Brewster had won four straight since a 9-4 loss to Y-D last Thursday.
The Whitecaps played Y-D again on Tuesday, and they’ll have to hope for another win streak to start on Wednesday. The Red Sox moved within one game of the first-place Whitecaps with a 7-1 victory.
Brewster had allowed a total of six runs in its previous four games, but the Red Sox broke through early and often in this one. They scored two in the first, two in the second and two more in the fourth, staying in control the whole way. Joe Panik (St. John’s), Stewart Ijames (Louisville) and Ronnie Shaban (Virginia Tech) had two hits each for the Red Sox. Ijames has been a key contributor since joining Y-D after getting released by Harwich. He’s hitting .333 in six games and picked up his first Red Sox RBI last night.
Also for Y-D, Matt Jensen (Cal Poly) and Matt Vinson (Arkansas) drove in runs. Ben McMahan (Florida), playing in his fifth game since arriving from the College World Series, also drove in a run.
Y-D did most of its damage against Brewster starter Mike Palazzone (Georgia). He allowed six runs but only two of them were earned. On the other side, three pitchers combined to shut down Brewster. Randy Fontanez (South Florida), a 23rd-round pick this year, made his first start and allowed just an unearned run in four innings of work. Matt Ianazzo (Pittsburgh) struck out five in 3.2 innings of relief and picked up the win. Scott Snodgress (Stanford) pitched 1.1 hitless innings to finish it off.
Elsewhere
What to Watch
Austin Lubinsky (Minnesota), who took a no-hitter into the seventh inning in his last start, gets the ball tonight as Brewster visits Hyannis.