Ever the polite hosts to their departing
visitors from Norfolk, the Pawtucket Red Sox could do no favors for their other
special guest from their own parent club in Boston on Thursday.
Daisuke Matsuzaka’s latest rehab start
blended the basic elements from his previous two. Just as they did against
Toledo last Saturday, the Sox could not offer him enough support to reward his
effort with a win.
And for the first time since Matsuzaka’s
previous, and only, decision at the Triple-A level in 2012, namely a 5-0 loss
at Durham May 17, the bat rack took a vow of silence. In the process, they
treated Tides starter Chris Tillman to his longest, most efficient start of
the season, his fourth in Norfolk.
The consequence: A 2-0 setback at McCoy
Stadium decided almost in exclusive tandem by Tillman and designated hitter Lew
Ford.
Ford’s first-inning solo shot off Matsuzaka
was enough to hold up the Tides as visiting starter Chris Tillman one-upped his
counterpart in stifling the Sox.
Lars Anderson constituted Pawtucket’s
only hit and one of only four individuals to reach base through the first seven
innings. Other than Josh Kroeger, who in the second inning reached first on a
fielder’s choice and then advanced on a botched pickoff attempt, nobody could
cross into scoring position on Tillman’s watch.
Meanwhile, in the seventh, Ford took full
advantage of PawSox reliever Alex Wilson’s oily right hand to add to the lead
he created six innings prior. Drawing a walk and then stealing second base,
Ford was permitted to advance to third and then score on two consecutive wild
pitches to Miguel Tejada.
Tillman would retire 17 consecutive
batters between the third and the eighth inning and did anything but wear down
along the way. He struck out the side, including Ryan Lavarnway and Anderson,
in the seventh, then benched Mauro Gomez and Kroeger to start the eighth for
five unanswered Ks.
His next challenger, Alex Hassan,
redirected his one hundredth pitch of the night right back to the mound,
allowing him to do the honors on his last out.
Nate Spears, who was Tillman’s final
baserunner after drawing a walk in the third inning, led off the ninth with an
opposite-field single against reliever J.C. Romero. But after Pedro Ciriaco’s
sacrifice bunt nudged him to second, Spears was stranded as Jon Link took the
ball for Norfolk and nimbly retired Che-Hsuan Lin.
PawSox
pluses
For the second time in as many rehab
appearances this homestand, Matsuzaka made it through five full innings, giving
way to Alex Wilson after retiring his first challenger in the sixth. He walked
no batters and struck out four, including former Boston teammate Bill Hall, and
only Ford (2-for-2) could whittle any hits off of him.
In two full innings of relief, Garret Mock
struck out three Tides and threw 19 out of 25 pitches for strikes.
Sox
stains
Other than the top-to-bottom offensive
famine, you mean?
Through the first seven innings, Norfolk’s
only other baserunner besides Ford was leadoff man Chris Robinson in the third.
He was admitted to first base when Anderson dropped Pedro Ciriaco’s routine
throw from short, incurring his fourth error of the 2012 campaign.
Tides
notes
Tejada had a busy, yet effective evening
at his third-base post, fielding and executing seven PawSox ground balls within
the first six innings. Those included each of Ciriaco’s first three plate
appearances and Lin’s game-ending grounder.
Robinson’s two-out, eighth-inning single
off Mock was Norfolk’s only hit at the expense of the Pawtucket bullpen.
Out of nine strikeouts on the night,
Tillman threw six against the heart of the PawSox batting order, two apiece
against Lavarnway, Anderson and Gomez.
Ford would appear on base a third time
in the seventh when he drew a leadoff walk on Wilson.
Miscellany
Pitchers Chorye Spoone and Billy Buckner
switched places in the organization earlier in the day with Buckner coming up
to Pawtucket from Portland.
The PawSox will embark on an
abbreviated, one-stop road trip to Lehigh Valley the next four nights. That
series will be their first against a divisional rival since finishing a home
set with Rochester May 10 and their only one between now and an eight-day swing
through Buffalo and Syracuse starting June 14.
