Matt DeSalvo tossed perhaps his best game in almost two years as he held Pawtucket hitless for 5 2/3 innings to lead Scranton/Wilkes-Barre past the Red Sox, 5-1, on Saturday. The Yankees' Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2005 carried a no-hitter into the sixth, but former Major Leaguer Kerry Robinson broke it up with a two-out single to left. DeSalvo (1-0) admitted that maintaining the no-hitter wasn't a priority this early in the season. "Going into the sixth I acknowledged the no-hitter was intact but I knew there was no way I was going to go all nine innings," he said. "I was just approaching one hitter at a time, I tried to sneak a strike in there and he got a little base hit." DeSalvo -- who was signed as a non-drafted free agent out of Division III Marietta College in 2003 -- gave up the lone hit while fanning eight and walking one over six scoreless innings. The 26-year-old Pennsylvania native, one of the lesser-known members of the prospect filled Scranton/Wilkes-Barre rotation, struggled last year in his first taste of Triple-A action, going 1-6 with a 7.68 ERA for Columbus. In his first start of 2007, he picked up where he left off, working just three innnings while allowing two runs on five hits and three walks while fanning three. "The difference between today and past starts was that I was staying back longer," he said. "My fastball was working, [but] they were looking off-speed and I'm a sneaky fastball type of pitcher." Yankees reliever Ben Kozlowski gave up one unearned run on two hits while striking out two without a walk over the next two frames, and Justin Pope tossed a perfect ninth while fanning one. Shelly Duncan sparked the offense for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (4-4), going 2-for-3, including his fourth homer of the year, a two-run blast in the sixth. The Yankees took a 1-0 lead in the first when Jamal Strong scored on Bronson Sardinha's groundout. They made it 3-0 in the fourth when Eric Duncan's sacrifice fly brought in Sardinha and Andy Phillips scored on the front end of a double steal. Jeff Bailey scored Pawtucket's lone run on a passed ball in the seventh inning. Red Sox starter Abe Alvarez (0-2) yielded three earned runs on four hits and three walks while striking out two in 4 2/3 frames. Alan Friedman is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs. |
