Mark Wagner helps PawSox top Bulls 8-6

The Pawtucket Red Sox let a late lead slip away but then scored 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th-inning to get by the Durham Bulls, 8-6 on Wednesday afternoon in Fort Myers, FL. Catcher Mark Wagner delivered an RBI single in the 8th-inning to snap a 6-6 tie and later in the inning scored an insurance run on an RBI double by Juan Carlos Linares. Wagner also had a run-scoring single in the 6th-inning.

The big news on the day was the presence of Boston Red Sox star Adrian Gonzalez in the PawSox line-up. Gonzalez was allowed to bat second in each of the first 6-innings of the game (hey, it is spring training!) and finished 2-for-6 on the afternoon. He smacked an RBI single in the 3rd-inning to get the PawSox on the board and later contributed an RBI single in the 6th-inning to increase Pawtucket's lead to 6-3.

Adam Mills was the starter giving up 2 runs in the 1st-inning before settling down to throw scoreless ball in the 2nd and 3rd-innings. T.J. Large was touched for a run in his two innings of work. Ryne Reynoso tossed a scoreless 6th-inning but could not hold a 6-3 lead as he allowed 3 runs on 4 hits in the 7th-inning and left with the score tied at 6-6. Tony Pena, Jr. (1-1) was the last PawSox pitcher and was perfect over his 2-innings (with 2 strikeouts) to earn the victory.

Pawtucket (3-4 this spring) hosts the Rochester Red Wings (Minnesota) on Thursday afternoon in Fort Myers, Florida.