastball to load the bases with two outs. Jose Iglesias watched four pitches go by four a four-pitch walk and then with the game tied 3-3, Ryan Lavarnway worked the count 3-0 before Smith got a pitch over for a strike. The next pitch was ball four to earn Pawtucket the 4-3 win.
Smith picks up the loss to drop his Triple-A record to 0-3 on the season in 12 games. Between the Arizona League Reds (Rookie League) and Louisville, Smith had pitched 18.2 innings entering the game and walked just two batters. He walked three Monday night in 0.2 IP.
Jed Lowrie played three innings for Pawtucket before being replaced by Iglesias prior to the fourth inning in the first of what will be four planned rehab appearances with the PawSox. Lowrie has been on Boston's disabled list since June 17 with a left shoulder strain and was hitting .270 in 55 games with Boston at the time of his injury.
The PawSox and Bats combined for four solo homeruns in the first six innings, but it was a manufactured run by Louisville in the top of the fifth inning that gave Louisville the lead heading into the ninth.
Dorn homered for Louisville with two outs in the second inning and Chris Valaika led-off the third inning with a blast of his own to put the Bats up 2-0 on Pawtucket. On the first pitch he saw in the third inning, PawSox DH Exposito belted a homerun to the opposite field to get Pawtucket on the board. A sacrifice fly by Dave Sappelt put Louisville ahead 3-1 in the fifth before Hector Luna hit his twelfth homerun of the season to bring Pawtucket back to within a run.
Kyle Weiland's record remains at 8-7 on the year after being tagged with a no-decision. He was in-line for the loss before Pawtucket's comeback bailed him out. He allowed two homeruns and three runs total over seven innings. He struck out five Bats and threw 98 pitches.
Louisville's starting pitcher Volquez was armed with a fastball that rarely dipped below 95 MPH, and he cruised through seven innings like his PawSox counterpart. Volquez scattered five hits and two walks while striking out six on 111 pitches on the game. He had thrown 102 pitches through six innings, but came out to pitch the seventh inning and needed just nine pitches to retire the side.
The PawSox and Louisville will conclude their four-game series Tuesday evening with the first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Pawtucket's All-Star Matt Fox (6-4, 4.82 ERA) will take the mound against the Bats' Scott Carroll (6-7, 5.20 ERA). Fox will look to get back on track for the PawSox. He has struggled in his last eight starts in which he is 2-2 with a 7.71 ERA after starting the season 4-2 with a 2.88 ERA in his first 15 appearances (8 starts).
International League Stories from August 1, 2011
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