PawSox defense has Haley dealing

Justin Haley understands how important it is for him to utilize a great defense when he's got one behind him. With Triple-A Pawtucket, he pitches in front of one of the International League's top five defenses, and he's taking full advantage.

The Red Sox right-hander tossed gave up two hits over eight innings in his third straight scoreless start Friday night as Pawtucket blanked Buffalo, 4-0, at Coca-Cola Field. Of the 24 outs he recorded, 14 were on ground balls.

"I was coming off a couple of good outings. I wanted to go out there and just keep doing what I've been doing in throwing strikes and putting up zeros for my team," said Haley, who extended his shutout streak to 21 innings. "They're a really aggressive team, Buffalo is, and we kind of played into that, so to speak.

"I was just trying to keep the ball down in the zone and not try to do too much and just get them to roll over balls. We've got a great defense. [Christian] Vazquez behind the plate, calling pitches, is just a mastermind, so really it just fell into place where I was going to let my defense work. That allowed me to get late in the game, which is good for both sides and gives us a quick game and a good game."

Haley (7-3) gave up a single to Jesus Montero leading off the bottom of the second, then walked Chris Colabello before forcing two straight groundouts and a lineout to get out of the inning.

The 25-year-old right-hander walked Matt Dominguez leading off the fourth and surrendered another single to Montero before retiring the next 12 Bisons. Andy Burns reached on a throwing error by shortstop Deven Marrero with one out in the eighth, but Haley got out of his final frame unscathed.

"My motto and approach all season, especially with this Pawtucket team, has been to get ahead and put guys in swing mode and go from there and let them get themselves out," Haley said. "I'm not trying to strike out every batter I face, and I know it's a better game to be more economical. We have this fantastic defense, so why not use them?"

Haley started the season with Double-A Portland and went 5-4 with a 2.20 ERA in 12 starts. He made his Triple-A debut with Pawtucket on June 18 and posted a 4.06 ERA in his first six outings.

The 2012 sixth-round pick has since settled in. Friday's gem was Haley's fifth straight win, a stretch during which he's given up six earned runs in 33 2/3 innings. He's yielded eight hits during the scoreless streak.

"I went through a little bit of a buffer period where I had to get my Triple-A legs under me," the Fresno State product said. "I was trying to get acclimated and get to know the new personnel on my team and the teams I'm facing.

"I spent a year and a half down in Portland and I got to know I lot of the opponents. So I knew a lot of approaches there. I had to come up here and learn and understand how to read hitters and then basically disrupt [his] game. As far as my approach, I've tried to attack hitters throughout the whole season and be in the zone early and often. I'm not going to blow it by anybody, but I'm good at working inside and outside and mixing my speeds and pitches. That's what's been working for me, trying to keep hitters off-balance."

Joe Kelly struck out one in a 1-2-3 ninth, nailing down the PawSox's 14th shutout.

Rusney Castillo plated two runs with a triple in the third, while Ryan LaMarre went 2-for-2 with an RBI for Pawtucket.

Buffalo starter Mike Bolsinger (0-2) gave up three runs on four hits and two walks with three strikeouts in four innings.