Bubba Bell grounds out to second for the first out, and that's the end of the night for Joe Krebs, who is replaced by Jon Adkins. Adkins is 3-5 with a 3.70 ERA.
Niuman Romero welcomes the new hurler with a one-out double before Gil Velazquez flies out to deep right. Romero takes third on the play, and Angel Sanchez brings him home with a single to right.
Lars Anderson comes up with one on and two out, and he hits a dribbler back to the pitcher to end the game.
Middle 9th, Louisville 6-4: Fernando Cabrera is on for the final frame. Cabrera is 0-3 with a 4.81 ERA for the PawSox this season.
Michael Griffin leads off with a sharp hit to short, and Angel Sanchez corrals then fires to Lars Anderson — but it pops out of his glove. Still, it's ruled a hit for Griffin.
Juan Francisco singles to right, and Griffin takes third. With runners at the corners and none out, Todd Frazier — who is 0-for-4 tonight — strikes out. Drew Sutton, who extended his on-base streak to 32 games earlier tonight, becomes Cabrera's second strikeout victim, and Chris Valaika grounds out to short to end the threat.
The final line on Fabio Castro is 2 1/3 innings, one hit, zero runs, one walk and three strikeouts on 38 pitches.
End 8th, Louisville 6-4: Joe Krebs enters to relieve Jesus Delgado. In eight games with Louisville, Krebs boasts a 0.82 ERA.
He faces Josh Reddick, who promptly grounds one up the middle to put two on and none out.
Dusty Brown flies out to center for the first out, and the Bats' shortstop makes a great leaping grab on a bid by Jorge Jimenez, then fires back to second for the double play to get Reddick. Inning over.
Reddick has been on base four times tonight, walking in the first and singling in his other three at-bats.
Bottom 8th, no outs, Louisville 6-4: Aaron Bates, who's 0-for-3 tonight, leads off the bottom of the eighth against Jesus Delgado.
Delgado is 0-1 this season with a 3.23 ERA. On the road, his ERA shrinks to 2.45.
Bates grounds to shortstop, and although Zack Cozart makes the pick, spins and throws to first, it's high and is about an inch away from getting over Yonder Alonso's head.
That's it for Delgado.
Middle 8th, Louisville 6-4: More obscure statistics: The Bats are 27-7 when leading after seven, and although they are 9-16 when making an error — and have the only E on the scoreboard tonight — they're in line to improve that stat.
Chris Denove is retired for the first time tonight, striking out against Fabio Castro. Chris Burke, who needs a double to hit for the cycle, makes for Castro's second K, but Castro plunks Zack Cozart in the shoulder to extend the inning.
That brings up Yonder Alonso, who quickly ground out to first to end the threat.
End 7th, Louisville 6-4: Gil Velazquez, who is 1-for-2 with a single and a walk, strikes out to lead things off. Angel Sanchez flies out deep to right, then Lars Anderson grounds out to second to end a quick frame.
After embarking on a three-game hitting streak in which he went 4-for-11 and hit .364, Velazquez has encountered a bit of a cold streak, going 1-for-9 in the three games prior to Monday's.
You may remember Velazquez from the 2008 ALDS against the Angels, when the Southern California native replaced an ailing Mike Lowell on Boston's playoff roster.
Middle 7th, Louisville 6-4: Unfortunately, when trailing after six innings, the PawSox are 4-27.
However, when they score three or more runs, the are 22-8 — so there's
hope.
Fabio Castro is back on for the seventh, and he makes quick work of Juan Francisco, getting him on a mile-high popout to first. He strikes out Todd Frazier, then walks Drew Sutton before Chris Valaika flies out to right to end the inning.
End sixth, Louisville 6-4: Jesus Delgado is on to relieve Maloney. In six innings in June, he boasts a 1.50 ERA, allowing one earned run.
Delgado takes care of Bubba Bell, then Niuman Romero lays one right in front of catcher Chris Denove, who fires to first to end the threat.
Bottom sixth, one out, Louisville 6-4: Reddick leads off the bottom of the sixth with a single past second. Dusty Brown flies out to center for the first out, then Jorge Jimenez grounds one through first and second to put two on with one out.
That's going to be the end of the night for Matt Maloney.
Middle 6th, Louisville 6-4: Fabio Castro, the third PawSox pitcher of the night, promptly allows a two-run double to deep center to Yonder Alonso.
Entering tonight's game, Castro was 3-4 with a 7.04 ERA.
The hit is Alonso's second of the night.
Josh Reddick makes the catch of the night to end the three-run inning, running down a Michael Griffin fly ball in deep center.
The final line on Chad Paronto is 1/3 inning, two hits, three runs, one walk and zero strikeouts.
Sixth inning, two outs, 4-4: Chad Paronto is on to relieve Johnson. At 34 years old, the 6-foot-5 righty is in the midst of his 15th professional season.
Paronto faces Chris Valaika with one out and gets him to fly out to center before Chris Denove works a 3-0 count, eventually hitting a fast-sinking blooper to left, which just gets under the glove of Aaron Bates.
Denove, the Bats' No. 9 hitter, is 3-for-3 with three singles this
evening.
Chris Burke ties the game with a triple to right, and is now a double away from the cycle. He has four RBIs, and Kris Johnson will get a no decision.
Paronto walks Zack Cozart on four pitches before his evening is over, and here comes Fabio Castro, the third pitcher of the inning.
The final line on Johnson is 5 1/3 innings, seven hits, four runs, two walks and three K's.
Sixth inning, one out , 4-3 Pawtucket: Kris Johnson begins the frame with his 86th pitch of the evening.
He gets leadoff man Drew Sutton to pop out to shallow left, and that's the end of his night. He has thrown 89 pitches.
End 5th, 4-3 Pawtucket: Matt Maloney is back out there for the fifth despite struggling through the previous inning, and he gets right back into his groove, getting three quick outs.
Angel Sanchez grounds out to third, and after working a 3-2 count, Lars Anderson pops out to catcher Chris Denove. Aaron Bates flies out to end the frame.
Maloney is now in line for his team-leading sixth win of the season.
Middle 5th, 4-3 Pawtucket: Chris Burke wastes no time pulling the Bats back within one, homering to left and scoring Chris Denove, who singled to lead things off.
Zack Cozart makes the first out, popping out to Lars Anderson in foul territory.
Louisville's Yonder Alonso singles to right before pinch-hitter Michael Griffin — replacing Wladimir Balentien — hits a double to deep right-center. With two in scoring position and one out, Johnson strikes out Juan Francisco on three pitches, then gets out of the jam by inducing Todd Frazier into a popout to third.
The home run is Burke's fourth homer of the year. His last one also came against the PawSox on June 4.
End 4th, Pawtucket 4-1: It's a very rough inning for Maloney, and the PawSox capitalize, putting two more on the board.
Josh Reddick leads things off by lining one into left, and Dusty Brown grounds out to third, moving Reddick along to second. Lefty Jorge Jimenez lines one right at center fielder Chris Burke, but it falls for a hit. Reddick plays it safe, staying at center.
Bubba Bell, who tripled last time up, lines one into right, scoring Reddick — but Brown is gunned down at third for the second out. Then, Niuman Romero lines one into right, and Bell, who was already going, is safe at third.
With Gil Velazquez up, Romero heads for second, and a bad throw by Bats catcher Chris Denove allows Bell to score while Romero takes third. Velazquez grounds out to short to end the frame.
In 12 plate appearances against Louisville, Reddick has gotten on base eight times. That's a .750 on-base percentage.
Middle 4th, Pawtucket 2-1: Kris Johnson gets back into his groove in the fourth, striking out DH Juan Francisco, then getting Todd Frazier to fly out. Drew Sutton quickly lines a first-pitch single into shallow center, extending his on-base streak to 32 games.
With one on and two out, Chris Valaika flies out to center to end the inning.
Sutton's streak remains the longest in the league this season.
End 3rd, Pawtucket 2-1: Didn't take long for the PawSox to take the lead in this one.
After inducing Jorge Jimenez into a grounder to second to lead off, No. 9-hitter Bubba Bell triples down the first baseline, and the play might have been close at third, but the throw from Balentien is way off the mark, allowing Bell to reach safely.
Niuman Romero hits one hard into left field, scoring Bell with one out. Gil Velazquez knocks one into left, and with two on and one out, Angel Sanchez lines a double down the third baseline, scoring Romero.
Lars Anderson pops out before Aaron Bates grounds one back to Maloney to end the inning.
Bell is in the midst of his sixth year in the organization and is
hitting .270 with two homers. This RBI is his 23rd.
Middle 3rd, Louisville 1-0: Kris Johnson runs into some trouble here in the third, facing seven batters and allowing a run.
Drew Sutton leads off with a groundout to third, and then Chris Valaika works a walk to become the Bats' first baserunner of the night. It pays off — Chris Denove grounds one through second and third before Chris Burke comes through with an RBI single to left, scoring Valaika.
There's still just one out when Zack Cozart comes back up, but Kris Johnson fans him. He walks Yonder Alonso on four pitches before Wladimir Balentien finally flies out to left to end the frame.
End 2nd: Aaron Bates hits one hard toward third, but Frazier handles it for the first out. Josh Reddick works a 3-2 count before taking the walk, but Dusty Brown hits a one-hopper back to the mound. Matt Maloney fires to second for one, then back to first to end the inning.
Bates is coming off a tough Sunday against the Bats in which he went 0-for-3 with a walk. In his career against Louisville, he is 3-for-18 (.167) with one homer and two RBIs.
Middle 2nd: Kris Johnson makes quick work of leadoff man Wladimir Balentien before DH Juan Francisco pops out to second. Todd Frazier flies out to deep center, and that's two easy 1-2-3 innings for Johnson.
Frazier entered this season as Cincinnati's No. 1 prospect and is currently hitting .222.
End 1st: Niuman Romero starts things off with a deep double to right center. After working a 3-0 count, Gil Velazquez takes one strike and then fouls three straight back before working the walk. Angel Sanchez grounds into a double play, but Romero advances to third. Maloney gets out of it, though, taking care of Lars Anderson to end the threat.
This is Matt Maloney's 12th start of the season. He's tied with Aroldis Chapman and Sam LeCure for most wins on the team.
Middle 1st: Chris Burke leads things off for the Bats and flies out to Bubba Bell in right. Zack Cozart grounds out to first, and then Yonder Alonso — the No. 2 prospect in the organization — also grounds out to end the frame.
Cozart is the No. 10 rated prospect in the Reds' organization and is batting .238 this season.
7:05 p.m.: The PawSox have taken the field, and we're just about ready to get things started here.
6:28 p.m.: One notable absence from the lineup today is Ryan Kalish, who entered 2010 as the No. 5 prospect in the organization, according to Baseball America. The New Jersey native is currently batting .211 with one home run and five RBIs, and is 2-for-15 in his last four games.
Kalish was promoted from Double-A Portland on June 1. With the Sea Dogs, he hit .293 with eight homers, 29 RBIs and 13 stolen bases.
6:02. p.m.: Lineups are in at McCoy Stadium.
Josh Reddick — who was recently replaced on the Red Sox roster by Dan Nava as Boston continues to compensate for rampant outfielder injuries — is batting sixth for the PawSox. Reddick is hitting .196 with six home runs and 26 RBIs, and against Louisville, he is 4-for-8 with one homer and one RBI.
Lineups are as follows:
Pawtucket
1. Niuman Romero, 2B
2. Gil Velazquez, DH
3. Angel Sanchez, SS
4. Lars Anderson, 1B
5. Aaron Bates, LF
6. Josh Reddick, CF
7. Dusty Brown, C
8. Jorge Jimenez, 3B
9. Bubba Bell, RF
Louisville
1. Chris Burke, CF
2. Zack Cozart, SS
3. Yonder Alonso, 1B
4. Wladimir Balentien, RF
5. Juan Francisco, DH
6. Todd Frazier, 3B
7. Drew Sutton, LF
8. Chris Valaika, 2B
9. Chris Denove, C
Taking the mound for Pawtucket is Kris Johnson (3-5), opposing Louisville's Matt Maloney (5-3).
11 a.m.: The Boston Red Sox are off on Monday, putting their Triple-A affiliate Pawtucket on center stage for a Monday night matchup with the Louisville Bats.
The two teams split the first two games of the series thanks to some outstanding pitching. The PawSox won 1-0 on Saturday in a rain-shortened affair, with Ramon A. Ramirez striking out eight and giving up just one hit in his five innings of work. The tables were turned on Sunday, when six Louisville pitchers combined to give up just four hits and one run in a 3-1 Louisville victory. The PawSox drew 10 walks but failed to capitalize.
On Monday, the PawSox will look to Kris Johnson (3-5, 4.75 ERA), while the Bats counter with Matt Maloney (5-3, 3.10 ERA). First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.
