•THE HIGHLIGHT: Striking back immediately was the key to Pawtucket extending its winning streak to five games.

Norfolk scored four times in the third, on four singles, a double and a hit batsman, to take a 4-0 lead. Pawtucket, most notably Jeff Bailey, had the lead two innings later.

The PawSox scored three times in the bottom of the third with the help of poor play by Norfolk. Dusty Brown singled and then Gil Velasquez hit a tapper back to the mound. Pitcher Chris Waters fielded it and threw to second, except no one was on the bag. Everyone was safe. Bailey then crushed a three-run homer to left, his sixth of the season, to make it 4-3.

Pawtucket added three more in the fourth to take a 6-4 lead. Two walks, an RBI single by Jonathan Van Every, and then a two-run double by Bailey produced the runs. That gave Bailey five RBI from the leadoff spot.

“It’s an interesting thing we’ve done,” said Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson of having the power-hitting Bailey bat leadoff, as he has for a couple weeks. “It’s worked out great.”

•THE KEY TO THE GAME: Once Pawtucket got the lead, it did a good job of protecting it. Starter Charlie Zink, after struggling in the third, settled in. He allowed only one more hit in the next three innings. Lincoln Holdzkom and Jose Vaquedano finished up.

Pawtucket is 15-6 on the season at McCoy after beating Norfolk three times in less than 24 hours.

“It’s a hard thing to do, to sweep a team in a doubleheader and then come right back and beat them again,” Johnson said. “But our guys did it.”

•PROSPECT WATCH: Vaquedano is the newest prospect at McCoy. He was promoted from Portland yesterday and had an interesting debut. He came on in the ninth, with the PawSox ahead, 8-4. The first three batters he faced all reached, on two walks and a single.

The Tides had one run in and the bases full, meaning the tying run was on first, when Vaquedano ended it by retiring Luis Terrero, the leading hitter in the International League, on a grounder to short.

Vaquedano is easy to recognize. He is a lanky (6-foot-4, 167-pounds) right-hander who throws sidearm, almost submarine style. The 26-year-old, who was born in Honduras and now lives in Texas, had been awesome at Portland. Working exclusively in relief, he was 4-0, with a 0.41 ERA in 13 appearances. In 22 innings, he 12 hits, four walks with 17 strikeouts.

•ROSTER MOVES: It was a busy day off the field for the PawSox and not just because Alex Cora and Sean Casey returned to Boston. In addition to the promotion of Vaqedano, two other moves were made, both involving the departure of relievers.

Bryan Corey, who has been back and forth three times between Boston and Pawtucket, finally found what could be a permanent home. Corey was traded to San Diego for a player to be named.

Also, veteran Abe Alvarez was released after the game. Alvarez, once a legitimate prospect, has struggled. He was moved from the starting rotation to the bullpen this year, but the soft-throwing lefty had a 6.46 earned-run average in 13 games.

Jed Lowrie, who was returned to Pawtucket when Cora was activated, should join the PawSox today.

•TONIGHT: The teams close out the series with a 6:15 contest. Left Craig Anderson (1.2, 8.49) goes for Norfolk against Devern Hansack (0-4, 5.89) or Kyle Snyder (1-1, 3.80).

pkenyon@projo.com