01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, May 18, 2006

BY DAN HICKLING
Special to the Journal

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- It all came down to a clutch hit. The Pawtucket Red Sox couldn't get one, but the Buffalo Bisons did.

That proved to be the difference last night as the PawSox fell, 3-2, before an announced Dunn Tire Park crowd of 5,494.

Jason Cooper's two-out RBI double in the bottom of the eighth off reliever Craig Breslow accounted for the winning run.

Cooper's drive off the right-field fence scored Andy Marte and gave Buffalo what proved to be the winning run.

"I was looking for a fastball," said Cooper, "and he left one up."

Still, it appeared the PawSox were would rally. In the top of the ninth, they put runners on the corners against Bisons closer Ben Howard, the I.L. saves leader.

But Pawtucket misfired. With Enrique Wilson on first and Luke Allen on third, Howard got pinch-hitter Rodney Nye and Alejandro Machado on grounders to seal the PawSox' fate while picking up his 10th save.

"We just didn't play very well," said PawSox manager Ron Johnson. "You have to look at it for what it is. We shot ourselves in the foot in the ninth with some mental mistakes."

The Bisons took the lead in the bottom of the third with a pair of unearned runs off Pawtucket starter Jon Lester. Both scored with two out when Jason Dubois' low liner to right hit the glove of Allen and bounded away.

Pawtucket encountered rough going against Bisons starter Jeremy Guthrie (3-0), who allowed just four hits and no runs in five innings.

Just once in that span did Guthrie allow two PawSox players to reach, after Ron Calloway scratched out an infield single to open the fourth. One out later, Hee-Seop Choi singled, but the threat ended when Allen lined into a double play.

Pawtucket nicked reliever Tom Mastny for a run in the sixth, on a leadoff single by Dustin Pedroia and a two-out double by Choi, then tied the score at 2-2 in the eighth when Pedroia walked and scored on a throwing error after Calloway had singled.

But for the PawSox, that was as good as it would get.

AROUND THE BASES: Rehabbing Boston reliever David Riske pitched the seventh inning, allowing a walk and a hit but no runs while throwing 15 pitches (nine for strikes). It was the third PawSox appearance (and first out of the bullpen) for Riske, who went on the disabled list on April 12 because of a lower back strain. Riske said that since his back problems are behind him, all that remains is to get his rhythm back. "It went okay," he said. "I felt healthy, (and) it felt good to get back to coming out of the bullpen. I just want to get my mechanics back to when I was healthy. And, obviously, working on locating." The plan, according to Riske, is for him to sit out today's matinee with the Bisons, then work an inning both tomorrow and Saturday. "I'll probably be activated on Monday," he said . . . Abe Alvarez (5-0, 2.18) will pitch for the PawSox today (1:05) against Buffalo's Jeremy Sowers (5-1, 1.21) in a battle of left-handers.