Bynum, Milone lead Chiefs past Red Sox
After a scoreless first, Pawtucket (73-58) and Syracuse (60-68) traded runs in the second inning. In the top of the frame, Red Sox first baseman Lars Anderson smashed a solo home run off the batter's eye in center field to give Pawtucket the lead. The home run was Anderson's fourteenth of the season.
Syracuse answered back with a more prolonged rally against Pawtucket left-hander Greg Smith. Tug Hulett singled to lead off the inning, with a Jhonatan Solano one-out single advancing Hulett to second. Bynum then worked a full-count walk to load the bases for Jeff Frazier. The Chiefs' left fielder hit a sharp single to left field, scoring Hulett and advancing the other two runners to second and third. But Syracuse failed to gain a second run when Steve Lombardozzi bounced into an inning-ending double play.
Milone and Smith traded zeroes for the next four innings, with Milone finishing his night after a scoreless seventh. The left-hander allowed just four hits, one run, and one walk in seven innings, while striking out eight. Milone extended his International League-leading total to 149 strikeouts, a twelve-strikeout lead over Durham's Alex Cobb.
Junichi Tazawa relieved Smith for Pawtucket in the seventh, and Matt Antonelli greeted the right-hander with a line drive to left-center field. Daniel Nava's throw to second base was late, and Antonelli slid in safely with a double. After a sacrifice bunt by Jhonatan Solano, Bynum stepped in and worked the count to 3-1. He then crushed a Tazawa fastball the other way for a home run to right-center field.
The Chiefs bullpen once again put the hammer down on Pawtucket. Zech Zinicola worked a 1-2-3 eighth to extend his scoreless innings streak to fifteen and two-thirds straight. Josh Wilkie then entered for a scoreless ninth, collecting his thirteenth save.
The Chiefs and Red Sox play their final game of six straight meetings on Thursday night at 7:00. Syracuse right-hander Brad Meyers and Pawtucket righty Kyle Weiland will match up, in a rematch of the pitching matchup from Saturday's Futures at Fenway game.