7th-inning woes sink Hens in Pawtucket
6/27/2013PAWTUCKET, R.I. — Pawtucket rallied for five runs in the seventh inning to claim a 5-4 victory over the Mud Hens on Tuesday.
The Red Sox sent nine batters to the plate and collected six of their 10 hits in the seventh on the way to beating Toledo for the fifth game in a row.
The game was scoreless until the fourth, when Ben Guez worked Pawtucket knuckleballer Steven Wright for a four-pitch walk, then took second on a passed ball before Jordan Lennerton singled him to third.
Mike Cervenak lifted a sacrifice fly to right that scored Guez. Lennerton took second on another passed ball, then came home on a double by Alex Avila.
In the seventh, Toledo scored its other two runs as Argenis Diaz singled off Red Sox reliever Brock Huntzinger, extending his current hitting streak to 15 games.
Guez singled Diaz to third, and Lennerton’s hit-and-run single plated Diaz and sent Guez to third.
Again Cervenak hit a sacrifice fly that brought Guez home.
But Pawtucket responded with five-runs in the seventh. With one out Dan Butler singled off Hens starter Derek Hankins, who gave up just four hits in the first six innings, then took second on a single by Jeremy Hazelbaker.
Jackie Bradley, Jr., greeted reliever Matt Hoffman by doubling into the left-field corner to score Butler and send Hazelbaker to third. Drew Sutton followed with a single that brought home Hazelbaker and pushed Bradley to third, and both baserunners scored on a double by Mitch Maier.
Will Middlebrooks then singled off Brayan Villarreal to score Maier with the game-winning run.
Avila continued his rehab assignment with the Hens by going 2-for-4. He grounded out in the second against Wright before doubling in a run in the third and doubling off the right-field wall in the sixth. He took a called third strike while facing Brock Huntzinger in the seventh.
Lennerton to play in Futures Game
Mud Hens first baseman Jordan Lennerton has been chosen to play in the 2013 Futures Game, which will take place July 14 at Citi Field in New York.
Lennerton will play on the World team in the contest, which is played two days before the All-Star Game.
He ranks among the International League leaders with a .314 batting average and has 12 home runs and 38 RBIs for the Hens this season.
Teammate Nick Castellanos is part of the “Futures Finalists,” five players who are part of a fan poll to fill the final spot on Team USA.
Fans can vote for the “Futures Finalists” at MLB.com/futuresfinalists.