LAWRENCEVILLE — The Pawtucket Red Sox rudely greeted right-handed starter Mike Foltynewicz in his return to the Gwinnett Braves, who dropped the opener of the three-game series 7-5 at Coolray Field.
Carlos Peguero was the central figure in the rout. He hit a two-run home run off Foltynewicz in the first inning and smashed a grand slam to center field in the third inning, which put the PawSox in front 7-2.
Foltynewicz (L, 0-4) had not allowed more than two runs in any of his four starts with Gwinnett to begin the season before the Atlanta Braves called him up on May 1, but Pawtucket drilled him for seven runs on seven hits. He allowed four walks and struck out five over 6.0 innings.
In between the Pawtucket outbursts, Foltynewicz worked perfect frames in the second and fourth innings, and the G-Braves had the game tied 2-2 after two innings. Christian Bethancourt led off the bottom of the second with a home run that bounced off the left-field foul pole, and Eric Young, Jr. drove in Todd Cunningham with a two-out single to right field off Pawtucket left-handed starter Brian Johnson (W, 8-4).
The G-Braves scratched across a run in the sixth on a on a sacrifice fly to center field byDaniel Castro to score Bethancourt, who led off the inning with a double into the left-field corner. They pushed across two more in the seventh and knocked Johnson from the game before he could record an out.
Young and Jose Peraza opened the inning with singles, and Joey Terdoslavich drew a walk to load the bases and end Johnson’s night. Adonis Garcia got a broken-bat single off of right-handed reliever Jonathan Aro (S, 1) to drive in Young, and Peraza scored on a fielder’s choice grounder hit by Cunningham.
Both runs were charged to Johnson. He ended his 6.0-inning outing with five runs allowed (four earned) on 10 hits, two walks and three strikeouts. Aro pitched the final 3.0 innings for Pawtucket. He gave up two hits and no runs with a walk and five strikeouts.
Left-hander Greg Smith allowed nothing more than a walk in his 2.0 innings of work, and righty Aaron Kurcz tossed a scoreless ninth with a hit and walk allowed to go with one strikeout.
After two home runs and six RBIs in the first three innings, Peguero added a fifth-inning single for a 3-for-4 effort. Allen Craig scored on both of Peguero’s homers and went 1-for-3 with two walks.
Peraza had three hits in five at-bats and scored a run, while Bethancourt and Young each finished 2-for-5. Bethancourt had an RBI and two runs scored, and Young drove in one run and scored a run. Bethancourt has gone 7-for-15 and multiple hits in each of his three games with the G-Braves since Atlanta optioned him to Gwinnett on June 15.
The G-Braves (32-34) and PawSox (33-35) will play the middle contest of their three-game set at 7:05 p.m. Saturday at Coolray Field. Right-handed pitcher Cody Martin (1-2, 1.88 ERA) will start for Gwinnett against lefty Henry Owens (2-5, 3.45 ERA) of Pawtucket. Tony Schiavone has the play-by-play call on 97.7 FM and WSBRadio.com beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Saturday is “Back to the Future Night” at the ballpark, as the G-Braves celebrate the 30thanniversary of the movie. Fans can take their picture with a replica DeLorean Time Machine that will be on display. All Gwinnett players will be outfitted in jerseys modeled after Marty McFly’s 2015 “future” jacket, and all jerseys will be auctioned off during the game with proceeds benefitting the Gwinnett Braves Foundation. To purchase tickets, call the Coolray Field Ticket Office at 678-277-0340 or visit GwinnettBraves.com/tickets.
