•HIGHLIGHTS: Strikeouts, and lots of them. While Pawtucket pitchers struck out eight overall, Columbus starter Shairon Martis had 12 over the first 5 2/3 and Clippers pitchers finished with 15. It was the second consecutive rough night offensively for the PawSox, who lost, 4-1, to Columbus in the opening game of the four-game series on Monday. No. 3 hitter Jonathan Van Every led off the sixth inning with a single and came around to score when Chris Carter followed with a shot down the right-field line. Carter was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double, and the next two batters struck out to end a potential rally.

•KEYS TO THE GAME: Neither team had many opportunities, but Columbus took advantage of their biggest ones. In the second after a one-out walk by Pawtucket starter Edgar Martinez to Larry Broadway, Yurendell de Caster smacked a two-run home run to right-center to give the Clippers a 2-0 lead. Columbus also benefited from a walk in the sixth, as Jorge Padilla led off with one and stole second. After Roger Bernadina singled Padilla to third, Lastings Milledge singled to drive in Padilla and knock Martinez from the game. Lincoln Holdzkom then got Luke Montz to ground into a double play, with Bernadina scoring. Pawtucket got a pair of base runners in the first and fourth innings but left both stranded, and got only one runner past second on the night.

•THEY SAID IT: “I like (Martis),” said PawSox manager Ron Johnson. “He had some good off-speed pitches and was aggressive. It took about five or six innings for us to make adjustments. We could have done a better job identifying what we were seeing. We were chasing a lot of off-speed stuff outside of the zone. I thought Martinez did a nice job. They got guys on base on him and got them in. In the last series against Toledo, we scored a bunch of runs. Sometimes you’ve got to give credit to the opposition.”

•NOTES: Pawtucket’s lead in the International League-North Division continues to shrink. The PawSox took over sole possession of first on June 20 and held a six-game lead on July 9. But they led Scranton/Wilkes-Barre by only 1 1/2 games heading into last night.

•ON DECK: The PawSox will attempt to snap their longest losing streak of the season — five games — when they face the Clippers at 7:05 tonight. Devern Hansack (5-9, 4.22) will face Tyler Clippard (6-7, 4.30).