When Dustin Pedroia walked into the dugout after hitting his first home run as a professional Sunday, his teammates sat back and pretended like they didn't notice.
"I knew they were going to do it," Pedroia said. "It was hilarious."
He played along until they finally cracked and celebrated what turned out to be the final run of a 4-2 win against the Asheville Tourists at Lake Olmstead Stadium.
Boston's second-round pick from Arizona State has given the GreenJackets plenty to celebrate since making his debut in 4-for-4 fashion Monday. The GreenJackets (15-15) are 6-1 with Pedroia in the lineup, and the rookie is batting .429 with two doubles, one homer and four RBI.
Sunday's win capped Augusta's second sweep of Asheville (15-15) in a week and marked its eighth straight win against the Tourists.
Augusta and Asheville are tied for fourth in the South Atlantic League's Southern Division with Columbus, in what's turning into a tight second-half race for a playoff spot.
Augusta starter Gary Galvez prevented the need for a fifth-straight comeback win by throwing seven shutout innings in his best outing of the year. The right-hander limited Asheville to three hits and struck out three.
"You could tell when he stepped on the mound today, he was up there for a reason," Augusta manager Chad Epperson said. "He was up there to win."
Galvez (5-7) began the season as a starter, but was switched briefly to a reliever. The right-hander from the Dominican Republic said through teammate/interpreter Argimiro Guanchez that he's much happier now that he's back in the rotation.
"I didn't feel good as a reliever," Galvez said.
He felt pretty good Sunday and worked quickly. The game was over in 1 hour and 50 minutes, the shortest game of the year at Lake Olmstead.
Tim Burgess provided Galvez and the GreenJackets a 2-0 lead in the first when he singled home Pedroia and Brandon Moss.
With his family in attendance, Scott White hit his second home run in three days and fourth of the season in the fourth inning to pad Augusta's rare early lead to 3-0.
Galvez left after seven, and Michael Dennison looked good through the first two batters in the eighth. But leadoff hitter Jonathan Herrera ripped a double down the right-field line and Luis Guance cut the lead to one with a bomb over the fence in left center. Ian Stewart followed the homer with a single up the middle, and Christian Colonel hit an infield single to move the tying run into scoring position.
And when the ball came off Jordan Czarniecki's bat, it looked like the Tourists would tie the game, but second baseman Zach Borowiak laid out for the line drive up the middle to get out of the inning.
Pedroia's homer in the eighth gave Milton Tavarez a little breathing room in the ninth, and Tavarez struck out two to earn his fifth save.
The GreenJackets travel to Columbia today in search of their sixth straight win in their final series of the season against first-place Capital City.
GAME REPORT
STAR OF THE GAME: Augusta starting pitcher Gary Galvez threw seven shutout innings. He allowed just three hits and one walk and struck out three to earn the victory.
KEY PLAY: Zach Borowiak made a diving catch in the eighth inning to rob Asheville's Jordan Czarniecki of a hit and preserve the GreenJackets' lead.
TONIGHT'S GAME: 7:05, GreenJackets at Capital City
Reach Kristy Shonka at (706) 823-3216 or kristy.shonka@augustachronicle.com.
The Augusta Chronicle ©2012 Morris Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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