PAWTUCKET — And then there was one.

Pawtucket, which dropped a 4-0 decision to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees last night at McCoy Stadium, will close out its 2007 season today.

After last night’s loss, many players began filling boxes and packing bags with personal belongings in preparation for the offseason.

Even though the PawSox did not earn a playoff berth for the fourth consecutive season — they played for the Governors’ Cup and lost to Durham in 2003 — Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson knows his players will show up today ready for competition.

The young players want to make an impression. The veterans are playing for a spring-training invitation next season, maybe even a September call-up this month.

“There’s a lot of pride that goes into playing this game,” said Johnson. “Even though guys are packing their boxes, and so am I, everybody’s in that mode. But when the game starts and you’re in the dugout, you can sense the competitiveness of these guys. It really comes into play.”

Last night, knuckleballer John Barnes worked seven innings, allowing three runs on six hits with one walk and five strikeouts.

“I’m really proud of Barnes tonight,” said Johnson. “He has a very interesting quality of that pitch. He pitched good enough to win.”

PawSox newcomer Jeff Farnsworth, who was signed recently out of independent ball and is the brother of New York Yankees pitcher Kyle Farnsworth, allowed one run on three hits.

Yankees pitching prospect Jeff Karstens earned the victory with a solid seven-inning performance, allowing just five hits.

He wants to finish strong

PawSox pitcher David Pauley gets the start in today’s finale. The 24-year-old right-hander has a 6-6 record and a 4.24 ERA in his first full season in Triple A. He hasn’t finished a season above .500 since 2005, when he went 9-7 with a 3.81 ERA for the Portland Sea Dogs.

“I’m going to take it as any other start,” he said. “It’s pretty much all it is. I’ll try to keep the game quick and the ball on the ground as much as I can.”

In his last nine starts, he’s 0-3 with a 5.12 ERA. His last win came on July 12. He’s not worried about that; he just wants to finish strong.

“My last couple of outings I’ve had some bad luck,” he said. “That’s kind of the way it’s been all year. But it’s been a productive year and I’ve learned a lot. I learned how to pitch a lot more than I did last year. Whether the record shows it or not, it’s been a productive year.”

Double-A reinforcements

Over the last few weeks, there has been talk about which players are going up to Boston for the stretch run. Several other players will be sent to Double-A Portland. The Sea Dogs will start the Eastern League playoffs on Wednesday at Trenton. Johnson said last night that he did not know which players would be heading to Portland, but there were a couple of roster moves last night.

Pitcher Scott Lonergan, who made his Triple-A debut on Saturday, was sent back to Class-A Lowell. Pitcher Blake Maxwell, who also made his Triple-A debut on Saturday, will go to Portland. Also, there’s speculation that left-hander Craig Breslow, who was called up to Boston on Saturday, will be sent back to Pawtucket and Devern Hansack will join the parent club.

jmcdonal@projo.com