PAWTUCKET - They have been on the road 17 days this month and had another three days off for the All-Star break, so when the Pawtucket Red Sox unpacked their bags at McCoy Stadium yesterday, they were happy to be home.

"It seems like we've been on the road for pretty much the whole month. . . . It's nice to be back," manager Ron Johnson said as his team prepared for a six-game home stand against Rochester and Scranton-Wilkes Barre.

The PawSox returned with a 67-43 record, the best in the International League, and led the North Division by 1½ games over Scranton-Wilkes Barre. Who is playing well on the cusp of the final month of the season? Johnson didn't hesitate to list the stalwarts of his lineup and started with infielder Joe Thurston.

"Joe Thurston has been phenomenal this year. He's had a great year. He's been the catalyst to this offense all year. He's a tremendously high energy guy. I can't say enough good things about him," Johnson said.

Thurston is second in the league in hitting (.316) and hits (125). He leads the PawSox in doubles (24), is tied for the lead in triples (4), is second in runs (67) and is fourth in RBI (53). He appeared in four games with the Boston Red Sox in April and rejoined the PawSox after clearing waivers on April 26.

Thurston will be out of the lineup for a couple of days, Johnson said, after fouling a ball off his foot Monday afternoon at Toledo.

"And, of course, we have Carter and Bailey and Van Every and the numbers they have put up, and Kottaras. They're all around the 20-home-run mark and 50-70 RBI. That's pretty good, so they've all played well," Johnson said of his big hitters.

Outfielder Chris Carter, the designated hitter last night, was hitting .298 with 22 home runs, 23 doubles, 74 RBI and 406 at-bats. He is sixth in the league in batting average, second in RBI, fourth in extra-base hits (47) and fifth in home runs. He had two its in his major-league debut June 5 and returned to Pawtucket the next day.

First baseman-outfielder Jeff Bailey was hitting .293 with 24 home runs, 19 doubles, 64 RBI and 76 runs. He is tied with Van Every for third in homers and is third in slugging percentage (.559) and second in runs. He has had two brief stints with Boston this season.

Jonathan Van Every, the center fielder, had a .277 average with 24 homers, 13 doubles, 60 RBI and 74 runs. He is third in the league in runs. He made his major-league debut in Baltimore on May 18.

Catcher George Kottaras is hitting only .235 but has 19 home runs and 55 RBI. Johnson also mentioned catcher Dusty Brown, who is hitting .275 with 10 homers and 38 RBI.

"It's kind of rare to have two young prospect catchers on the same Triple A team," the manager said.

David Pauley and Charlie Zink have led the pitching all season. Each was 12-3 coming off the road. Zink was second in the league with his 2.70 earned run average, Pauley ninth with his 3.39. They shared the league lead in victories, but Zink was the first to 12. He was second in innings pitched (133.1).

"David Pauley and Charlie Zink have been the mainstays, but Devern Hansack is making a big push. His won-lost record (5-9) might not reflect it, but right now he's throwing the ball as well as anybody," Johnson said. "And getting 21-year-old Michael Bowden was a plus. He had a real nice outing against what I think is one of the best offensive production teams in this league, the Toledo Mud Hens."

Bowden is 0-2 with Pawtucket.

"The guys have played well, and I'm very proud of that because that's our job … It's good stuff," Johnson said.

"And I manage my (butt) off," he added with a laugh.