•THE HIGHLIGHTS: Josh Barfield’s sacrifice fly capped a three-run rally for Buffalo in the eighth inning. Ryan Mulhern delivered a two-run double earlier in the frame to tie the game at 5-5. Lincoln Holdzkom (3-1) came on in the eighth and didn’t get an out until a sacrifice bunt following Mulhern’s double. The loss snapped Pawtucket’s six-game winning streak. The Pawsox’ Jeff Bailey delivered a home run for the third straight game, a two-run shot in the fifth inning to break a 1-1 deadlock. He also contributed a two-out RBI single in the eighth, which gave the PawSox a 5-3 lead. Joe Thurston added his first homer of the season, a solo shot in the first inning.

•KEY TO THE GAME: The eighth-inning meltdown by Holdzkom. He has had opponents licking their chops all season, allowing 20 hits and 18 walks in 15 1/3 innings. This, remarkably, was his first loss. In the ninth, the PawSox had two runners on with one out, but Buffalo closer Rick Bauer fanned Chris Carter before getting Dusty Brown to ground out harmlessly on a 3-2 pitch.

•PROSPECT WATCH: Catcher Dusty Brown will never be mistaken to be a speed merchant, but he legged out two infield singles, both to the third-base side. “It’s a matter of luck,” said Brown. “It happens when you don’t hit the ball the way you want to and it ends up working out.” In the eighth inning, he hit a liner back to the mound, but Buffalo reliever Bubbie Buzachero kicked it aside and third baseman Aaron Herr was able to throw Brown out by a step. Brown also threw out a runner at second base to end Buffalo’s eighth-inning rally, but grounded out to end the game and thwart the PawSox’ comeback bid.

•IN-GAME MOVEMENT: Starter Kyle Snyder was held to three innings due to a tight groin. He allowed three hits and a walk. In the bottom of the seventh, first baseman Sandy Madera came out of the contest for defensive purposes as Bailey moved to first base.

•THEY SAID IT: “There’s not much to say about it,” said PawSox manager Ron Johnson of Holdzkom. “You have to throw strikes and make people hit the ball. It’s a shame we had to lose it like that, because through seven or eight innings, we won. We kind of gave them the ballgame.” … “It’s coming together right now,” said Bailey, who is 6-for-14 in his last three games with four homers and 11 RBI.

•UP NEXT: PawSox right-hander David Pauley (3-2, 3.56) faces Buffalo righty Adam Miller (0-0, 2.04) tonight at 7 o’clock.