The Providence Journal
Mike Szostak - Yankees 8, PawSox 6 -- PawSox face rehabbing Phil Hughes
Ineffective pitching by PawSox reliever Chris Smith in the 10th inning set the stage for an improbable PawSox rally in the bottom of the 10th. Smith allowed four runs on a hit batsman, a wild pitch, an RBI single, an intentional walk and a three-run homer to No. 8 hitter Chad Moeller on an 0-2 pitch. The PawSox rallied for four runs in the bottom of the inning on five consecutive hits and Dusty Brown’s sacrifice fly. Gil Velazquez and Joe Thurston doubled. After scoring three runs, the PawSox had the bases loaded with no outs but managed only to tie the score on Brown’s fly ball.
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Pawtucket starter Devern Hansack pitched well for the PawSox, scattering four hits, striking out four and walking two. He gave up a run in the third and another in the sixth.
Mike Szostak - Olympic spirit not lost on PawSox' Kottaras
Greece finished seventh in the eight-team tournament in 2004, just ahead of Italy. Kottaras was 3-for-12 in four games with a double, two RBI and a run scored. After the Olympics, he returned to Fort Wayne and finished the season with a .310 batting average, the best in the Padres farm system. Boston acquired him in September 2006, and he has been in Pawtucket since the start of the 2007 campaign. He is hitting .242 this year with 21 home runs and 64 RBI.
“George has done a real fine job in his development over the last two years,” PawSox manager Ron Johnson said. “He has become a thinking man’s catcher. He has a feel for his pitcher that day as far as what’s working and what’s not. He follows preexisting game plans well, he reads swings well and he has become a guy who pitchers want to throw to. That’s the biggest compliment you can give a catcher.”
Johnson admires how Kottaras times his trips to the mound.
“They’re not called from the dugout, and I’ll be sitting there going, ‘You know what — this would be a good time for a trip,’ and all of a sudden you’ll see him pop up and head out to the mound. He’s really developing well. I couldn’t say enough good things about him.”
Full Version: Sox Minor League News Links, Wed. Aug. 13, 2008
Mike Scandura - Scranton edges PawSox in 11
The Yankees broke a 2-2 tie against the normally-reliable Chris Smith.
With one out, Smith hit Ben Broussard with a pitch and then wild-pitched him to second. Cody Ransom lined an RBI single to center.
Eric Duncan walked and Chad Moeller lined an 0-2 pitch just inside the left-field foul pole for his first home run of the season and a 6-2 lead.
But just like the Boston Red Sox went run-happy at Fenway against Texas, the PawSox emulated the big club by scoring four runs to tie it at 6-6.
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Hansack began the sixth in impressive fashion by fanning Matt Carson and Juan Miranda. But after Shelly Duncan singled, manager Ron Johnson yanked Hansack in favor of Jon Switzer and the Yankees scored for a 2-0 lead.
Suarez single lifts Dogs by Altoona; Portland rallies for two runs in the ninth inning, keyed by an Iggy Suarez single, to beat the Curve.
Portland starter Adam Mills struck out five batters while giving up just three hits over seven shutout innings. He was in line to get the win before the Curve rallied for three runs in the top of the eighth on back-to-back triples by Shelby Ford and Jose Tabata off reliever Richie Lentz.
Portland reliever Carlos Vasquez gave up one hit and struck out two batters while pitching a scoreless ninth inning to earn his second win of the season.
The Sea Dogs had taken a 2-0 lead in the seventh inning when Lars Anderson lined a two-run homer into the Portland bullpen that scored Zach Daeges. Anderson's homer was his fourth of the season as a member of the Sea Dogs, all in the last nine days.
Kevin Thomas - A memorable up-and-down day for Zink; Despite being headed back to the minors, the former Sea Dog says Tuesday was "best memory" of his life.
"Best memory of my life," Zink said.
Zink, 28, did not have the major league debut pitchers dream about. But he got his debut.
After 192 minor league games, 71 of them with the Portland Sea Dogs, Zink finally got his chance to pitch on a major league mound.
Zink has to leave to make room for veteran pitcher Paul Byrd, who the Red Sox acquired from the Cleveland Indians.
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"He's earned this," Epstein said. "He's had a long path to the big leagues and nothing's been handed to him.
"We were kind of looking for a way to get him up here. With Wake on the DL, it seemed like the perfect time."
"I'm sure this won't be his last start as a member of the Red Sox. But no promises of how he fits into this club beyond (Tuesday night)."
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Boston Manager Terry Francona said, "I thought (Zink) handled his emotions real well. He competed. He threw the ball over the plate for the most part. The fifth unraveled, but it unraveled on everybody."
Zink began the game against Ian Kinsler, and with a 2-0 count Kinsler hit a change-up to the warning track in left field.
"My heart was pounding out of my shirt," Zink said. "I was scared out of my mind. I thought I was going to give up a leadoff home run."
David Hood - Red-hot Mailman leads Drive again
At the rate he’s going, Greenville’s David Mailman may not want August to ever end.
The left-fielder and leadoff man continued his recent hot streak with four hits and two RBI, and three Drive pitchers combined to give up just one unearned run in a 3-1 victory over the Lexington Legends in front of 4,029 fans at Fluor Field on Tuesday night.
“Our pitchers did a nice job and set a good tone for the game,” Greenville manager Kevin Boles said. “David is really coming along, and with him it’s a process and shows it’s not how you start but how you finish. He has done great work in the cage.”
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During his current three-game hitting streak, Mailman is hitting 11-for-26 (.423) with three homers, seven RBIs and six runs.
“It’s all coming together because of the work I have done with Billy (Greenville hitting coach McMillon),” Mailman said. “There is still a half of a month left, even though I’ve gotten off to a good start. I am just up there trying to make something happen to help my team.”
Greenville starter Jose Capellan picked up his third win, pitching five innings, allowing one unearned run while striking out five and walking one. Ryne Miller pitched the last inning and a third to pick up his third save.
David Willis - New motion takes Price from mop-up duties to top prospect
LOWELL — No wins and a 10.40 earned run average over two complete seasons are hardly the stats of a future first-round pick. Rather, they are the numbers of a mop-up reliever.
In fact, that is exactly what current Lowell Spinners ace Bryan Price was for his first two seasons at college superpower Rice. But a few adjustments and a little confidence kicked off a shift that turned the righty from a college disappointment to a hot major league talent, the No. 9 prospect in the Red Sox system.
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