Jackets rally for win

Dustin Pedroia jumped on second base and clapped his hands.

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Boston's first pick in the June draft had just picked up his first RBI in an Augusta uniform Friday and he did it at the right time. Pedroia drilled a two-run double over the head of Asheville left fielder Trey George to give the GreenJackets a 4-3 win at Lake Olmstead Stadium.

Pedroia wasn't the only one pumped up. Most of the season-high crowd of 5,874 fans jumped to their feet, as did the GreenJackets players.

"We were going nuts," third baseman Scott White said. "We were all up on the fence (in the dugout) cheering."

Pedroia's hit capped off a three-run eighth-inning comeback that White started to lead off the inning. White hit the ball well over the fence in left field to cut Asheville's lead to 3-2.

"You never know at this park," White said, "but I had a good feeling (it was gone)."

Asheville's Jose Vasquez nearly mimicked White's homer in the top of the ninth, but his potential go-ahead blast fell into Mickey Hall's glove at the warning track. Vasquez's out ended the game and earned Randy Beam his third save and second in Augusta's past three games.

The GreenJackets' flair for the dramatic has earned them three comeback wins in a row.

"I don't know what it is," Augusta manager Chad Epperson said. "It seems like in the eighth or ninth inning, we always put something together."

It's paid off lately. At 13-15 the GreenJackets are alive and well in the hunt for the second-half South Atlantic League Southern Division championship. They've won six of their past seven games and have beaten the Tourists (15-13) six times in a row.

The late rally overshadowed a dominating performance by Asheville starter Darric Merrell. The right-hander went 7q innings and gave up three runs (two earned) on just two hits. Merrell had given up just one hit - a second-inning single by Jon de Vries - through seven innings. The GreenJackets managed just three hits compared to Asheville's seven.

After White's homer, Merrell struck out Hall, but walked Zach Borowiak and was replaced with Melvin Rosario. The reliever walked Cronkhite before striking out Robert Evans for the second out, bringing up Pedroia. The second-round pick worked a full count before delivering his game-winner.

"I was trying to hit it in a hole to get one run in," Pedroia said. "I got a good pitch and hit it well."

Argimiro Guanchez (4-3) gave up two hits in two innings to get the win in relief of Kyle Jackson. Augusta's starter gave up three runs on five hits in six innings. The Tourists did all their damage in the fourth inning, where they got four of their five hits and all three of their runs. Jackson struck out five to give him 105 strikeouts for the season.

Reach Kristy Shonka at (706) 823-3216 or kristy.shonka@augustachronicle.com.

STAR OF THE GAME: Dustin Pedroia, Boston's first pick in the June draft, knocked a two-run double to give the GreenJackets their third comeback win in a row.

KEY PLAY: Scott White's eighth-inning home run sparked a three-run comeback for Augusta.

TONIGHT'S GAME: 7:15, Asheville at GreenJackets