PAWTUCKET...SS LOU MERLONI belted a first-inning grand slam to give the Paw Sox all the runs they would need as RHP ROBINSON CHECO (5 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 5 SO) and three relievers combined to blank Rochester 11-0 April 14...OF JIMMY HURST hit a pair of home runs (3-4, 3 RBI) on April 15 (G2) in a 7-4 win at Rochester...1B BILLY ASHLEY homered April 11 & 14 against Syracuse and Rochester. PAWTUCKET...2B DONNIE SADLER went 5-for-6 with four RBI on April 19 in an 18-6 win at Buffalo. Sadler had 11 hits in his first 37 at-bats, a .297 average. Last season with Pawtucket Sadler had two hits in his first 34 at-bats and had more than two hits in a game just twice all season. OF TROT NIXON, who also got off to a very slow start for the club last year, going 1-for-24, is batting .302 with two homers through April 22...SS LOU MERLONI hit .343 (12-35, 3 2B, 4 HR, 12 RBI, 1 SB) in his first 12 games and was third in the league in on-base percentage (.521) and slugging (.771) through April 22. PAWTUCKET...RHP JUAN PENA, the youngest player in the International League, fanned ten batters (6 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 1 BB) in picking up his first win of the season, 2-1 over Buffalo April 24. Five days later, he allowed seven runs in the third inning (3 IP, 5 H, 7 R, 6 ER) of a 7-3 loss at Ottawa...SS LOU MERLONI belted a three-run homer, and RHP JIM FARRELL won his third straight start, beating Buffalo 5-4 April 26...RHP ROBINSON CHECO won three straight starts April 14-29 (16.2 IP, 11 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 6 BB, 10 SO) and was seventh in the league in ERA (2.29) when promoted to Boston...Talented OF MICHAEL COLEMAN was batting just .183 and was leading the club with 17 strikeouts through April 29. PAWTUCKET...LHP RON MAHAY, in his first start of the season, retired the first 12 batters he faced, seven by strikeout, before being tagged for three runs and getting knocked out in the fifth inning in a no-decision against Ottawa May 4...RHP JOE HUDSON allowed no earned runs in 11 consecutive games April 14-May 5 (11.2 IP, 12 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 7 SO), picking up three saves...Through May 6, SS LOU MERLONI was leading the league in on-base percentage (.500), was second in batting (.367) and third in slugging (.709)...After a quick start which included a five-hit game, 2B DONNIE SADLER's averaged had dropped to .238, thanks in large part to a 2-for-29 slump. PAWTUCKET...RHP ROBINSON CHECO (3-0, 2.29 ERA), hit in the eye with a flyball during batting practice May 11 against Indianapolis, was placed on the disabled list...27-year-old SS LOU MERLONI was leading the league in batting (.386) and on-base percentage (.518) when promoted to Boston. His eight homers were two less than his career-high set in 1997...RHP JOE HUDSON allowed no earned runs in 12 consecutive games April 14-May 7 (12.2 IP, 12 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 7 SO), picking up three saves...OF TROT NIXON, batting .302 at the end of April, started May with six hits in 40 at-bats to lower his average to .243. He was 4-for-21 against southpaws and 4-for-22 with runners in scoring position. PAWTUCKET...On May 15, OF TROT NIXON tied the score 7-7 in the top half of the ninth inning with a three-run homer over the right field fence, but the Paw Sox lost to Louisville in the bottom of the inning 8-7...RHP JUAN PENA (6 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 5 SO), LHP BRIAN SHOUSE and LHP STEVE FREY combined to beat Louisville 7-0 May 16, facing just one batter over the minimum 27. Pena, the youngest pitcher in the league, retired the first ten batters and faced just 18 over six innings to improve to 2-1, 4.15 ERA...OF BILLY ASHLEY cracked a pair of home runs (2-5, 3 RBI) in an 18-6 loss to Indianapolis May 19...LHP BRIAN BARKLEY tossed 6.2 scoreless innings (6 H, 2 BB, 3 SO) at Louisville May 18, lowering his ERA to 2.73, second best in the league. He left with a 2-0 lead but RHP JOE HUDSON got tagged and the Paw Sox lost 4-2...LHP STEVE FREY did not allow a run in 14 outings April 11-May 20 (12.1 IP, 9 H, 2 BB, 8 SO). PAWTUCKET...OF BILLY ASHLEY collected a single and a two-run double as part of an eight-run second inning as the Paw Sox went on to defeat Indianapolis 10-4 May 22...OF TROT NIXON homered May 24 & 25 against Louisville and went 9-for-17 from May 21-25 to raise his average to .277. A year ago the former first-rounder was batting .181 on May 27 for the Paw Sox...1B ANDY ABAD homered twice (2-4, 3 RBI) on May 24 in an 8-2 win against Louisville and added another homer the next night. PAWTUCKET...RHP JAY YENNACO was promoted from Trenton (3-3, 4.86 ERA) and pitched six scoreless innings in his Triple-A debut (3 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 4 SO) May 30, a 7-0 win against Norfolk...OF TROT NIXON homered twice (2-4, 3 RBI) on June 3 in a 9-1 win at Charlotte. In 46 games, the former first-round had seven homer and just 19 RBI in 46 games...In the midst of an 8-for-19 streak which raised his average to .250 on June 3, 3B COLE LINIAK homered June 1 & 2 against Charlotte. PAWTUCKET...OF KEITH MITCHELL went 6-for-6 with a double, homer and four RBI in an 18-7 win against Rochester June 7 to become the first minor leaguer to amass six hits in a game this year. The Paw Sox scored seven times in the sixth inning on six walks, a single and a grand slam by 1B ANDY ABAD. The last International League batter to collect six hits in one game was Matt Howard of Columbus on May 3, 1997 against Norfolk...DH BILLY ASHLEY went 4-for-5 with a homer and four RBI in an 8-3 win at Columbus June 9 to extend his streak of consecutive games with an RBI to nine games. He did not drive in a run the next night, though he extended his streak of reaching base by hit or walk to 21 games. He was 12-for-23 with 12 RBI in six games June 2-9...3B COLE LINIAK hit .450 (18-40, 3 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 8 RBI) in ten games May 31-June 10 to raise his average to .274. He led the club with 14 doubles to go with eight homers and 27 RBI. PAWTUCKET...RHP BRIAN ROSE, on rehab, tossed three scoreless innings against Toledo June 13...RHP JAY YENNACO pitched a complete game seven-hitter in the nightcap of a June 13 twinbill against Toledo, an 8-2 win (2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO) that improved his mark to 2-0, 4.56 ERA in his four starts...3B COLE LINIAK and OF MICHAEL COLEMAN belted ninth-inning, two-run homers off Toledo RHP MARINO SANTANA to defeat the Mud Hens 7-4 on June 14. Coleman, out from May 8-June 13 with an injury, homered in three straight games June 13-15 against the Hens while Liniak hit .413 (26-63, 6 2B, 1 3B, 7 HR, 16 RBI, 1 SB) in 16 games May 31-June 17, raising his numbers to .283 with 17 doubles and 11 homers...2B DONNIE SADLER, also out a month with a finger injury, hit .212 (11-52) in his first 14 games back. PAWTUCKET...3B COLE LINIAK capped a furious rally with a home run in the bottom of the tenth inning to beat Norfolk 8-7 on June 20. The homer was Liniak's eighth this month. He had four homers in April\May combined, eight homers all of '97, and 12 dingers in his first three years combined. OF JIMMY HURST hit a three-run homer and pinch-hitter ALEX ABAD followed with a solo shot as the Paw Sox scored four times in the ninth inning to tie. Hurst hit .448 (13-29, 4 HR, 17 RBI, 6 SB) in nine games June 8-20 and drove in a run in seven straight games, earning league Player of the Week honors...OF TROT NIXON was enjoying the month of June, batting .400 (26-65, 3 HR, 15 RBI) in his first 17 games...2B ARQUIMEDEZ POZO hit .455 (30-66, 2 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 1 SB) in 17 games May 23-June 20 and was leading the league in batting (.340) through June 24. PAWTUCKET...OF JIMMY HURST (3-5, 1 2B, 3 RBI) and C MANDY ROMERO (4-5, 2 RBI) connected for back-to-back homers in the seventh inning of a 10-5 win over Scranton-WB June 29. That game capped a 16-game stretch in which Hurst batted .385 (20-52) with five homers, 20 RBI and seven stolen bases. Romero, acquired a week earlier from San Diego in the Jim Leyritz deal, went 5-for-19 in his first five games. Another player acquired, RHP DARIO VERAS, worked four scoreless innings with a save and seven strikeouts in two outings before being summoned to Boston. PAWTUCKET...C B.J. WASZGIS singled in the bottom of the ninth inning to drive home the winning run in a 3-2 victory over Syracuse July 4. The following afternoon, OF PAT BRYANT and 3B COLE LINIAK produced back-to-back RBI singles with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat the Skychiefs 4-3...OF KEITH MITCHELL hit a pair of home runs (2-3, 4 RBI) on July 3 in a 7-5 win against Ottawa. PAWTUCKET...DH KEITH MITCHELL blasted a one-out homer in the top of the tenth inning to edge Durham 4-3 July 10. The next night, his top of the tenth-inning sacrifice fly beat the Bulls 4-3. On July 13, his two-run homer in the top of the seventh inning beat Richmond 3-1 (G1), giving him five homers in 44 July at-bats. The Sox scored eight runs in the seventh inning of game two to defeat the Braves 9-6. C MANDY ROMERO hit a three-run double and OF MICHAEL COLEMAN hit a two-run single...After a torrid June in which he hit .360 with nine homers and 21 RBI, 3B COLE LINIAK started July with nine hits in 58 at-bats, including a 3-for-43 drought July 4-15 which dropped his average to .263. PAWTUCKET...RHP JAY YENNACO didn't survive the second inning (1.2 IP, 10 H, 10 R, 10 ER, 1 BB, 2 WP) in an 11-1 loss to Columbus July 18...21-year-old RHP JUAN PENA, fired the league's first no-hitter since 1994 and fanned a career-high 14 batters in a 5-0 win against Richmond July 22. The strikeouts were the most by a Paw Sox pitcher since 1984 and the no-hitter was the first for a Pawtucket hurler since Steve Curry pulled it off in 1987. It was also the first Paw Sox no-hitter in their home park, McCoy Stadium, since 1975. Pena walked three batters and hit another in a 129-pitch outing. He struck out the side in the first, third and fourth innings and retired the final 13 batters in a row. The win improved his record to 4-7, 4.39 ERA and snapped a three-game losing streak and a skid that saw him go 1-6, 5.24 ERA in his last nine games. It was the ninth career double-digit strikeout performance for Pena, whose previous high was 11...OF TROT NIXON homered July 19 & 20 against Columbus and hit .419 (26-62, 3 2B, 4 HR, 9 RBI, 5 SB) in 17 games July 4-20. He's batting .311 with 13 homers and 44 RBI through July 22. PAWTUCKET...RHP JUAN PENA followed up his no-hitter by beating Syracuse 6-4 (6 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO) July 27. He allowed a solo homer to the third batter he faced but made few other mistakes in improving his record to 5-7...OF TROT NIXON went 4-for-6 with a double, triple and two RBI in a 5-4 win at Rochester July 28. His RBI single in the top of the 13th inning provided the winning margin. Through July 29, he was third in the league in runs (73) and tied for third in hits (116). Nixon was batting .310 with 13 homers and 48 RBI. PAWTUCKET...OF PAT BRYANT's top of the ninth inning home run lifted the Paw Sox to a 4-3 win against Buffalo July 30, Bryant's former club. He fanned in ten straight games July 24-August 4...OF TROT NIXON hit a pair of home runs August 2 in a 7-6 loss against Rochester and OF MICHAEL COLEMAN hit a pair of home runs August 4 in a 9-7 loss against Scranton-WB. Through August 5, Nixon was batting .308 with 16 homers and 53 RBI and Coleman was batting .257 with eight homers and 21...OF JIMMY HURST hit .647 (11-17, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 3 SB) in five games July 31-August 4 and was batting .286 with 13 homers in his first 80 games. PAWTUCKET...DH DAVID HULSE went 5-for-7 with a double and four RBI in a 17-3 win at Buffalo August 10. He singled twice during a seven-run ninth inning. RHP ROBINSON CHECO allowed one hit over five scoreless innings for the win. Hulse, who just joined the organization from Nashua in the Atlantic Baseball League (.352, 8 HR, 42 RBI), went 10-for-29 in his first seven games...2B EDDY DIAZ, who came over from the Brewers for Joe Hudson, was just 7-for-43 in his first ten games with the club. PAWTUCKET...C MANDY ROMERO led off a seven-run second inning with a home run and completed the scoring in the frame with an RBI single as the Paw Sox went on to beat Toledo 11-9 August 15. OF TROT NIXON chipped in with a three-run dinger in the explosive inning. Starter RHP ROBINSON CHECO was touched for six earned runs on seven hits (2 BB, 4 SO) in 3.2 innings of work. That game capped a 9-for-12 stretch for Romero while Nixon, who homered again the next night, hit .362 (25-69, 4 2B, 2 3B, 6 HR, 20 RBI, 4 SB) in 18 games July 28-August 16...2B ARQUIMEDEZ POZO (.305, 12 HR, 51 RBI) was placed on the disabled list with a fractured left hand and 2B NATE TEBBS was promoted from Trenton (.256, 2 HR, 31 RBI)...The Paw Sox won eight out of ten through August 19 while Syracuse lost ten straight to pull within 1/2 game of the division leaders...3B EDDY DIAZ went 5-for-6 with a double and two RBI August 16 in a 15-5 win against Toledo. PAWTUCKET...OF JIMMY HURST and OF BILLY ASHLEY homered and RHP JIM FARRELL picked up his 13th win (5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 8 SO) in a 4-3 win against Syracuse August 20. Former teammate RHP PETER MUNRO (7 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 5 BB, 7 SO) took the loss. Five days later, Farrell pitched a four-hit, 2-0 shutout at Rochester in the first of two (7 IP, 1 BB, 8 SO) for his fifth straight win and 14th overall, good for second in the league. The Sox lost the second game and were two games back of both Buffalo and Syracuse...With 20 homers and 25 steals through August 26, OF TROT NIXON became the first 20/20 player in team history. PAWTUCKET...OF TROT NIXON launched a solo homer with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat Scranton-WB 4-3 August 28. OF JIMMY HURST followed a two-run homer by 1B ANDY ABAD with a homer of his own to tie the game an inning earlier. The next night, OF MICHAEL COLEMAN hit a pair of home runs (2-5, 4 RBI) and Hurst went 3-for-3 with a homer and four RBI in a 17-2 win against Buffalo. RHP JUAN PENA retired the first 11 batters of the game and allowed one run over six innings to win his third straight and improve to 8-9 overall. On September 2, Nixon led off the 11th inning with a homer to beat Scranton-WB 8-7, helping the Sox keep pace with Syracuse, two games behind Buffalo in the Northern Division race. That homered capped a 16-game stretch in which Nixon batted .338 with six homers and 16 RBI...OF KEITH MITCHELL hit a pair of home runs (5-5, 4 RBI) on August 27 in a 19-6 win against Scranton-WB...RHP JIM FARRELL struck out 11 batters (7 IP, 6 H, 3 R) in a 3-1 loss against Buffalo August 31, snapping his five-game winning streak. TRENTON...1B DAVE GIBRALTER's tenth-inning grand slam beat Reading 6-2 April 11...LHP ROBERT RAMSEY (W, 5 IP, 0 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 SO) and RHP JARED FERNANDEZ (S, 4 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB) combined to hold Reading hitless before C ADAN MILAN's double with two outs in the ninth inning broke it up. OF DERNELL STENSON and OF JOHN BARNES hit back-to-back homers in the sixth inning to mark the second straight day that they have performed that feat. OF NATE TEBBS also went 3-for-5 with three doubles as the Thunder won 4-2 on April 12...RHP JAY YENNACO hurled six scoreless innings (3 H, 3 BB, 5 SO) in a 3-2 win against Norwich April 8. TRENTON...RHP JASON SEKANY hurled a three-hit, 6-3 complete game win against Akron April 20 (9 IP, 0 BB, 7 SO)...LHP ROBERT RAMSAY struck out 11 batters (6 IP, 3 H, 1 R) in a 2-1 win against Akron April 22 to improve to 2-1, 1.59 ERA. His 23 strikeouts led the league. The seventh-round pick from 1996 was 9-9, 4.78 ERA at Sarasota last season...C JOE DEPASTINO homered twice (2-3, 3 RBI) on April 18 in a 7-3 win against Harrisburg...Hot prospect 2B JIM CHAMBLEE went 2-for-28 with ten strikeouts in seven games April 15-22 to drop his average to .118. Chamblee hit .300 with 22 homers at Michigan last season. TRENTON...OF JOHN BARNES went 5-for-5 with a double, his fourth homer of the season and two RBI in a 9-2 win at Akron April 28. OF JOE HAMILTON cranked a first-inning grand slam in the win...The Thunder scored three times in the top of the ninth inning, two coming on a homer by OF DERNELL STENSON, his fourth of the year, and the winner coming on a double by OF KEITH MITCHELL, and beat Akron 5-4 April 29. Stenson also went deep the night before...LHP ROBERT RAMSAY allowed two runs or fewer in his first four starts (23 IP, 12 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 9 BB, 30 SO) after he was third in strikeouts (30), going 2-1. RHP PAXTON CRAWFORD also allowed two runs or fewer in his first four starts (21 IP, 12 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 11 BB, 20 SO), going 2-0. TRENTON...DH CHAD EPPERSON belted a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to beat New Haven 4-2 on May 2 (G2). He also homered in the opener...The Thunder scored seven times in the fourth inning May 4 against New Britain. C JOE DEPASTINO singled and homered in the inning. The game went into extra innings, 1B DAVE GIBRALTER had a two-run single in the top of the 12th, but the Rock Cats scored three times in the bottom of the inning for a 13-12 win...RHP RAFAEL BETANCOURT (0-0, 4.05 ERA in 6.2 innings) went on the disabled list with a strained forearm. He started the season in extended spring nursing an injury...OF JOHN BARNES' fourth-inning homer beat New Britain 1-0 on May 6, capping an eight-game hitting streak which raised his average from .254 to .323. TRENTON...OF DERNELL STENSON, the Red Sox' third-round selection in 1996 and the youngest player in the league, has displayed a powerful bat with six doubles and seven homers through May 13. He's just 2-for-22 with eight strikeouts, however, against fellow southpaws. Stenson ripped 35 doubles and 15 homers to go along with a .291 average last year in the Midwest League...LHP ROBERT RAMSAY pitched eight scoreless innings (3 H, 1 BB, 8 SO) in a no-decision against Binghamton May 13, a 3-0, 15-inning loss. The outing lowered his ERA to 2.86...OF JOHN BARNES hit .396 (21-53, 3 2B, 4 HR, 6 RBI, 1 SB) in 13 games April 25-May 12. Through May 13, he was fourth in the league in hits (35), was eighth in batting (.318) and ninth in slugging (.527). His six homers matched his '97 output at Trenton. TRENTON...DH CHAD EPPERSON hit a home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to beat Norwich 5-4 on May 20...OF KEITH MITCHELL homered May 17 & 18 against Bowie and Norwich, his first two in 12 games this season...The Thunder was batting just .215 with runners in scoring position, second lowest in the league and a major reason the club was averaging under four runs per game. OF JOHN BARNES (.143), 2B JIM CHAMBLEE (.188), C JOE DEPASTINO (.121) and 3B WILTON VERAS (.176) were the main culprits. TRENTON...RHP PAXTON CRAWFORD hurled 6.2 solid innings, conceding just three hits and a walk while fanning eight, in a 2-0 victory over Portland May 22. Crawford improved to 4-1, 2.08 ERA with the effort, sporting the league's ninth best ERA. The next night, OF DERNELL STENSON hit a pair of home runs (3-3, 3 RBI) in a 4-3 win against Portland May 23. 2B JIM CHAMBLEE's single in the bottom of the ninth inning with two out scored DH JOE DEPASTINO to win the game. Chamblee hit a pair of home runs May 26 in a 12-10 loss at Norwich to raise his average to .188 with six homers and 18 RBI. TRENTON...The Thunder scored four times in the bottom of the eighth inning, three on a homer by 3B WILTON VERAS, to beat Reading 6-4 June 1...22-year-old RHP PAXTON CRAWFORD, an emerging prospect, tossed a complete game five-hitter in an 8-1 win against Reading June 2, winning his third straight start and lowering his ERA to 1.84 in nine starts, eighth best in the league...RHP JACK CRESSEND struck out 10 batters and pitched seven scoreless innings in a 2-0 win at Portland May 29. Cressend had allowed just one run in his last 19.2 innings to lower his ERA to 4.34...2B JIM CHAMBLEE singled twice during a seven-run fourth inning in a 9-2 win over Reading June 3. The 23-year-old, who batted .153 in April, hit .266 in May and started June with four hits in 12 at-bats...LHP ROBERT RAMSAY went 3-0, 2.36 ERA in five games May 18-June 3 (34.1 IP, 27 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 6 BB, 39 SO), going 3-0 and improving to 5-2, 2.75 ERA for the season. TRENTON...RHP JACK CRESSEND had a no-hitter into the sixth, fanned ten batters for the second straight game and beat New Haven 5-2 (7.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 10 SO) June 4...RHP RAFAEL BETANCOURT (0-0, 4.05 ERA), a member of the 40-man roster, has been on the disabled list since early May with an elbow strain...RHP JIN CHO hurled a 4-0 shutout at New Haven June 6 (9 IP, 2 BB, 4 SO) and had pitched 11.1 scoreless innings in his first two Double-A appearances...RHP JASON SEKANY pitched six innings of two-hit ball in a 7-1 win at New Haven June 5 (1 R, 2 BB, 1 SO), but was tagged for six runs, six hits and two walks in one inning in a no-decision against Bowie June 10. He was 5-4, 6.39 ERA in 12 starts this season...1B DAVID GIBRALTER fanned in ten consecutive games May 31-June 9 (13-38, 17 SO) and OF DERNELL STENSON hit .373 (22-59, 2 2B, 3 HR, 13 RBI, 1 SB) in 15 games May 23-June 8. TRENTON...C DAMIAN SAPP, recently promoted from Sarasota, went 13-for-44 with two homers and five RBI in his first 12 games. He belted a home run in the top of the tenth inning to knock off Harrisburg 4-3 June 17. RHP JIN CHO allowed a run and three hits over seven innings...OF DERNELL STENSON homered in three consecutive games June 12-14 (6-19, 4 RBI), capping an 18-game stretch in which he hit .338 (27-80, 3 2B, 4 HR, 15 RBI, 1 SB). Stenson homered again on his 20th birthday, June 17 against Harrisburg, his league-leading 14th homer...2B JIM CHAMBLEE's top of the tenth inning homer beat Harrisburg 4-3. He had three hits and three RBI on the night as he continued his hot hitting. He also had played 30 straight games without an error until committing one June 17 against Harrisburg. TRENTON...Korean RHP JIN CHO continued to impress, allowing a run and five hits over 6.2 innings (0 BB, 6 SO) in a 6-2 win against Akron June 23. Cho was 2-0, 0.93 ERA in his first five starts and had allowed just one hit in 21 at-bats with runners in scoring position...3B WILTON VERAS (.246, 5 HR, 25 RBI) was placed on the disabled list with a hamstring strain...Recently acquired OF DWIGHT MANESS hit a pair of home runs on June 20 in a 7-3 win against New Britain. On June 22, OF DERNELL STENSON and C CHAD EPPERSON launched back-to-back homers in the third inning against Akron. Maness hit a two-run homer earlier in the frame as the Thunder scored five times. They were held scoreless in the other eight innings, however, and lost 7-5. Maness was batting .282 with six homers and nine RBI in his first 20 games with his new club while Stenson hit .329 (26-79, 2 2B, 7 HR, 15 RBI, 2 SB) in 19 games June 4-24 to raise his average to .279. He was leading the league in runs (48) and was second in home runs (17). TRENTON...RHP JIN CHO went 3-0, 0.97 ERA in six starts June 6-28 (37 IP, 22 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 7 BB, 31 SO)...RHP JASON SEKANY tossed seven scoreless innings (2 H, 2 BB, 3 SO) in a no-decision against Portland June 29. 1B DAVID GIBRALTER committed three errors in the 3-0 loss...3B WILTON VERAS went 1-for-20 with two strikeouts in five games June 15-July 1 to drop his average to .242...C DAMIAN SAPP fanned in ten consecutive games June 15-25 (7-37, 19 SO). TRENTON...OF DERNELL STENSON committed an error with the bases loaded and two out in the ninth inning that permitted all three runners to score, deciding a 3-0 loss to Akron July 3. LHP ROBERT RAMSAY tossed 7.2 scoreless innings (4 H, 1 BB, 4 SO) but was afforded no run suport in is bid for his seventh win. Stenson was making noise with his bat, entering the break at .263 with 17 homers, second in the league, and 42 RBI...RHP JARED FERNANDEZ went 0-5, 6.10 ERA in 17 games May 13-July 6 (59 IP, 71 H, 45 R, 40 ER, 30 BB, 32 SO). TRENTON...RHP JARED FERNANDEZ retired the first ten batters of the game, lost a no-hit bid in the eighth inning and beat New Haven 5-0 on July 12...RHP PAXTON CRAWFORD (6-2, 3.22 ERA) was placed on the disabled list with a strained forearm. C DAMIAN SAPP (.242, 5 HR, 10 RBI), who missed all of 1997 with a back injury, was placed on the disabled list with a broken wrist...OF NATE TEBBS hit safely in 20 straight games (27-83, 2 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 5 SB) June 20-July 15, raising his average from .249 to .271. TRENTON...1B DAVID GIBRALTER hit a pair of home runs (3-6, 4 RBI) in an 11-10 win against Harrisburg July 16 as OF NATE TEBBS hit safely in his 21st straight game (28-88, 2 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 5 SB), breaking the franchise record set by Gibralter last season. Gibralter's blast in the 11th inning was the game-winner. Tebbs' hitting streak was snapped the next night against the Senators...OF DWIGHT MANESS hit a pair of home runs in an 11-7 loss against Portland July 20. He went deep the next night as well. He hit two homers June 20 against New Britain. TRENTON...RHP JACK CRESSEND hurled six scoreless innings (7 H, 1 BB, 7 SO) and SS JORGE DELEON drove in both runs in a 2-0 win at New Haven July 26. DeLeon was batting .291 in his first 29 games with the club...RHP CHUCK BEALE allowed no earned runs in nine consecutive games June 24-July 24 (12 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 5 BB, 10 SO), going 2-1...2B NICK ORTIZ, who played seven years with the Red Sox before signing with the Expos as a free agent last summer, was traded to Trenton from Harrisburg (.270, 6 HR, 24 RBI) for a player to be named later. Ortiz went 0-for-6 in his first two games back with the club he spent parts of the last two years with. TRENTON...C JOE DEPASTINO returned from Pawtucket (.242 in 9 games) and went 5-for-5 with a double, homer and three RBI on August 5 in an 11-10 loss at Reading. DePastino also homered in his last Trenton game, June 3 also against Reading...2B JIM CHAMBLEE hit .357 (25-70, 10 2B, 10 RBI, 2 SB) in 20 games July 16-August 5 to raise his average to .249. His 28 doubles ranked fifth in the league...OF DERNELL STENSON batted just .218 in July with two homers and nine RBI. He started July going 3-for-17 with two homers. TRENTON...RHP JACK CRESSEND allowed two earned runs or fewer in five consecutive starts July 21-August 12 (31.2 IP, 37 H, 15 R, 7 ER, 8 BB, 27 SO), going 2-1...LHP ROB RAMSAY went 3-0 despite a 5.14 ERA in five starts July 19-August 11 (28 IP, 26 H, 16 R, 16 ER, 12 BB, 19 SO) to improve to 10-4, 3.48 ERA...DH CHAD EPPERSON hit .089 (4-45, 18 SO) in 13 games July 25-August 12 to drop his average to .268. TRENTON...After pitching five innings of two-hit shutout ball, RHP JASON SEKANY allowed two of the 11 Harrisburg runs in the sixth inning, was relieved by LHP SAL URSO and RHP BRAD TWEEDLIE, who combined to allow eight runs without retiring a batter in the 11-6 loss August 13...LHP ROBERT RAMSAY struck out a career-high 12 batters (7 IP, 2 H, 0 R) in a 2-1 win against New Britain August 16. He retired the first 16 batters he faced, including nine of the first 12 on strikes, and had a no-hitter for 6.1 innings. It was the 24-year-old's fourth straight winning decision to improve to 11-4, 3.30 ERA this season. His 140 strikeouts were second most in the league...OF PAT BRYANT hit a pair of home runs (2-5, 4 RBI) and 2B JIM CHAMBLEE went 3-for-3 with a double and four RBI in an 11-4 win against Binghamton August 18...RHP JIN CHO, who recently re-joined the club from Boston, pitched seven strong innings (7 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 SO) in a 4-1 win against New Britain August 15 to improve to 4-0, 1.16 ERA in nine EL starts...DH CHAD EPPERSON, who had just broken out of a 4-for-49 slump a few days previous, homered August 17 & 18 against Binghamton. TRENTON...RHP RAFAEL BETANCOURT, struggling all season with arm problems, re-joined the club from Sarasota (3-1, 3.54 ERA, 2 SV, 28 IP, 33 SO). He pitched three games with the Thunder in April. Betancourt allowed three runs and three hits in one inning August 24 against New Britain...RHP JIN CHO allowed one unearned run and five hits over eight innings (1 BB, 5 SO) in a 6-1 win at Norwich August 25, his fifth straight win with the Thunder. He has a 1.10 ERA in his last 11 outings...OF DWIGHT MANESS fanned in 15 consecutive games August 7-24 (15-57, 20 SO). TRENTON...1B VIRGIL CHEVALIER homered twice in an 8-5 loss against Akron August 28, his first two since being promoted from Sarasota in mid-July...RHP JIN CHO allowed six runs and seven hits over 3.2 innings (2 BB, 4 SO) in a 12-5 drubbing against Akron August 30, his first Eastern League loss against five wins...RHP JACK CRESSEND allowed just three singles in a 9-0 shutout against Reading August 31 (9 IP, 3 BB, 5 SO). The Thunder scored seven runs in the second inning as C JOE DEPASTINO ripped a three-run double. 3B WILTON VERAS went 4-for-4 with a double, triple and two RBI. The next night, Veras delivered a two-run, two-out single in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat the Phillies 5-4. On September 2, Veras' second homer of the game, a two-run shot in the bottom of the eighth inning, beat Reading 5-3. That hit capped a three-game stretch in which Veras went 9-for-12 and extended his streak of at-bats without a strikeout to 45. After hitting seven homers in the first four months of the season, the 20-year-old has homered nine times in August and September, batting an even .400...LHP ROBERT RAMSAY struck out ten batters (7 IP, 4 H, 0 R) in a 6-0 win at Norwich (G1) August 27 and 1B DARIN EVERSON hit three doubles (3-4, 1 RBI) on August 29 in a 10-9 win against Akron. SARASOTA...Highly-touted RHP MATT KINNEY pitched 5.1 scoreless innings (3 H, 2 BB, 3 SO) in a 4-0 win over Lakeland April 10 in his FSL debut...C STEVE LOMASNEY hit .611 (11-18, 1 3B, 3 HR, 4 RBI, 4 SB) in five games April 9-13, including home runs in three consecutive games April 11-13...RHP JOSH GARRETT, the Red Sox' first pick in 1996, allowed a run on five hits (6 IP, 2 BB, 3 SO) in a no-decision against Lakeland, April 11. SARASOTA...SS JOSE OLMEDA went 3-fot-3 with a homer and four RBI on April 22 in a 15-2 win against Fort Myers. RHP SUN WOO KIM, the Red Sox' free agent signing from Seoul, Korea, was the beneficiary of the run support. He picked up his second win of the season despite issuing five walks while fanning one in 6.2 innings...1996 first-round pick RHP JOSH GARRETT tossed eight scoreless innings (2 H, 2 BB, 6 SO) in a 4-0 win against Dunedin April 16. The win was Garrett's first of the season...OF ETHAN FAGGETT hit safely in ten straight games (16-40, 1 2B, 3 HR, 4 RBI, 2 SB) April 10-20, raising his average from .167 to .370. SARASOTA...RHP JOHN MIADICH fanned the side in both the eighth and ninth innings, including four in a row, to earn a save in the Red Sox' 5-4 win over Charlotte April 25. The reliever was second in the league with 30 strikeouts, and although he was touched for two runs in taking a 3-2 loss to Clearwater April 29, he sported a 1.56 ERA...LHP ANDY HAZLETT lost his third straight start, 10-3 to Charlotte April 24, allowing eight runs, nine hits and two walks over 1.2 innings. Through April 29, he was 0-3 with a 9.68 ERA and had allowed at least five runs in each of his four starts...C STEVE LOMASNEY went 7-for-62 with 26 strikeouts in 15 games April 14-29. SARASOTA...3B JUAN ESPINAL hit .533 (8-15, 4 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI) in four games April 26-May 4, including two doubles (2-4, 2 RBI) on May 4 in a 10-7 win at Tampa...RHP MATT KINNEY won his fourth straight decision (6.1 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO), and C VIRGIL CHEVALIER had a four-RBI night (2-4, 1 2B) on May 1 in a 9-3 win at St. Petersburg in the midst of hitting .326 (15-46, 5 2B, 1 HR, 11 RBI, 4 SB) in 12 games April 19-May 4. Kinney, who was 8-5 with a 3.53 in the Midwest League last year, beat St. Petersburg 9-6 on May 6 to make it five straight. SARASOTA...2B DAVID ECKSTEIN had six RBI (3-5, 1 HR), and 3B JAVIER FUENTES went 3-for-3 with two doubles, a homer and three RBI in a 19-5 win against Vero Beach May 8. OF JOHN RAIFSTANGER smacked a grand slam, and OF ETHAN FAGGETT collected two hits as part of an eight-run second inning. Two nights later, Eckstein went 5-for-6 with three doubles and three RBI in an 11-4 win against Vero Beach. The Red Sox collected seven doubles in the game...On May 11th, RHP MATT KINNEY hurled a one-hit, 2-0 shutout at Fort Myers (9 IP, 3 BB, 7 SO). He allowed just a third-inning single to Joe Cranford to improve to 6-0, 3.19 ERA on the season...RHP JOHN MIADICH fanned the side in both innings he pitched, including the last three batters in order, to notch his fourth save in an 8-5 win over Fort Myers May 12. The strikeouts gave him 41 for the season to earn him a share of third place in the league. SARASOTA...1996 first-rounder RHP JOSH GARRETT hurled six scoreless innings of four-hit ball (2 BB, 5 SO) to defeat Kissimmee 6-0 May 17 and improve to 4-3. It was the third game back for 1995 first-rounder OF COREY JENKINS, who had missed the first month and a half recovering from hamate bone surgery. He went 2-for-4 with a triple and two runs scored to help the winning cause...C DAMIAN SAPP, who had been sidelined three weeks with a pulled thigh muscle, walloped a homer in his third start since being activated to help the Red Sox beat Kissimmee 4-1 in the first game of a doubleheader May 19. The power-hitting catcher missed all of last season with a bad back, but hit .322 with 18 homers in the Midwest League in 1996...C STEVE LOMASNEY homered twice (2-4, 4 RBI) in a 9-3 win at Kissimmee May 20. SARASOTA...3B JUAN ESPINAL went 3-for-3 with a homer and three RBI on May 24 in a 5-4 win against St. Lucie. He went 3-for-4 with another homer in a 3-2 loss to Jupiter the next night. The 23-year-old was selected by the Red Sox from the Padres in the Rule V minor league draft after belting 26 homers and knocking in 98 runs in the California League in 1996...LHP ANDY HAZLETT, who came on after RHP CHRIS REITSMA injured himself after throwing one pitch, pitched six scoreless innings (2 H, 1 BB, 8 SO) to beat St. Lucie 5-1 May 23. Reitsma, a first-rounder in 1996, went on the disabled list the following day...Reliever RHP JOHN MIADICH was tied for sixth in the league with strikeouts (53) Through May 27 in just 35.1 innings pitched. SARASOTA...DH VIRGIL CHEVALIER's bottom of the 11th inning sacrifice fly beat Jupiter 4-3 on May 28. C DAMIAN SAPP had a three-run double in the fourth. Chevalier reached base safely by hit or walk in 22 consecutive games April 26-May 29 (33-90, 7 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 21 RBI, 3 SB)...2B DAVID ECKSTEIN hit .360 (27-75, 6 2B, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 9 SB) in 20 games May 14-June 3 to help rank fourth in the league in hits (68) and fifth in on-base percentage (.425)...SS JOSE OLMEDA hit .038 (1-26, 11 SO) in eight games May 24-June 2. His average as of June 3 was down to .206 while teammate C STEVE LOMASNEY went 0-for-19 with seven whiffs in six games May 23-29. He struck out in 14 consecutive games May 17-June 1 (8-48, 19 SO) and saw his average plummett to .230 by June 3. SARASOTA...RHP ROBB WELCH uncorked three wild pitches, walked six batters and hit another in the first inning of a 13-4 loss to Clearwater June 5. His line for the night included eight runs and seven walks in two innings (3 H, 6 ER, 0 SO)...OF COREY JENKINS delivered a two-run single in the top of the 11th inning to beat Tampa 7-5 June 9. C STEVE LOMASNEY hit a pair of home runs in a the win...2B DAVID ECKSTEIN did not commit an error in 21 consecutive games May 16-June 6 while hitting .391 (25-64, 6 2B, 3 RBI, 7 SB) in 17 games May 23-June 10 to up his average to .328...RHP MATT KINNEY tossed 5.1 innings, yielding a run on five hits, to beat Clearwater 3-2 June 6 and join three other pitchers to own eight victories in the league this season. It also marked the third straight game in which the 1995 sixth-rounder allowed two earned runs or fewer. SARASOTA...3B JUAN ESPINAL went 4-for-6 with a homer and three RBI in a 16-15 loss to Daytona June 14 to start a four-game spell in which he hit .579 (11-19, 4 2B, 1 HR, 6 RBI)...The Red Sox rallied for six runs in the ninth inning to defeat Brevard County 7-2 on June 16. DH VIRGIL CHEVALIER contributed a two-run double...RHP JOSH GARRETT tossed a two-hit, 10-0 shutout at Brevard County (9 IP, 1 BB, 3 SO) June 17, facing just 28 batters. He allowed just fifth and eighth-inning singles. It was the first career shutout for the 1996 first-round pick and it came five days after he allowed eight runs and 14 hits over 5.1 innings against Daytona. DH KYUNG CHOI collected two singles during an eight-run fifth inning and ended the night with a 4-for-5 performance. SARASOTA...LHP ANDY HAZLETT threw a four-hit, 5-0 shutout at Brevard County June 18 (9 IP, 1 BB, 5 SO) to improve to 3-0, 1.83 ERA in his last eight games (44.1 IP, 33 H, 12 R, 9 ER, 7 BB, 33 SO)...OF ETHAN FAGGETT hit .349 (15-43, 3 2B, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 4 SB) in 11 games June 7-18 before he was sent to the Padres' organization in the Jim Leyritz trade...1B RAFAEL MARTINEZ did not commit an error in 36 consecutive games May 2-June 23 and had just three miscues on the season. His .312 average through June 24 trailed only 2B DAVID ECKSTEIN (.324) for the team-lead...SS JOSE OLMEDA hit .081 (5-62, 27 SO) in 20 games May 29-June 23. Although he went 0-for-3 in a 7-3 win over Kissimmee June 23 (completed after suspension on June 24), he drew his first walk in 18 games. SARASOTA...Pinch-hitter OF KYUNG CHOI's RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning nipped Kissimmee 2-1 in the second game of a doubleheader June 25. He and SS DAVID ECKSTEIN each went 2-for-3 with a double in an 8-1 victory in game one. The pitching support was phenominal in the twinbill as RHP SUN KIM threw a two-hit, complete game in the first game (7 IP, 1 BB, 6 SO) and RHP MATT KINNEY did the same in the second game (8 IP, 2 BB, 9 SO). Kinney's performance marked the third consecutive start in which he allowed two runs or fewer (22 IP, 13 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 8 BB, 22 SO)...3B JUAN ESPINAL hit .409 (27-66, 8 2B, 2 HR, 15 RBI) in 15 games June 10-27 and also reached base safely by hit or walk in 20 consecutive games June 5-28 (32-88, 10 2B, 2 HR, 17 RBI). SARASOTA...3B JUAN ESPINAL homered July 6 & 8 (5-10, 4 RBI) against Fort Myers in the midst of hitting .386 (32-83, 8 2B, 4 HR, 19 RBI) in 20 games June 14-July 8 to up his overall average to .308. His 54 RBI were most on the squad...LHP KEVAN CANNON did not allow a run in six outings June 9-July 6 (10 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 13 SO) going 2-0 and collecting four saves...RHP JOSH GARRETT allowed five or more runs in three consecutive starts June 26-July 8 (18.1 IP, 26 H, 17 R, 15 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO), going 0-2 and bolstering his overall ERA to 5.44...RHP MATT KINNEY and RHP ROBB WELCH were first and second in the league, respectively in allowing bases on balls, amassing 62 and 60 through July 8. SARASOTA...OF ROY PADILLA knocked in the winning run with his single in the bottom of the tenth inning to beat Clearwater 11-10 July 10. OF TONY DEROSSO hit three doubles (4-5, 4 RBI). Red Sox starter RHP ROBB WELCH did not retire a batter while conceding five walks (1 H, 5 R, 4 ER) and uncorking a pair of wild pitches. Through July 15, he had surrendered the most walks in the league (66). Two nights later, staff ace RHP MATT KINNEY didn't get out of the first inning in a 12-4 loss to Dunedin (.2 IP, 4 H, 7 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO)...OF COREY JENKINS' RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning beat Dunedin 3-2 July 14...C STEVE LOMASNEY hit safely in 13 straight games (19-50, 4 2B, 2 HR, 10 RBI) June 30-July 14, lifting his average above the .250 mark to .254...SS JOSE OLMEDA committed three errors in a game on July 13 in a 4-1 loss against Dunedin. SARASOTA...1B RAFAEL MARTINEZ went 5-for-5 with a double, homer and four RBI in a 10-1 win at Vero Beach July 22...1996 first-rounder RHP JOSH GARRETT lost three straight starts July 8-18 (15.2 IP, 26 H, 18 R, 15 ER, 3 BB, 5 SO) to fall to 5-9, 5.59 ERA. The nine losses were tied for fourth-most in the league...OF COREY JENKINS went 0-for-16 with 11 strikeouts in five games July 16-22, dropping his average to .178 with 75 whiffs in 180 at-bats...OF KYUNG CHOI hit .426 (20-47, 3 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 10 RBI) in 17 games June 6-July 18, but OF JOHN RAIFSTANGER hit .073 (3-41, 16 SO) in 12 games May 21-July 22...LHP KEVAN CANNON allowed no earned runs in ten consecutive games June 9-July 22 (14 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 17 SO), going 2-0 with four saves. SARASOTA...The Red Sox scored five times in the top of the ninth inning and held off a Dodger surge in the bottom half of the frame to collect a 6-5 win over Vero Beach July 25. OF ROY MARSH tied the score with a two-run double and 2B DAVID ECKSTEIN gave the Red Sox the lead with a two-run single. OF JOHN RAIFSTANGER tacked on what proved to be a crucial insurance run with a double later in the inning. Marsh hit safely in ten straight games (14-32, 3 2B, 6 RBI, 7 SB) July 17-29, raising his average to .287. He stole four bases (1-1) on July 23 in a 10-7 win at Vero Beach, a game in which RHP SUN KIM struck out 11 batters (8 IP, 4 H, 2 R) and emerged the victor. Kim also beat Daytona 4-3 in his next start July 29 (7 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO) to reach double-digit victories, moving into a tie for third in the league in that category...OF COREY JENKINS went 0-for-25 with 17 whiffs in eight games July 16-27. SARASOTA...RHP ROBINSON CHECO, out since May 12 with a fractured infraorbatal ridge, joined the club on rehab from Pawtucket and allowed two earned runs on three hits and a walk in a two-inning start against Daytona July 30. He fanned four while he was in there but had to shoulder a 4-2 defeat...The Red Sox scored six runs on eight hits, including a pair of singles and two RBI by 3B JUAN ESPINAL, in the third inning en route to a 10-2 win over St. Lucie August 4...LHP KEVAN CANNON saved six straight games July 23-August 1 (6.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 SO), giving him ten saves to accompany a 4-0 record and a 3.50 ERA through August 5...RHP JOSH GARRETT, the Red Sox first-rounder in 1996, went 0-5, 6.28 ERA in seven games June 26-August 1 (43 IP, 62 H, 35 R, 30 ER, 9 BB, 10 SO), dropping to 5-10, 5.44 ERA overall. His ten defeats were tied for fifth-most in the league through August 5...RHP ISAURO PINEDA permitted just one hit over five innings (1 R, 1 BB, 0 SO) to beat St. Lucie 10-2 in the second game of a twinbill to win his third straight start (15.2 IP, 11 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 5 BB, 10 SO). SARASOTA...1996 first-round pick RHP JOSH GARRETT allowed a run on six hits over six innings in a 6-1 win against Lakeland August 10...1B DARIN EVERSON hit a seventh-inning grand slam but OF ROY PADILLA's sacrifice fly in the top of the 12th inning was the difference in an 8-7 win over Charlotte August 8. 2B DAVID ECKSTEIN stole four bases (1-3) in the win...On August 12, Everson hit for the cycle (4 RBI) and DH VIRGIL CHEVALIER went 4-for-5 with a pair of two-run homers and an RBI double in a 16-8 win at Clearwater. Everson hit an RBI single in a five-run first, a solo homer in the second, an RBI triple in the fourth and an RBI double in a five-run fifth. It was just his seventh game with the club since being signed out of the Northern League, where he hit .299 with 14 homers and 44 RBI for Madison. The recent production gave him four homers, including three in successive games against Charlotte and Lakeland, and 14 RBI to go along with a .393 average for the Red Sox. SARASOTA...1996 first-rounder RHP JOSH GARRETT was rattled for seven earned runs on 12 hits over 3.2 innings (0 BB, 1 SO) to shoulder a 9-2 defeat to Fort Myers and ex-teammate Matt Kinney August 15. Garrett's rocky outing dropped his record to 6-11, 5.59 ERA. He has allowed 169 hits in 135.1 innings pitched and has plunked 13 batters...2B DAVID ECKSTEIN did not commit an error in 24 consecutive games July 13-August 18...DH VIRGIL CHEVALIER homered August 12 & 13 (6-10, 3 HR, 9 RBI) against Clearwater and Fort Myers. He was later promoted to Trenton...RHP SUN KIM was leading the Red Sox in both victories (11) and strikeouts (122) through August 18. The soon-to-be 21-year-old Korean was also tied with Garrett for the team-lead in gopher balls allowed (16). SARASOTA...LHP ANDY HAZLETT threw a one-hit, 3-0 shutout against Brevard County (G2) August 21 (7 IP, 0 BB, 11 SO). He retired the first 14 batters he faced before yielding a fifth-inning single, the only baserunner he allowed on the evening. He then tossed seven solid innings (5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO) to beat St. Petersburg 6-2 August 26 and win his sixth straight start (37.1 IP, 26 H, 8 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 43 SO)...1996 first-rounder RHP JOSH GARRETT threw a four-hit, 9-1 complete game win against Brevard County (G1) August 22 (7 IP, 0 BB, 3 SO), improving to 7-11, 5.37 ERA...2B DAVID ECKSTEIN did not commit an error in 31 consecutive games July 13-August 26. He also ranked third in runs (90) and fourth in on-base percentage (.422) through August 26. SARASOTA...RHP SUN WOO KIM tossed 5.2 scoreless innings (4 H, 2 BB, 4 SO) and beat St. Petersburg August 28 to improve to 12-7...LHP ANDY HAZLETT allowed two runs on seven hits over 6.2 innings (1 BB, 3 SO) to beat Charlotte 4-2 in the first game of a twinbill August 31 and win his seventh straight start (44 IP, 33 H, 10 R, 7 ER, 4 BB, 46 SO). The performance capped a month in which he posted a stingy 1.66 ERA and was the minors' only hurler to boast six wins during the month of August, earning HOWE SPORTSDATA's Minor League Pitcher of the Month for August. In the nightcap, C STEVE LOMASNEY hit a pair of home runs (2-4, 3 RBI) in a 12-5 victory. On September 1, reliever RHP GERMAINE HUNTER fanned five Tampa Yankees in a row before surrendering a homer and taking an 8-7 loss...RHP JOSH GARRETT tossed a two-hit, 5-0 shutout against Lakeland (9 IP, 1 BB, 4 SO) September 2. Boston's 1996 first-rounder allowed just first and fifth-inning singles to notch his second two-hit shutout of the season. MICHIGAN...DH JEFF KEAVENEY homered April 12 & 14. He homered twice (3-5, 3 RBI) on April 12 in a 7-6 loss against Beloit while C SHEA HILLENBRAND homered twice (4-4, 1 3B, 4 RBI) on April 11 in an 6-4 win against the Snappers. Keaveney hit two doubles (3-4) on April 15 in a 4-1 loss at Lansing and was off to an 8-for-17 start...1997 first-round pick LHP JOHN CURTICE pitched four innings (4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 SO) in his season debut April 12 against Beloit. MICHIGAN...1B GARY LOCURTO went 0-for-25 with seven strikeouts in eight games April 11-21. The Red Sox' second-round choice in 1996 had only one hit, a double, through April 22...SS AARON CAPISTA did not strike out in 12 consecutive games April 10-22, but hit just .095 (2-21) in six games during that span...Battle Cat starters had just one victory in eight decisions through April 22...OF MARK FISCHER, a first-round selection out of Georgia Tech last year, was hitting .208 (10-48) with two homers and 15 strikeouts through April 22...DH CHAD ALEVRAS ripped a two-run, ninth-inning double that beat Rockford 7-6 April 22. MICHIGAN...DH JEFF KEAVENEY hit .432 (16-37, 4 2B, 5 HR, 9 RBI) in 13 games April 11-25. Through April 29, he was leading the league in home runs (5), on-base percentage (.531) and slugging (.787). The latter two statistics rank him third and fourth, respectively in the entire minor leagues...1997 first-rounder, OF MARK FISCHER, continued to struggle, going 0-for-19 in six games April 18-24. He got off the schnied with a single, three walks and four runs in a 10-5 win over Rockford April 25. Fischer was hitting .182 with a club-leading 22 strikeouts through April 29...RHP JUSTIN DUCHSCHERER lost four straight starts April 11-27 (21.1 IP, 29 H, 16 R, 12 ER, 2 BB, 9 SO), the most recent one coming at the hands of Quad City. The River Bandits tagged him for eleven hits and six runs in 4.2 innings to beat the Battle Cats 7-2. MICHIGAN...3B JORGE DE LEON hit safely in nine straight games (14-33, 4 2B, 2 RBI, 2 SB) April 21-May 3, raising his average from .233 to .333...DH JEFF KEAVENEY hit .354 (17-48, 5 2B, 5 HR, 9 RBI) in 17 games April 11-May 2. The Battle Cat bomber was tied for first in home runs (5) and was leading the league in slugging (.639)...C SHEA HILLENBRAND went 0-for-4 and committed a critical error, his team-leading sixth of the season, in the bottom of the ninth inning to allow West Michigan to beat the Battle Cats 4-3 May 6. Hillenbrand had produced a club-leading two triples and 14 RBI through the team's first 25 games. MICHIGAN...LHP JOE THOMAS fired an 8-0 shutout at West Michigan May 7 (9 IP, 0 BB, 8 SO)...The Battlecats rallied in both games of a doubleheader with South Bend May 9 to sweep the twinbill in extra innings, 5-4 and 4-3. Trailing 4-2 in the bottom of the ninth-inning in the first game, OF JESS GRAHAM belted a two-run homer to tie the score, and 2B CARLOS LEON singled in the winning run later in the frame. Graham's leadoff homer in the bottom of the eighth inning won the night cap. Michigan scored three times in the eighth to tie it as Graham singled and scored in that inning. LHP JOHN CURTICE, Boston's first-round pick in '97, allowed one hit over six innings in the opener...The catching duo of SHEA HILLENBRAND (21 RBI) and CHAD ALVERAS (11 RBI) were first and second on the team in runs batted in through May 13. MICHIGAN...LHP JOHN CURTICE allowed a seventh-inning, two-run homer to Cedar Rapids' Scott Kirby May 14 to lose 2-0 in a scheduled seven-inning game (6.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 SO). Curtice pitched six scoreless frames in his previous start, but despite the impressive outings, he had lost three straight decisons over six starts. He did not look sharp in his next start, walking five, uncorking a wild pitch, hitting a batter and yielding three earned runs in four innings of work May 19. The 17th overall pick in the 1997 draft was spared the decision, however, a 7-4 defeat at the hands of Cedar Rapids...RHP JEFF TAGLIENTI saved three straight games May 13-18 (4.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO) to give him six on the season, tied for third in the league through May 19. MICHIGAN...C SHEA HILLENBRAND went 4-for-5 with four RBI, including the game-winning two-run homer in the bottom of the 11th inning that beat Lansing 4-2 May 25. The 17th overall pick in last year's draft, LHP JOHN CURTICE, worked the first six innings of the game, yielding just two hits and one earned run (2 R, 3 BB, 4 SO) to lower his ERA to 2.98. He had not registered a win in his first nine starts despite allowing opposing hitters to hit just .179. Hillenbrand's performance capped a nine game stretch in which he hit .571 (20-35, 1 2B, 5 HR, 14 RBI, 1 SB). Through May 27, he was tied for first in home runs (8) and RBI (35) while leading in slugging (.576)...The Battle Cats got a bottom of the ninth-inning homer by SS AARON CAPISTA to tie Lansing May 27, then beat the Lugnuts 5-4 on a two-out, 11th-inning RBI single by OF JESS GRAHAM. Graham had gone 7-for-10 (2 3B) in three games May 21-23. MICHIGAN...The Battle Cats scored six times in the bottom of the eighth to best Lansing 9-6 May 28. OF DANNY HAAS started the inning with a double and finished the scoring with a two-run single...LHP JOHN CURTICE pitched six scoreless innings (2 H, 1 BB, 5 SO) in a 2-1 win at Burlington May 30, his first victory of the season against three losses. He had allowed just 30 hits in 51 innings and had a 2.63 ERA...The Battle Cats scored two runs in the top of the tenth inning to beat Burlington 5-3 May 31. SS AARON CAPISTA had a pinch-hit, RBI single that brought home the winner...DH SHEA HILLENBRAND, who had gone deep the day before, ripped a two-run homer and C CHAD ALEVRAS walloped a grand slam as part of an eight-run fourth inning as the Battle Cats beat Kane County 10-5 June 2. Hillenbrand was in the top five in seven offensive categories through June 3, including the league's top slugging percentage (.575). MICHIGAN...OF MARK FISCHER (.243, 4 HR, 23 RBI), a 1997 first-round pick, was placed on the disabled list with a sprained ankle...1997 first-rounder LHP JOHN CURTICE allowed three hits and two earned runs in five innings to beat Fort Wayne in a rain-shortened affair June 9. He fanned five and retired his former high school teammate SS Michael Cuddyer, also a 1997 first-rounder, in each of his three trips to the plate. It marked the fourth consecutive start in which he allowed two earned runs or less...LHP JOE THOMAS went 4-0, 1.80 ERA in five starts May 21-June 10 (35 IP, 21 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 10 BB, 25 SO). His 77 innings pitched led the league through June 10...RHP GERMAINE HUNTER did not allow a run in 12 games May 9-June 9 (19 IP, 11 H, 7 BB, 19 SO), amassing two wins and two saves. MICHIGAN...RHP MICHAEL RUPP (5 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 7 SO) and RHP JEFF TAGLIENTI (2 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 6 SO) combined on a two-hit, 3-0 shutout over West Michigan June 12. The duo combined to whiff eight of the last nine batters they faced as Taglienti fanned the side in both innings he worked to pick up his 12th save, third most in the league...LHP JOE THOMAS went 5-0, 1.91 ERA, including three straight winning starts, in six games May 21-June 15 (42.1 IP, 28 H, 11 R, 9 ER, 11 BB, 33 SO) to improve to 7-4, 3.18 ERA...RHP MARTY MCLEARY allowed nine runs, six hits and a walk over 1.1 innings in a 16-6 loss at West Michigan June 11. Opposing hitters were hitting at a .320 clip against him through June 17. MICHIGAN...LHP JOE THOMAS hurled eight scoreless innings (6 H, 3 BB, 4 SO) in a 2-1 win at Quad City June 20. It marked the 23-year-old's fourth straight winning start (30.1 IP, 21 H, 8 R, 6 ER, 9 BB, 26 SO) to improve to 8-4, 2.90 ERA...RHP RAFAEL ARIAS went 0-3, 8.53 ERA in six games June 6-21 (19 IP, 32 H, 21 R, 18 ER, 6 BB, 12 SO), falling to 3-5, 5.74 ERA overall...C SHEA HILLENBRAND hit .394 (26-66, 5 2B, 4 HR, 7 RBI, 2 SB) in 18 games June 2-19. The Red Sox' 10th-round choice in 1996 was leading in batting (.345) and slugging (.574) while placing second in home runs (13) and hits (89) through the first-half of the season. He connected for a double in two trips to the plate in the All-Star game June 23...2B CARLOS LEON hit .484 (15-31, 2 2B, 1 3B, 5 RBI, 2 SB) in nine games May 30-June 19. MICHIGAN...LHP JOE THOMAS allowed just two hits over six scoreless innings (2 BB, 5 SO) to win his fifth straight start (36.2 IP, 23 H, 8 R, 6 ER, 11 BB, 31 SO), 2-1 over South Bend July 1. He improved to 7-0, 1.43 ERA over his last eight starts and 9-4, 2.72 ERA overall...C SHEA HILLENBRAND hit .358 (24-67, 4 2B, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 2 SB) in 19 games June 9-July 1 to improve his league-leading average a few percentage points to .342. The 22-year-old backstop was also leading the league in slugging (.568) while placing second in home runs (14) and hits (95) and third in extra-base hits (32)...RHP JEFF TAGLIENTI saved three straight games June 26-July 1 (4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 SO) to move into a tie for second in the league with 15 saves. MICHIGAN...LHP JOHN CURTICE tossed six solid innings (4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO) in an 8-1 victory over South Bend July 2, winning his fourth straight decision. Over his last six starts, the '97 first-rounder has allowed 21 hits and eight earned runs over 38 innings...LHP JOE THOMAS, who had won five straight starts June 5-July 1 (36.2 IP, 23 H, 8 R, 6 ER, 11 BB, 31 SO) and was 7-0, 1.43 ERA in his last eight, got a no-decision against Wisconsin July 6 (6 IP, 10 H, 2 R)...Through July 8, C SHEA HILLENBRAND was tied for first in the league in hits (104), was leading in slugging (.559), was second in home runs (14) and batting (.342), third in extra-base hits (35) and fourth in RBI (55). MICHIGAN...LHP JOE THOMAS allowed six runs and ten hits over seven innings but received support from his hitters and defeated Lansing 12-8 on July 12 to win his eighth straight decision in his last ten starts (69.2 IP, 56 H, 19 R, 17 ER, 22 BB, 54 SO)...OF JOE HAMILTON went 3-for-4 with a double and a three-run homer as part of a four-RBI night in a 12-5 win against Lansing July 15. C SHEA HILLENBRAND went 3-for-5 to hit safely in 15 straight games (24-60, 5 2B, 1 HR, 13 RBI, 4 SB). He was leading the league in hits (113), batting (.351) and slugging (.559)...RHP MICHAEL RUPP went 5-0, 2.29 ERA in his first seven starts with the club June 12-July 11 (35.1 IP, 28 H, 10 R, 9 ER, 18 BB, 37 SO), including four straight wins...RHP JEFF TAGLIENTI did not allow a run in ten games June 19-July 13 (13.1 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 20 SO), compiling six saves to hold down the league's number two spot with 18 saves through July 15. MICHIGAN...C SHEA HILLENBRAND went 2-for-5 with a double and two RBI in a 13-1 win over South Bend July 17. LHP JOE THOMAS allowed an earned run on seven hits in seven innings pitched to improve to 9-0, 2.11 ERA in his last 11 starts (76.2 IP, 63 H, 20 R, 18 ER, 26 BB, 60 SO) and 11-4, 2.94 ERA overall. Hillenbrand went 2-for-4 with a double, homer and two RBI in a 4-2 win over the Silver Hawks the next night and he hit safely in 20 straight games (31-82, 8 2B, 2 HR, 18 RBI, 5 SB) June 26-July 20, raising his average from .340 to .349...LHP JOHN CURTICE beat South Bend 4-2 on July 18 (5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 8 SO) to win his fifth straight decision and improve to 5-3, 2.84 ERA...RHP JEFF TAGLIENTI did not allow a run in 13 games June 19-July 20 (17 IP, 7 H, 1 BB, 23 SO), picking up eight saves. MICHIGAN...LHP JOE THOMAS (6 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO), who came into the game 9-0 in his last 11 starts, lost 8-0 to West Michigan July 23. Though he was roughed up for six earned runs over five innings (8 H, 2 BB, 3 SO) July 28, he made it 10-1 in 13 starts with an 11-10 win over Peoria. OF JOE HAMILTON, who had also gone deep the night before, hit a pair of home runs (3-5, 4 RBI) and C SHEA HILLENBRAND tripled and homered (2-4, 2 RBI) in the triumph. Hillenbrand's solo homer in the top of the ninth proved critical because the Chiefs plated two in the bottom of the frame to fall just short...The Battle Cats scored five times in the top of the 15th inning, highlighted by a two-run double by DH JEFF KEAVENEY, to beat Fort Wayne 9-5 July 24...RHP JEFF TAGLIENTI did not allow a run in 16 games June 19-July 27 (21.1 IP, 9 H, 1 BB, 30 SO), notching nine saves. Through July 29, he had a 3-2 record with a 1.76 ERA and 22 saves, second-most in the league. Opposing hitters had managed just a .206 average against him. MICHIGAN...OF JOE HAMILTON hit a pair of home runs (2-3, 6 RBI) in an 8-2 win against Cedar Rapids July 30. It was the second time in a week that he went deep twice in a game and he had amassed five homers in four games...DH JEFF KEAVENEY hit safely in 12 straight games (20-49, 7 2B, 1 HR, 11 RBI) July 17-31 until it was broken August 1, raising his average from .239 to .268...C SHEA HILLENBRAND hit .519 (14-27, 4 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 1 SB) in seven games July 26-August 5, raising his average to a league-high .355, five percentage points behind the minor league-leader. MICHIGAN...RHP JASON NORTON, a 16th-rounder in this year's draft out of the University of Southern Alabama, retired all nine batters he faced, including the first six on strikes, before the game with West Michigan August 6 was suspended. The Battle Cats lost the game when play resumed the following evening 5-4. On August 10, Norton allowed two hits over seven scoreless innings (1 BB, 3 SO) in a 10-0 win against Wisconsin. A night later, SS AARON CAPISTA legged out a bases-loaded triple in the bottom of the 11th inning to upend the Timber Rattlers 10-9...OF JESS GRAHAM did not commit an error in 67 consecutive games May 24-August 12 but went 0-for-14 in four games August 2-6...C SHEA HILLENBRAND, a 1996 tenth-rounder, hit safely in 11 straight games (18-40, 4 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 1 SB) July 24-August 6. His .354 batting average through August 12 was tops in the league. He was also leading the league in slugging (.570) and extra-base hits (51)...RHP LANCE SURRIDGE, a 15th-rounder this past June out of UNC Greensboro, threw seven scoreless innings (3 H, 5 BB, 3 SO) in a no-decision at Clinton August 12...OF MARK FISCHER, the 35th overall pick in 1997, did not strike out in ten consecutive games July 27-August 8 and hit .367 (18-49, 4 2B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 2 SB) in 13 games July 27-August 11. MICHIGAN...OF RONTREZ JOHNSON led off the tenth inning with a home run to beat Kane County 9-8 August 17. The following evening, OF JESS GRAHAM drilled a two-run double in the top of the tenth inning to beat the Cougars 3-2. Through August 19, Graham had played 73 consecutive games without making an error...1997 first-round pick LHP JOHN CURTICE struck out a career-high 11 batters (7 IP, 6 H, 0 R) in a no-decision at Kane County August 16. His previous high was nine on May 9 against South Bend. The outing was just the second time all season that he had lasted seven innings...C SHEA HILLENBRAND's .348 average was second highest in the minor leagues through August 19. MICHIGAN...C SHEA HILLENBRAND went 5-for-5 with three RBI in a 9-4 win at Lansing August 23. Through August 26, he was leading the league with a .355 average, three points off the minor league-leading pace of .358 set by Knoxville's Casey Blake. Hillenbrand is attempting to be the first player since Dick Schofield in 1982 to hit over .360...OF JESS GRAHAM did not commit an error in 77 consecutive games May 24-August 26...2B CARLOS LEON homered August 22 & 23 (2-6, 4 RBI) and also did not commit an error in 22 consecutive games July 30-August 26...RHP JEFF TAGLIENTI was second in the league in saves (26) after nailing down three games in six appearances August 13-26 (9.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 15 SO). For the season, Taglienti has enjoyed a 4-2 record and a 1.77 ERA while holding opposing hitters to a .197 average. MICHIGAN...OF MARK FISCHER singled with two-out in the bottom of the ninth inning and scored on a double by pinch hitter SHEA HILLENBRAND to beat West Michigan 6-5 August 30. Hillenbrand's .349 average was second in the league through September 2...OF JESS GRAHAM did not commit an error in 85 consecutive games May 24-September 2. He also hit .526 (10-19, 2 2B, 1 3B, 6 RBI, 1 SB) in five games August 22-28. Teammate 2B CARLOS LEON did not commit an error in 30 consecutive games July 30-September 2...RHP JEFF TAGLIENTI saved five games in five appearances while not allowing a hit August 23-31 (6.1 IP, 2 BB, 12 SO). His 29 saves through September 2 ranked second in the league, three behind the leader...RHP JUSTIN DUCHSCHERER pitched six scoreless innings (2 H, 0 BB, 4 SO) in a 3-0 win against West Michigan in the first game of a twinbill August 29. In the nightcap, RHP RAFAEL ARIAS turned in a practically identical outing, tossing six scoreless innings (4 H, 0 BB, 4 SO) in another 3-0 win. RED SOX...DH DEREK RIX belted a two-run homer in the top of ninth inning to beat the Rangers June 27. He homered in three straight games June 27-30, going 6-for-13 with eight RBI...SS RONNY RODRIGUEZ hit three doubles (4-5, 3 RBI) June 23 in a 14-1 win against the Orioles and OF TONAYNE BROWN hit three doubles (3-4, 1 RBI, 1 SB) June 30 in a 9-8 loss against the Royals. He went 3-for-5 with a double and homer the next day. RED SOX...OF TONAYNE BROWN hit three doubles (3-4, 1 RBI, 1 SB) on June 30 in a 9-8 loss against the Royals...Through July 7, he was leading the league in extra-base hits (10), was second in hits (23), tied for first in doubles (6) and was second in slugging (.667). RED SOX...LHP GREG MILLER did not allow a run in four games June 23-July 8 (11 IP, 9 H, 2 BB, 10 SO), winning twice...OF TONAYNE BROWN hit .479 (23-48, 7 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 3 SB) in 12 games June 27-July 10. Through July 14, after he was tied for first in extra-base hits (12), was second in slugging (.696) and tied for third in home runs (4). RED SOX...OF TONAYNE BROWN hit .446 (33-74, 9 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 13 RBI, 6 SB) in 18 games June 27-July 21. He was leading the league in hits (37), was second in batting (.389) and also tied for second in slugging (.632)...SS ANGEL SANTOS hit .344 (22-64, 4 2B, 1 3B, 12 RBI, 7 SB) in 19 games June 23-July 18. RED SOX...RHP ERIC GLASER did not allow a run in five games July 8-25 (10.2 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, 11 SO), picking up a win and three saves...SS ANGEL SANTOS hit .385 (25-65, 5 2B, 1 3B, 12 RBI, 5 SB) in 20 games June 25-July 22. Through July 28, he was fourth in the league in batting (.351) and fifth in on-base percentage (.435). RED SOX...LHP GREG MILLER struck out ten batters (5 IP, 4 H, 2 R) in a 10-2 win at the Royals August 4 to improve to 3-0, 2.59 ERA in his last seven games June 27-August 4 (24.1 IP, 19 H, 10 R, 7 ER, 12 BB, 29 SO)...LHP MIKE MAROTH, a third-rounder in this year's draft, hurled six scoreless innings (3 H, 0 BB, 5 SO) in an 11-4 win against the Pirates July 29. It marked the fourth straight appearance in which he did not allow an earned run (1-1, 12.2 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 14 SO)...SS JULIO GUERRERO hit .105 (4-38, 8 SO) in nine games July 23-August 3. RED SOX...RHP ANASTACIO MARTINEZ threw six scoreless innings (2 H, 1 BB, 8 SO) in a 6-0 win at the Orioles August 7...LHP GREG MILLER struck out ten batters (5 IP, 4 H, 2 R) in a 10-2 win at the Royals August 4 and went 4-0, 2.45 ERA in eight games...OF JOSE PENA hit .353 (24-68, 5 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 4 SB) in 19 games July 22-August 11...OF CARLOS RODRIGUEZ, an 11th-rounder out of Louisville in this year's draft, hit a pair of home runs (2-4, 3 RBI) in an 8-3 win at the Rangers August 12. He had hit just one homer in 142 at-bats entering the game. RED SOX...OF JOSE PENA hit safely in 11 straight games (17-42, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 3 SB) August 4-18, raising his average from .277 to .316...OF CARLOS RODRIGUEZ hit a pair of home runs (2-4, 3 RBI) on August 12 in a 8-3 win at the Rangers...LHP GREG MILLER went 5-0, 2.16 ERA in nine games June 27-August 15 (33.1 IP, 24 H, 14 R, 8 ER, 15 BB, 38 SO). RED SOX...OF JOSE PENA hit safely in 17 straight games (29-66, 5 2B, 3 3B, 3 HR, 14 RBI, 4 SB) August 4-25, raising his average from .277 to .344. He was second in the league in batting (.344) and was third in on-base percentage (.423)...OF CARLOS RODRIGUEZ hit .488 (21-43, 4 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 20 RBI, 7 SB) in 11 games August 11-22. He went 5-for-5 with a triple and two RBI on August 20 in a 16-2 win at the Orioles and went 3-for-5 with a homer and three RBI on August 22 in a 12-5 win at the Pirates. LOWELL...OF PAUL MCDANIELS went 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBI in a 12-0 win over New Jersey. The Spinners sent nine men to the plate in the first inning and scored six runs, including a two-run dinger by DH EDWIN FALCON. LHP TOM MILLER (5 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, 4 SO) combined with two relievers on a two-hit shutout and the trio did not allow a runner beyond first base. Miller tossed seven scoreless innings (3 H, 0 BB, 7 SO) in his next start, a no-decision against Vermont June 23. The 23-year-old went 0-0, 6.35 ERA in 11 relief appearances for Michigan before joining the Spinners. LOWELL...RHP TOM LINARELLI allowed six runs on three hits and a walk in a third of an inning in a no-decision against New Jersey June 29...OF JOSE FLORES went 1-for-28 with seven strikeouts in eight games June 19-29...3B PATRICK SANTORO hit .400 (10-25, 2 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 5 RBI) in eight games June 19-27 but also committed errors in five consecutive games June 24-28 (8 ERR). LOWELL...LHP BENITO FLORES lost three straight starts June 24-July 4 (10.1 IP, 20 H, 14 R, 12 ER, 5 BB, 13 SO)...The Spinners had won just seven of its first 21 games, committing 48 errors and homering eight times. LOWELL...RHP DANNY LAMPLEY struck out 10 batters (5 IP, 2 H, 1 R) in a no-decision against St. Catharines July 12. He had allowed no earned runs in four consecutive games (16 IP, 9 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 26 SO)...DH EDWIN FALCON hit .405 (15-37, 3 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 6 RBI) in 11 games July 2-14. LOWELL...OF MO ROJAS hit safely in 13 straight games (19-49, 4 2B, 3 HR, 10 RBI) July 4-21, raising his average from .164 to .264. He homered July 15 & 16 against Pittsfield (4-8, 5 RBI)...OF JOSE FLORES hit .059 (3-51, 13 SO) in 18 games June 22-July 18 and did not drive in a run in 22 consecutive games June 19-July 21 (4-60)...C CHADWICK JOHNSON homered July 14 & 15 against Hudson Valley and Pittsfield (4-7, 4 RBI). LOWELL...OF MO ROJAS hit safely in 20 straight games (30-79, 8 2B, 4 HR, 17 RBI) July 4-29...OF PAUL MCDANIELS homered in back-to-back games July 24 & 25 (2-6, 4 RBI) against New Jersey...OF JOSE FLORES was suffering through a 6-for-66 slump and did not drive in a run in 25 consecutive games June 19-July 26. LOWELL...OF MO ROJAS hit safely in 21 straight games (32-84, 8 2B, 4 HR, 17 RBI) July 4-30...LHP CHRIS ZALLIE did not allow a run in four games July 19-August 1, picking up a pair of wins (11.1 IP, 5 H, 4 BB, 18 SO)...1B KEITH HART hit safely in 16 straight games (18-63, 5 2B, 1 HR, 12 RBI) July 19-August 4...C DAVID BENHAM doubled three times (3-4) on August 3 in a 6-5 loss at New Jersey...SS RAMON SANTOS scored a run in eight consecutive games July 26-August 3 (9-34, 1 2B, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 1 SB). The 1997 fourth-rounder also committed three errors in a game on August 2 in a 12-4 win against Jamestown. LOWELL...SS ADAM EVERETT, the Red Sox' first-round pick in this year's draft, made his professional debut August 11, going 2-for-3 in a 6-2 loss to Hudson Valley...LHP MIKE MAROTH, Boston's third-rounder in June out of Central Florida, went 1-0, 0.82 ERA in his first two starts (11 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 13 SO) for the Spinners after starting his pro career in the Gulf Coast League (1-1, 0.00 ERA)...OF ANGEL MENDOZA hit .400 (18-45, 3 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 13 RBI, 2 SB) in 11 games July 29-August 8. LOWELL...RHP DANNY LAMPLEY won four straight starts August 2-18 (22 IP, 15 H, 9 R, 7 ER, 6 BB, 27 SO) to improve to 6-2, 2.55 ERA. Through August 18, the 22-year-old free agent from Wingate College ranked fifth in the league in strikeouts (75)...RHP MARK CISAR saved four straight games August 7-15 (7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 SO)...RHP PRIMITIVO MOLINA did not allow a run in eight games July 26-August 19, picking up three wins (11.1 IP, 8 H, 4 BB, 9 SO)...1998 first-rounder SS ADAM EVERETT committed three errors in a game on August 14 in a 10-2 loss at Auburn. The South Carolina product hit .500 (7-14, 2 2B, 4 RBI) in four games August 15-19. LOWELL...RHP DANNY LAMPLEY won five straight starts August 2-23 (27 IP, 21 H, 11 R, 9 ER, 8 BB, 33 SO) to improve to 7-2, 2.64 ERA...C RODOLFO PENA went 3-for-4 with a homer and a pair of doubles in a 6-3 loss against Hudson Valley August 22...RHP PRIMITIVO MOLINA did not allow a run in nine games July 26-August 23, picking three wins (13.1 IP, 10 H, 4 BB, 10 SO)...LHP CHRIS ZALLIE did not allow a run in four games August 15-24, earning a win (9.1 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 12 SO). LOWELL...RHP DANNY LAMPLEY struck out 14 batters over six scoreless innings (3 H, 2 BB) in a no-decision against Auburn August 28. He fanned the side in the first, second, fifth and sixth innings, including five in a row at one point, in piling up the most whiffs in the league this season. The 22-year-old, who had entered the game with wins in each of his five previous starts, left the game leading 1-0. The Doubledays squeaked across a run in the top of the ninth inning and won 2-1 with a run in the top of the 11th. Lampley finished the season at 7-2, 2.39 ERA and ranked fourth in the league in strikeouts (95)...1B EDWIN FALCON went 5-for-5 with three doubles and four RBI on August 30 in a 14-4 win against Pittsfield. 1998 first-rounder SS ADAM EVERETT committed three errors in the game and made nine in his first 21 pro games. The South Carolina product hit .296 (21-71) with nine RBI for the Spinners...LHP TERRANCE HILL threw seven scoreless innings (5 H, 2 BB, 5 SO) in a no-decision at Pittsfield September 1...3B CHAZ TERNI made three errors in a game on August 29 in a 7-2 loss against Auburn.