Bullpen falters as PawSox unable to complete sweep
PAWTUCKET — In their first week in Triple-A, a pair of Red Sox prospects impressed for the Pawtucket Red Sox, who dropped their series finale to the Rochester Red Wings, 6-3, on Sunday afternoon at McCoy Stadium. Pawtucket first baseman Josh Ockimey mashed his second homer in three games since his promotion from Double-A Portland, where the 22-year old went deep 15 times. The Philadelphia native went 1-for-4, and his three-run shot traveled an estimated 412 feet and left the bat at 103 MPH. Six innings later, reliever Travis Lakins cruised through his second Triple-A outing, sitting 93-95 MPH with his fastball in a 1-2-3 stanza. Since moving to the bullpen at the end of May, Lakins has limited opponents to a paltry .104 average (8-for-77) against him. The PawSox (51-60) snatched a 3-0 lead in the first inning on the strength of Ockimey’s big fly, but Rochester (50-61) used two innings — a three-run third and a three-run ninth — and a gem from 23-year-old right-hander Fernando Romero to salvage the series finale from Pawtucket. Much like the Rays, Rochester employed an “opener” in righty reliever Alan Busenitz, who yielded the threerun jack in the first inning. From there, Romero (W, 4-3) — who has made 11 starts for the Twins this season — buzzed through eight shutout innings in which he fanned eight, didn’t issue a walk and only ceded four hits. Pawtucket starter Justin Haley logged six sturdy innings of three-run ball and punched out seven. Lakins handled the seventh, and righty Marcus Walden (L, 0-3) dealt a 1-2-3 eighth before allowing three runs in the top of the ninth. After singles from Pawtucket center fielder Rusney Castillo and left fielder Sam Travis in the bottom of the first, Ockimey teed off on the first pitch he saw to hand Pawtucket a 3-0 lead. In the top of the third, Rochester designated hitter and former Yankees villain Tyler Austin yanked a two-run double down the left-field line. Two batters later, first baseman Andy Wilkins supplied an RBI bloop single to tie the game, 3-3. The game remained tied into the ninth, when Rochester loaded the bases on an infield single, walk and hit batter. That’s when No. 9 hitter Gregorio Petit golfed a dirt-scraping, two-strike slider to shallow left field to push Rochester ahead, 4-3. Two batters later against Pawtucket southpaw Robby Scott, former Twins first-round pick Nick Gordon dumped a bloop two-run single just out of the reach of PawSox shortstop Mike Miller into shallow left-center to extend the Rochester lead to 6-3. Following Monday’s off day, the PawSox hit the road this week and open a three-game series against the Louisville Bats (Cincinnati Reds) on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. Pawtucket right-hander Josh A. Smith (2-4, 4.62) is scheduled to oppose Louisville righty Jose Lopez (5-9, 4.51). After the six-game road trip, the PawSox will return home August 13-19 (Monday-Sunday) to host Norfolk (Baltimore Orioles) and Durham (Tampa Bay Rays).