Moss ties PawSox homer record

Now that Brandon Moss is feeling better, opposing pitchers aren't.

Moss, whose stint in the Major Leagues was cut short by an appendectomy, tied a team record by belting three solo homers Saturday as the Pawtucket Red Sox outslugged the Durham Bulls, 14-7.

The 24-year-old first baseman went 4-for-5 to raise his batting average to .317. He smacked a blast to center field in the second inning, cleared the right-field fence leading off the fourth and singled in a run in the fifth. He homered again in the sixth, becoming the 16th player in PawSox history -- and the first since Izzy Alcantara on June 23, 2001 -- to hit three in one game.

With a chance to tie the International League for homers in a game, Moss struck out to end the eighth.

Moss saw two brief tours of duty with Boston this season, hitting .286 with two homers and three RBIs in 21 at-bats. But he was sidelined by his surgery earlier this month and, upon being activated from the disabled list, was optioned to Pawtucket.

In his first start with the PawSox on May 22, the former eighth-round draft pick was 0-for-5. But he has hit in nine straight games since, a stretch that has seen him bat .472 (17-for-36), with five homers and 14 RBIs.

In Saturday's victory, Pawtucket (34-23) also got homers from Chris Carter, Jonathan Van Every and Keith Ginter who stroked a grand slam in the fifth.

David Pauley (7-2) picked up the win, despite allowing seven runs on 11 hits with five strikeouts and a walk in 5 2/3 innings.

Former first-round Draft pick Jeff Niemann (2-2) surrendered 10 runs on nine hits, fanning two and walking two, in 4 2/3 frames for the Bulls (30-26).

Justin Ruggiano, Jon Weber and Elliot Johnson homered in a losing cause.