Johnson

PAWTUCKET — It has been five years since the Pawtucket Red Sox made the playoffs.

But the PawSox (71-45) are in good position to return to the postseason this year.

They are in first place in the International League North, a spot they’ve held since June 20.

It’s a position they don’t want to relinquish, but Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson will be the first to tell you that wins are not the most important thing to the PawSox. Getting prepared in case Boston calls their number is the Pawtucket players’ main focus.

But the wins are nice, and they have kept piling them up this year. In fact, Pawtucket is on a pace to set a franchise record of 88 wins this season (the current mark is 83).

That is a telling statistic, but it doesn’t tell the entire story of how the PawSox have been so successful.

They have been outstanding in all three phases of the game — hitting, pitching and fielding.

The PawSox are the only team with three players among the top seven I.L. leaders in batting average. Joe Thurston is third with a .309 average, Chris Carter is sixth at .303 and Jeff Bailey seventh at .299.

In fact, the PawSox entered yesterday’s action ranked third in the I.L. in team batting with an average of .267.

In addition, Bailey, Carter and Jonathan Van Every are in a three-way tie for third place in the I.L. home run race. All three have 24 round-trippers, and Carter is second in RBI (78).

Bailey (1-for-4), Thurston (2-for-4) and Carter (0-for-4) combined to go 3-for-12 yesterday. Van Every did not play.

Pawtucket’s offense is good, but its pitching staff might be even better. The PawSox are second in team ERA (3.69).

Charlie Zink (13-4) and David Pauley (12-4) are 1-2 in the I.L. in wins. Zink also entered yesterday’s action ranked third in earned-run average (2.76).

Scranton/Wilkes Barre got eight hits and three runs off Zink during his five innings yesterday.

“I thought Charlie was OK, but he threw a lot of pitches,” Johnson said. “He was around 100 pitches after five innings.”

Pauley, meanwhile, is ninth in ERA (3.40) and closer Chris Smith, who was promoted to Boston after Thursday’s trade deadline, is seventh in saves with 13. Devern Hansack, who struck out seven on Saturday, is fifth in strikeouts with 110.

The PawSox also have the best fielding percentage in the I.L., at .984, which is better than their single-season club record of .980 set in 2006.

But they will certainly be tested over the next week and a half. The PawSox are in the midst of a six-game series against the Scranton/Wilkes Barre Yankees, the two-time defending I.L. North champions, who are right on the PawSox’ heels with a 71-46 record. The winner of this series will be in first place in the I.L. North with just over three weeks remaining in the regular season.

“That is a good team,” Johnson said of the Yankees, whom the PawSox will face six more times over the next 10 days. “We knew it was going to be a constant battle with these guys.”

Scranton Wilkes/Barre has a team batting average of .260, and its pitching staff leads the way with an ERA of 3.60.

The series moves to Scranton/Wilkes Barre tonight, with first place on the line. The PawSox lead the season series, 6-4.

roblee@projo.com