The DH is the third man to bat against Jose Lugo, and with one out and Bubba Bell on first, he flies out to short right.
Lars Anderson ends the game with a flyout to center.
Middle 9th, Red Wings 9-2: Fernando Cabrera is on for the PawSox in the ninth. The 11-year veteran enters the game with a 1.52 ERA in his last 20, though he's 0-3 with a 3.74 mark overall.
Cabrera has a gloriously quick 1-2-3 inning, punctuating it with a strikeout of Brock Peterson.
End 8th, Red Wings 9-2: Finally, the PawSox give Rochester a taste of its own medicine with the two-out RBI business.
Lars Anderson is retired to lead off the eighth, but after Kyle Waldrop allows a one-out double to Josh Reddick, the PawSox finally make this pitching staff pay. Reddick comes around on a two out single by No. 8 hitter Jorge Jimenez.
Just to articulate how bad Pawtucket's luck has been, there are two on with two out when Ryan Kalish smacks what would have been his fourth hit of the night, but it hits Juan Apodaca, who's running to second. End of inning.
Middle 8th, Red Wings 9-1: Tommy Hottovy returns for the eighth and must face the top of the Red Wings' order, which has victimized the PawSox pitching for four RBIs, two doubles, a home run and four walks.
And the hits just keep on coming. Trevor Plouffe homers for the second time, over Josh Reddick's head in left. He has a whopping five RBIs thus far.
End 7th, Red Wings 8-1: Barring a major, major implosion on the part of the Red Wings bullpen, Glen Perkins is in line for his second straight win.
For now, his outing is over.
He's replaced by Kyle Waldrop (3-1, 0.98 ERA), who retires Ryan Kalish for the first time thus far, then works around a two-out single by Bubba Bell to get out of the inning.
In other news, the rest of the NBA can look forward to an awesome time of never beating the Heat ever again.
Middle 7th, Red Wings 8-1: With LeBron Watch seizing the collective attention of the world, a funny image to share from the press box: ESPN's announcement show has coincided with the singing of "God Bless America." Though members of the media stood to show their respect, almost every single body was turned toward the TV in the back of the room.
Meanwhile, in matters not concerning LeBron's future, Blake Maxwell works around a double to get two outs, but then allows two straight singles to allow the Red Wings to put two more runs on the board.
These two-out RBIs are burning the PawSox. The only runs that didn't come with two outs were the two off Trevor Plouffe's home run.
End 6th, Red Wings 6-1: Glen Perkins has run into his fair share of trouble, but he's always found a way to escape it. Four times, he has allowed at least two hits in an inning; twice, he has had a 1-2-3 inning, the second of which is in the sixth. A good time to do so.
The two starters in this game seem to have reversed roles.
Middle 6th, Red Wings 6-1: As expected, Robert Coello's evening is over. For the second time in three starts, he allowed six runs, but this time, he lasted an inning longer.
He's replaced by Blake Maxwell, a member of the illustrious 2005 draft class.
The control problems seem to be afflicting more than just Coello; Maxwell retires leadoff man Brendan Harris but then plunks Brock Peterson (the second time Peterson's been hit thus far). He walks D'Angelo Jimenez and Dusin Martin with two outs, marking the fourth time during this game Martin has walked. He gets the dangerous Trevor Plouffe to pop out to end the frame.
End 5th, Red Wings 6-1: Last time out on July 3, Glen Perkins earned his second win of the season, trumping Buffalo 1-0. This really could be the start of a positive streak.
Speaking of streaks, Ryan Kalish is on one of his own. In seven of his last eight games, the center fielder has at least two hits. He leads off the fifth with a single up the middle, improving to 3-for-3.
Just like he did in the first, Gil Velazquez follows it up with another hit. It looks as though Perkins will get out of the jam after he gets the first two outs, but Lars Anderson sends a dribbler to D'Angelo Jimenez at second. Jimenez mishandles it, allowing one run to score.
It's scored as a base hit for Anderson.
Middle 5th, Red Wings 6-0: Earlier this season, this umpiring crew called three balks on the PawSox pitching staff in the period of six days. Now, you can add another one to the mix.
After Coello walks Dustin Martin for the third time thus far, Martin advances to second on a balk by Coello, and that successfully unravels the hurler. He allows another two-run homer, this time to Trevor Plouffe.
Throughout the course of this one outing, Coello's ERA in Triple-A has bloomed from 1.61 to 3.42.
End 4th, Red Wings 4-0: Josh Reddick enters the game hitting 6-for-40 in his last 11 games. After popping out to second in his first at-bat, he gets off on the right foot in the fourth.
The outfielder hustles to first to earn a one-out infield single, and Tug Hulett follows it up with a blooper to short center.
It's the third time in four innings the Sox have had two hits in an inning, but this one ends the same way the others have. Perkins escapes the jam once again.
Middle 4th, Red Wings 4-0: Despite the early control problems, Robert Coello is having no problem notching the occasional strikeout.
He begins the fourth by fanning Brock Peterson on an economical four pitches en route to his first 1-2-3 inning. He has now retired six straight with two K's.
End 3rd, Red Wings 4-0: It's early, but Glen Perkins is on tonight.
The lefty has retired seven straight batters before Ryan Kalish breaks up the string with a single. Perkins retires Gil Velazquez for the second out before allowing another single to Bubba Bell, but Aaron Bates fans to end the frame.
Middle 3rd, Red Wings 4-0: Jacque Jones has had quite a tour of duty with the Twins, signing with the organization after being selected in the second round of the 1996 draft. Now, he's in his 11th year with the club, signing as a minor league free agent in February.
He leads off the third with a double, and for three straight innings, Robert Coello has allowed the first batter to reach.
He retires the side thereafter, though, with the assistance of center fielder Ryan Kalish, who makes a leaping grab against the wall for the third out.
End 2nd, Red Wings 4-0: The Red Wings aren't having the best of seasons, punctuated by the four-game sweep they just suffered at the hands of Scranton this week.
But maybe tonight is the start of something new — for the team and for Glen Perkins. The southpaw cruises through a quick 1-2-3 inning without letting a ball out of the infield.
Middle 2nd, Red Wings 4-0: The control problems come back to
bite Robert Coello once again.
Two starts ago, the hurler struggled with his command, failing to
locate his fastball and walking too many men en route to a six-run
implosion. Tonight, he walked two in the first and hit Brock Peterson to
lead off the second.
Coello works around the HBP to retire the
next two batters (and notch his second K), but after he walks Dustin
Martin, trouble strikes again. Trevor Plouffe makes him pay with a
two-out, two-run double.
End 1st, Red Wings 2-0: Rochester starter Glen Perkins has found some success on occasion with the Twins, making the Opening Day roster this season. Since doing time on the DL, though, he's been unable to rediscover his form, posting a 2-8 record with a 7.39 ERA.
The PawSox give him some grief to begin this one, as the first two batters both reach — but then Perkins impresses, striking out the side to escape the jam.
Middle 1st, Red Wings 2-0: Last time out, Robert Coello was electric, throwing 6 1/3 scoreless innings with nine K's en route to a 8-0 win.
Tonight? Not so much.
After walking leadoff man Dustin Martin and quickly retiring the next two batters, Jose Morales tees up and hammers a home run into the bullpen in right.
That's the third homer of the year surrendered by Coello.
6:58 p.m.: Almost time for first pitch at McCoy stadium.
The Red Sox aren't the only ones who have had to deal with rampant injuries and short benches this year — the problem has trickled down to Pawtucket.
Such is the nature of the business, though.
"It's the minor leagues, at it's finest," Torey Lovullo said. "At times, your bench is going to be very, very thin. And we know those challenges. … I'm kind of limited with what I can and can't do during the course of the game, but that's how it's supposed to be. Certain players are supposed to play through every situation."
6:18 p.m.: Though Juan Apodaca is the one in the lineup tonight, the PawSox are happy to welcome catcher Mark Wagner back into the mix.
Wagner, along with Dusty Brown, left the team handcuffed for a while with regards to who was available to take the reigns behind the plate. He missed nine weeks with a broken left hand.
"Nothing against the guys that we had — Apodaca was great, Dusty was great until he got hurt — but there's a certain presence that he brings and a certain confidence," manager Torey Lovullo said of Wagner. "I think he sells himself to the entire team and to the pitchers. I think we need that presence behind the plate. It was just nice to see him back in there."
While he regains his bearings, though, the PawSox will have Wagner on a very strict schedule.
"He's going to be on, off — on one day, off tomorrow," Lovullo said. "There's going to be no negotiation with that. I told him, 'Don't come into my office when you're not playing. It's for your best interests right now.'"
5:31 p.m.: Welcome to McCoy Stadium for tonight's tilt against the Red Wings. The PawSox are certainly happy to be back, as they've gone 13-30 on the road this season.
Lineups are in, and the PawSox have all their big guns in commission tonight.
Rochester
1. Dustin Martin, CF
2. Trevor Plouffe, SS
3. Jacque Jones, LF
4. Jose Morales, C
5. Brian Dinkelman, RF
6. Brendon Harris, 3B
7. Brock Peterson, 1B
8. Wilson Ramos, DH
9. D'Angelo Jimenez, 2B
Pawtucket
1. Ryan Kalish, CF
2. Gil Velazquez, SS
3. Bubba Bell, RF
4. Aaron Bates, DH
5. Lars Anderson, 1B
6. Josh Reddick, RF
7. Tug Hulett, 2B
8. Jorge Jimenez, 3B
9. Juan Apodaca, C
10:20 a.m.: After a difficult 1-3 road trip to Lehigh Valley, the PawSox return to McCoy Stadium for two against Rochester.
Robert Coello will take the mound for Pawtucket, boasting 2-1 record and a 1.61 ERA in 22 1/3 innings. He’s pitched in five games for the PawSox and will be making only his fourth start.
He takes on Glen Perkins of the Red Wings, who’s had a tougher go of things this season. In 17 starts, he’s 2-7 with a 7.39 ERA.
First pitch is scheduled for 7:05, but we’ll keep you updated until then.
