But he finished fast which is what impressed Pawtucket Red Sox manager Ron Johnson.

“What I really liked was his third inning because all of a sudden he started to get down in the zone and then he started to get some really good movement on his secondary stuff,” Johnson said after the PawSox defeated the Norfolk Tides, 4-2, in the first half of an International League doubleheader (thanks to a three-run homer by George Kottaras in the fifth inning). “I was really impressed with it.”

Colon, the 2005 Cy Young Award winner when he was with the Angels, made his first appearance since he was placed on the disabled list April 7 (retroactive to April 4) with a strained right oblique muscle.    He had pitched the season opener for Pawtucket on April 3 which was when he incurred the injury.

The 34-year-old right-hander was scheduled to throw 55 pitches or three innings, whichever came first, and wound up throwing 36 of 49 pitches for strikes.

Colon allowed one run on four hits over three innings. He struck out two and didn’t issue any walks.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Colon should make his next rehab start on May 15 at Buffalo.

Norfolk scored its run in the second inning when Mike Costanzo singled with one out, advanced to second base on Omir Santos’ grounder to first and came home on Brandon Fahey’s line single to right field.

“I think he was trying to command his fastball early,” said Johnson. “But he was a little bit elevated and he gave up a few hits.”

Colon, who topped out at 97 miles per hour on the McCoy Stadium radar gun, worked his way out of a first-inning jam.

Elder Torres flared a one-out, off-field single to left and advanced to second on Luis Ferriero’s line single to right.

Oscar Salazar  followed with a hard grounder wide of third that Keith Ginter turned into a forceout at second.

Colon then struck out Scott Moore on a fastball that registered 94 on the radar gun.

He retired the side in order in the third on only nine pitches.

Torres flied out to left field, Ferreiro grounded out to short and Salazar bounced out to second.

“The third inning was really, really good and he looked like he was just starting to roll,” said Johnson. “But that’s all we were going to give him for tonight.”

Johnson felt Colon used all four of his pitches and each had movement.

“He threw his slider, fastball, two-seamer and changeup,” said Johnson. “His stuff was moving all over the place. He threw some changeups early in the ball game.”

In two starts for the PawSox, Colon is 1-0 with a 1.13 ERA,  one walk and seven strikeouts.

“The biggest thing is he just went down to Florida (on May 5 for an extended spring training appearance against Baltimore) and threw two innings and 35 pitches,” said Johnson. “We were able to get him close to 50 (pitches).

“He felt good afterwards. He didn’t have any problems and that was the key to the whole thing.”

First baseman Sean Casey, who completed a two-game rehab stint because of a right hip strain, also was impressed with Colon.

“I think Bartolo looked great,” Casey said. “It would be a big plus if he could keep doing that stuff. I looked up a couple of times (at the radar gun board) and saw 97, 95. If he’s doing that stuff, it’s going to play in the big leagues.”

**

EXTRA BASES:  Casey was 1-for-2 (a fourth-inning double) and a walk (immediately prior to Kottaras’ homer) … Alex Cora, who’s on Boston’s disabled list with a sprained right elbow, completed a three-game rehab sting by going 0-for-3 … Cora grounded out to second, flied out to left and reached on an error in the inning Kottaras homered … Casey and Cora left McCoy Stadium after the first game and were scheduled to fly to Minneapolis where they’re going to join Boston on Sunday.

Imagine that same pitcher with a case of sleep apnea — which is a serious sleep disorder that occurs when a person’s breathing is interrupted during sleep, and when left untreated causes people to stop breathing repeatedly during their sleep (sometimes hundreds of times).

Right.

The pitcher could be operating on gasoline fumes.

Boston Red Sox’ reliever Craig Hansen was a living, breathing example of a person with sleep apnea and which — despite his pleas to the contrary — had to have had an wffect on his career.

“I was diagnosed two years ago before spring training,” related Hansen, who was promoted from Pawtucket on May 5 when Brandon Moss was placed on the disabled list after undergoing an appendectomy. “I was supposed to have had surgery but it would have interfered with spring training. So, I held it off for another year and had it done this past off season.

“Ever since then I’ve been fine.”

Indeed.

Through his 11 relief appearances with Pawtucket, Hansen was 1-0 with a 1.62 ERA in 16 2/3 innings pitched. He had walked five, struck out 17 and his OBA was a miniscule .107

The procedure to correct his problem was, to hear Hansen explain it, quite simple.

“They took out the deviated septum and fixed it,” he said. “That was it.”

Oh.

“If you don’t get your proper rest you don’t feel good the next day,” said Hansen, in a modicum of understatement.

“Basically that’s how it was every single day. If you don’t sleep well you’re not going to be able to play well and recuperate from throwing and lifting.

“You’re not able to build on what you have because you’re not getting proper rest.”

Hansen didn’t have a lot to build on when he spent time with Boston in 2005 and 2006.

In 38 relief appearances, he was 2-3 with a bloated 6.59 ERA.

His numbers last season with Pawtucket showed modest improvement: 3-1 with three saves plus a 3.86 ERA in 40 appearances. But his strikeouts-to-walks ratio was 1.5 to 1 (i.e. 48 strikeouts and 32 walks) which didn’t exactly conjure up visions of, oh, Dick Radatz.

Hansen attributed his fast start with Pawtucket (which was “interrupted” by a one-day promotion to Boston on April 23 against the Angels) to more than the operation which cured him of sleep apnea.

“Basically, my mechanics have changed dramatically,” he said. “I went back to how I was throwing in college (St. John’s, where he was the Big East Pitcher of the Year as a senior). It’s more my style … just staying on line and being aggressive.

“What happened was I listened to certain people (who are no longer with the organization) and that’s what really got to me - listening to other people and taking some advice from different people and trying to incorporate it into my mechanics.

“It didn’t work out.”

Good point.

In addition an adjustment made by new Pawtucket pitching coach Rich Sauveur also helped unlock the door to the wealth of talent Boston’s feels Hansen possesses.

“What I saw him do in spring training was he had a lot of tilt in his front shoulder,” said Sauveur. “I mentioned that to him. If you look at video from his prior days, there’s a lot of tilt in his front shoulder. What I wanted him to do was level it out. I wanted his shoulders to be more level.

:”He has done that. I’m not going to say that’s the reason why he’s throwing the way he is. But it might have helped him a little bit. The day I told him about it, his command improved from one inning to the next.”

Something else improved for Hansen when he reported to spring training: he made a major attitude adjustment.
“Guys who were here last year have told me they saw a big change in him during spring training,” said Sauveur. “After he got here, he’s done nothing but work. He was a very good work ethic. His attitude on and off the field has been a plus.

“Really, I think his attitude coming into spring training was a 100 percent turnaround from last year. He came into spring training saying he was going to wipe the slate clean and start over. He wanted to go 100 percent.”

That’s exactly what Hansen’s done in the early part of the season, since a sense of confidence and relief resulted from his operation plus his return to his former mechanics.

“Just knowing that everything is back to the way it was for me is a huge load off my shoulders (how do you spell two-ton gorilla?),” he said. “Before I was pitching to how they wanted me to pitch as compared with the way I was taught by different people - try to do this, try to do that.

“Now I listen to certain things and take certain things in but not everything. Listen, build off it, use it, don’t use it and stuff like that. Basically I’m going with what feels comfortable.”

And which makes batters feel very uncomfortable.

One school of thought espoused the theory that Hansen was very uncomfortable when he became the first player in Boston history to reach the major leagues the same year he was drafted (Hansen was Boston’s first-round pick in the 2005 draft) - that he might have been better suited to have remained in the minors.

In four relief outings, he was 0-0 with a 6.00 ERA in three innings.

“It’s six of one and half-a-dozen of the other,” said Sauveur. “Who’s to say that what happened was going to happen? There have been guys that have been rushed to the big leagues and have had very good careers. You can’t put any blame on that - getting him to the big leagues very fast.

“Sending him back to the minors and getting a year and a half or whatever at Triple-A very well could have helped him. So far, it looks like it has. Again, it comes down to himself, his attitude and what he wants to bring to the table. I think there are going to be a lot of good things coming out of this kid.”

How good?

“He wants to get better,” said Sauveur. “He’s got the ability and his stuff is ridiculous. It’s almost scary to see a man built like that have an arm like he does.

“I mean, the kid has major league stuff. Because of the way he went about his business here, he earned another call to the big leagues. I think he’s going to have a very nice career there.”

• Dan Bard’s scoreless streak came to an edn after he allowed 2 runs over 3 innings. He did strike out 3 and walk none.
• Che-Hsuan Lin went 2-4 with a double.
• Kris Negron also went 2-4 with a double.

 Lancaster 6, High Desert 4

•  Tony Bajoczky was the winning pitcher after limiting High Desert to 2 runs over the first 5 innings.
• Aaron Reza went 3-5 with 2 doubles.
• Dennis Blackmon went 2-5 with a double.

Portland 10, New Hampshire 0

• Michael Bowden is on fire. Yesterday he pitched 6.2 innings of 1 hit ball. He has lowered his ERA to 2.68.
• Mark Wagner went 3-4 with a double and homerun.
• Jeff Corsaletti went 2-3 with 2 walks and a double.

Pawtucket 12, Durham 7

• Kyle Snyder pitched 6 innings and allowed 2 earned runs. He hasn’t dominated AAA but, with his sub-4 ERA, Snyder may get a chance in Boston soon.
• Chris Carter went 2-4 with a double and homerun.
• Sandy Madera went 3-4 with a homerun.

Pitching Matchups 5/8:

• AAA- Pawtucket (David Pauley 2-2 3.70) vs. Durham [TB] (Jeff Niemann 1-1 3.27) 12:05 pm

• AA - Portland (Kris Johnson 2-1 3.99) vs. New Hampshire [TOR] (Brandon Magee 0-4 6.47) 6:00 pm

• A+ - Lancaster (Adam Mills 3-2 5.70) vs. High Desert [SEA] (Keith Renaud 0-4 6.30) 10:00 pm ET, 7:00 pm PT

• A - Greenville (Terumasa Matsuo 0-0 6.45) vs. Rome [ATL] (Chad Rodgers 1-5 3.67) 7:05 pm

• Felix Doubrant struck out 8 over 5 innings. He allowed just 2 runs to score.
• Ryan Kalish went 2-3 with 2 walks and a homerun.
•  Che-Hsuan Lin went 1-4 with a walk homerun. Lin is just 1 homerun away from matching last years total.

Lancaster 6, High Desert 4

• Travis Beazley brought home the win after allowed 3 runs over 5 innings.
• Josh Reddick went 1-4 with a homerun. That is just his 2nd homerun of the year.
•  Chih-Hsien Chiang went 2-3 with a walk.

Portland 14, New Hampshire 3

• Matt Goodson was the winning pitcher. He pitched 5.2 innings and allowed 2 runs.
• Aaron Bates went 3-4 with a homerun and 7 RBIs.
•  Iggy Suarez went 3-5 with a double and 2 homeruns.

Pawtucket 0, Durham 3

• Devern Hansack pitched his best game of the year but was the hard luck loser. He allowed 1 run and 2 hits over 6.1 innings. Hansack’s ERA stands at a shocking 5.89.
• George Kottaras went 0-4 with 4 strikeouts. His batting average has dipped to .250.
•  Joe Thurston went 1-4 with a double. The double was the only extra base hit of the night for the Paw Sox.

Pitching Matchups 5/7:

• AAA- Pawtucket (Kyle Snyder 0-1 4.08) vs. Durham [TB] (Jae Kuk Ryu 1-2 4.38) 6:15 pm

• AA - Portland (Michael Bowden 1-3 3.26) vs. New Hampshire [TOR] (Scott Richmond 2-3 6.68) 6:00 pm

• A+ - Lancaster (Tony Bajoczky 0-1 3.25) vs. High Desert [SEA] (Nicholas Hill 0-2 4.67) 10:00 pm ET, 7:00 pm PT

• A - Greenville (Eammon Portice 2-3 4.40) vs. Rome [ATL] (Scott Diamond 2-0 2.67) 12:05 pm

• Jose Alvarez induced 11 groundball outs in way to a 1 run outing over 5.2 innings.
• Che-Hsuan Lin went 2-3 with a walk.
•  Ty Weeden went 2-3 with a double.

Portland 4, New Hampshire 5

• Justin Masterson allowed 4 earned runs over 5.1 innings. 15 of his outs came from strikeouts and groundballs.
• Mark Wagner went 2-5.
•  Zach Daeges went 2-3 with a double and walk.

Pawtucket 0, Durham 1

• Check out a recap of the game here.

Pitching Matchups 5/6:

• AAA- Pawtucket (Devern Hansack 0-3 8.25) vs. Durham [TB] (Ben Hendrickson 2-2 2.93) 6:15 pm

• AA - Portland (Matt Goodson 1-1 4.00) vs. New Hampshire [TOR] (A.J. Wideman 1-3 4.71) 6:00 pm

• A+ - Lancaster (Travis Beazley 1-3 4.82) vs. High Desert [SEA] (Alfredo Venegas 1-1 4.26) 10:00 pm ET, 7:00 pm PT

• A - Greenville (Felix Doubront 4-0 0.87) vs. Columbus [TB] (Alexander Cobb 4-2 1.62) 7:05 pm

Zink, the Pawtucket Red Sox‘ resident knuckleball pitcher, held the Durham bulls to one run on three hits over eight innings Monday night at McCoy Stadium. But his counterpart, Mitch Talbot, was even better as the Bulls eked out a 1-0 victory.

Durham scored its lone run on two hits in the first inning and then was held hitless over the next seven before Bryan Corey worked the ninth.

Zink (3-2) walked one, struck out three and threw 67 of 91 pitches for strikes.

“I was very happy, even with the run they got,” said Zink. “I was throwing strikes. That’s all I try to do. I can’t control if (the knuckleball) is going to move or not move. But I was very happy with how I did.     “(Catcher) George (Kottaras) and I were on the same page all night. I wanted to mix in fastballs and changeups.”

Over his last four starts, Zink is 3-1 with a 1.31 ERA encompassing 34 1/3 innings. And his success hasn’t been solely because of his knuckleball. He’s added a changeup to his repertoire which has made him more effective than in the past.

“With the new pitching coach (Rich Sauveur), he finally got me to start throwing a changeup again, which was my best pitch as a regular pitcher,” said Zink. “It never made sense to throw a changeup as a knuckleball pitcher. But when I throw my fastball at 80 and I throw a changeup right after it, a lot of guys swing and miss.”

The only time Durham didn’t “swing and miss” came in the first when Fernando Perez led with a double, stole third base and scored on Elliot Johnson’s double.

Zink then hit Justin Ruggiano with a pitch but got Dan Johnson to ground into a double play and Joel Guzman to bounce out to third.

After that the only Bull to reach base  was Ruggiano - in the fourth after he was hit by a pitch and in the sixth when he walked.

“Now, I’m going with four pitches because I’ve got my slider, knuckleball, changeup and fastball,” said Zink. “I sink the fastball by guys and I come right back with a changeup and everyone thinks a fastball’s coming again.

“I get a quick, easy out. It’s really helpful.”

Zink traced his improvement back to early April.

“After my first start (versus Indianapolis on April 5) when I blew up and gave up six runs, (Sauveur) said ‘Let’s try a changeup’ so they can’t sit on anything. It’s been really helpful and has gotten me out of a lot of jams.”

Unfortunately for Zink, the Pawsox seldom came close to getting Talbot (3-3) in a jam.

Their best scoring opportunity came in the sixth when Jeff Bailey singled with one out, and after Joe Thurston flied out, Kottaras singled Bailey to second. But Talbot retired Sandy Madera on a grounder to second.

Altogether, Talbot allowed four hits and no walks over seven innings - and struck out a season-high eight batters.

Pawtucket did even less against reliever Grant Balfour who tossed two innings of perfect relief, striking out five batters in the process.

“It was a really well-played game,” said PawSox manager Ron Johnson. “I’ve got to hand it to Talbot. He used his off-speed stuff very effectively. He had our hitters off-balance. Hitting is timing. Pitching is disrupting timing. He had us out on our front foot all night.

“And (Balfour) was just throwing gas. That’s about as well-pitched a game as I’ve seen this year. Unfortunately, it was against us.”
**

EXTRA BASES:  Craig Hansen received a well-deserved promotion to Boston on Monday when Brandon Moss was placed on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to May 3) following surgery for an appendectomy on Saturday … Hansen was 1-0 with a 1.62 ERA in 11 relief appearances … At least two Red Sox are expected to begin rehab stints this week with Pawtucket … Infielder Alex Cora and first baseman Sean Casey should join the PawSox on Wednesday and Thursday … Cora has been on Boston’s D.L. since April 16 with a sprained right elbow … Casey has been on the D.L. since April 4 with a strained right oblique muscle … Bartolo Colon may make a rehab start Saturday night at McCoy against Norfolk … Colon pitched two scoreless innings Monday in extended spring training against the Orioles … He allowed one hit, struck out one and threw 19 pitches … Jeff Bailey was 2-for-4 and now has hit safely in 12 of his last 14 games at a .418 clip (23-for-55).

• Chris Province, Dan Bard, and Felix Ventura combined for a 4 hit shutout.
• Ryan Kalish went 4-4 .
•  Che Hsuan Lin went 1-3 with a walk and a homerun.

Rancho Cucamonga 3, Lancaster 2

• James Russ managed to hold Rancho to just 2 run despite getting 9 flyball outs.
• Chih-Hsien Chiang went 2-4 with a double.
•  Dan Nava also went 2-4 with a double.

Trenton 3, Portland 2

• Dustin Richardson finally got back on track. He pitched 6 strong innings of 5 hit ball, allowing just 1 run.
• Mark Wagner went 2-4.
• Zach Daeges went 2-2 with 2 walks.

Syracuse 2, Pawtucket 6

• Michael Tejera allowed just a solo homerun over 5.2 innings.
• Jeff Bailey went 3-4 with a homerun and walk.
•  Dusty Brown went 2-3 with 2 walks.

Pitching Matchups 5/5:

•  AAA- Pawtucket (Charlie Zink 3-1 2.76) vs. Durham [TB] (Mitch Talbot 2-3 5.74) 6:15 pm
  

• AA - Portland (Justin Masterson 1-1 2.42) vs. New Hampshire [TOR] (Brett Cecil 0-1 9.00) 6:00 pm

• A+ - Lancaster -Offday

• A - Greenville (Jose Alvarez 1-3 7.65) vs. Columbus [TB] (Brian Flores 0-1 3.86) 7:05 pm

Which brings us to the state of catching in Boston’s farm system.

George Kottaras, who turns 25 on May 10, is in his second season with the Pawtucket Red Sox after being acquired from San Diego in the David Wells trade.

Dusty Brown, 25, a 35th-round pick in the 2000 draft, is in his Triple-A rookie season (although he played eight games for Pawtucket in 2007 after a late-season promotion from Portland).

Mark Wagner, 23, a ninth-round pick in 2005, is in his Double-A rookie season for Portland. Moreover, Wagner is the only catcher ranked among Boston’s Top 30 prospects (No. 20) by Baseball America.

Should Red Sox Nation be concerned?

Not according to PawSox manager Ron Johnson.

“I think there isn’t any concern for the state of the catching situation,” said Johnson. “Any time you have three prospect catchers in your higher levels - Double A and Triple A - with Kottaras, Brown and Wagner - you’re in a good situation.

“I think most organizations don’t have that. We’ve got three young guys that we think have an opportunity to perform at the major league level. I don’t think anybody can compare with Jason Varitek because we’re talking about the best catcher in baseball. But if you look at it realistically - and I’ve seen Wagner play some - there are a lot of skills here.

“I think we’re in a very comfortable position,” continued Johnson. “I think that’s one of the things that led to (Doug Mirabelli being released) - because we have that kind of coverage at the minor league level.”

Kottaras did a commendable job behind the plate last season. In Johnson’s opinion, he’s shown improvement in what could be considered a subjective area.

“The last step in his development is his presence issue,” said Johnson. “When a catcher takes the field, like a Varitek, it’s that feeling of “Hey, this is my game. I’ve got this.’ I think George has done a tremendous job in that area.

“When you break down his tools -soft hands, good feel for calling the game, target set-up, (pitch) selection, presentation, arm strength, quickness of release and tremendous life in his bat - there are a lot of plusses when you look at his overall ability.”

Even though Kottaras does have “life” in his bat and has shown flashes of power, he struggled last season and hit only .241 with nine homers and 39 RBI, Johnson felt he had “a very respectable first year at the Triple-A level given his opening-day age.”

“It’s early (this year) but he’s hitting some balls hard,” said the manager. “His approach is good and he had a tremendous spring, offensively.

“I look for it to carry over into the season.”

Through his first 25 games, Kottaras was hitting .236 with six doubles, six home runs and 17 RBI..

Brown, who was placed on Boston’s 40-man roster during the off season, admittedly has lofty goals but ones that are tempered by a dose of realism.

“My goal is to get to the big leagues and ultimately be Jason Varitek,” said Brown. “The 40-man (roster) is great. I’m going to be paid a little more but I don’t think that status makes me feel that I’ve accomplished anything yet. I’m not going to feel like I’ve accomplished what I want to accomplish until I’m playing in Boston.

“I’m going to treat 2008 like a regular season … just work hard and get after it. When I was in Portland I was a step closer and only a phone call away. Now, it’s an even shorter phone call.”

True, perhaps, but will someone make the call?

Boston’s director of player development Mike Hazen is pleased with certain aspects of Brown’s game.

“He does a good job defensively,” said Hazen. “He’s a good catch-and-throw guy (last season with Portland, Brown threw out 43 percent of attempted base stealers, the second-highest percentage among Eastern League catchers who qualified for inclusion). He’s pretty consistent around two (seconds). We’ll get him underneath that. We’ll get him at 1.9. But he’s pretty consistent around two which is what you need to throw out guys consistently.

“Overall, he goes a good job defensively. He runs a good pitching staff. The basics of a catcher at the big league level are there.”

When it comes to what Brown does at the plate as well as behind it is where Boston’s concerned.

Brown’s career minor league batting average prior to this season was .257 with 26 homers and 220 RBI.

In a late-season, eight-game stint last year with Pawtucket he hit below the Mendoza Line (.185) with zero homers and three RBI. But he showed glimpses of improvement through his first eight games this season with Pawtucket, hitting .320 with one homer and four RBI.

Through his first 18 games this season, Brown was hitting .250 with five doubles, one homer and five RBI.

“I think from the offensive side of things, to make an impact as a catcher at the major league level, he’s got to hit, too,” admitted Hazen. “We’ve talked about some offensive adjustments, including staying in the middle of the field and improving his on-base percentage … the consistencies.

“We’re trying to smooth out some things a little bit more. That’s going to be the challenge this year. Granted, Dusty is more advanced than Kottaras in terms of catching and throwing. But George has had more productive offensive seasons.”

The challenge for Johnson is to get Kottaras and Brown sufficient at-bats as well as time behind the plate.

“We’re going with a 4-3 split with Kottaras catching four or Brown catching four,” said Johnson. On days when George doesn’t catch, he’s going to DH. Brown is going to do that, too. Those guys are going to get their at-bats six out of seven days a week.

“We look at them almost equally. I don’t think I’ve ever had a situation (Johnson’s in his 17th year as a minor league manager) where I’ve had two young (40-man) roster catchers on the same team at the same level like we have this year.

“It’s a good problem to have.”

As opposed to being a problem - period.

Rome 2, Greenville 6

• Dan Bard went another 2 shutout innings. On top of that, he struck out 5 over that time. He needs to be promoted soon.
• Che-Hsuan Lin went 2-5 with a run scored and 2 RBIs.
• Manny Arambarris went 2-4 with a homerun.

Bowie 0, Portland 0

• Justin Masterson got rocked to the tune of 4 runs over 3.1 innings. He allowed 5 hits and 3 walks.
• Aaron Bates went 1-4. Bates is really struggling this year, just a .646 OPS.
• Ryan Khoury went 1-2 with 2 walks.

Rochester 2, Pawtucket 4

• Charlie Zink lowered his ERA to 2.76 after allowing jsut 1 earned run over 6 innings. The knuckleballer is really making up for last years disappointing season.
• Kieth Ginter went 3-3 with 2 doubles.
• Jeff Bailey went 1-5 but hit third homerun of the year.

Pitching Matchups 5/1:

• AAA- Pawtucket (Devern Hansack 0-3 11.05) @ Syracuse [TOR] (TBA) 7:00 pm

• AA - Portland (Matt Goodson 3-1 3.00) @ Bowie [BAL] (Brad Bergesen 1-0 1.00) 11:05 am

• A+ - Lancaster (Travis Beazley 1-2 5.48) vs. Rancho Cucamonga [LAA] (David Herndon 0-3 7.29) 9:00 pm ET, 6:00 pm PT Game 1

• A+ - Lancaster (Tony Bajoczky 0-0 3.32) vs. Rancho Cucamonga [LAA] (Trevor Bell 1-2 6.14) Game 2

• A - Greenville (Ryan Colvin 1-0 4.41) @ Rome [ATL] (Jeff Locke 0-2 5.63) 7:05 pm

Rome 4, Greenville 8

•  In a blast from the past, Bryson Cox pitched 2 innings of one hit ball.
• Luis Exposito went 3-5 with a homerun.
• Ryan Kalish went 1-2 with a double and 3 walks.

 Lancaster 3, Rancho Cucamonga 5

• Josh Papelbon went 2 perfect innings. He also stuck out 2 batters.
• Josh Reddick went 2-4.
• Lars Anderson went 1-4 with a double. He is currently slugging .543.

Bowie 4, Portland 3

• Dustin Richardson had his second start bad start. In 4 innings, he allowed 4 runs and 4 walks.
• Jeff Corsaletti went 4-4 with a double and triple.
• Andrew Pinckney went 2-4.

 Rochester 9, Pawtucket 3

• Michael Tejera went 5.1 innings and allowed just 2 run. He struck out 5 batters over that time.
• Craig Hansen had his first rough outing of the year. He allowed 3 runs in just 1.1 innings. Maybe we were all premature on him.
• Jeff Bailey went 2-4.

Pitching Matchups  4/30:

• AAA- Pawtucket (Charlie Zink 3-1 3.09) @ Rochester [MIN] (Francisco Liriano 0-0 6.75) 12:05 pm

• AA - Portland (Justin Masterson 1-0 0.95) @ Bowie [BAL] (Chris Waters 1-0 1.73) 7:05 pm

• A+ - Lancaster (Travis Beazley 1-2 5.48) vs. Rancho Cucamonga [LAA] (David Herndon 0-3 7.29) 10:00 pm ET, 7:00 pm PT

• A - Greenville (Jose Alvarez 0-3 10.20) @ Rome [ATL] (Jose Ortegano 0-0 3.60) 10:30 am