•HIGHLIGHTS: It took four innings and a total of 1 hour, 38 minutes worth of rain delays, but the PawSox bats came alive. On the strength of a five-run fifth inning, Pawtucket downed the Bulls for the second night in a row. Joe Thurston’s two-run double did the most damage, while Brandon Moss followed up his three-home run night Saturday with an RBI triple and Jed Lowrie and Dusty Brown added run-scoring singles. … Both starters had solid outings derailed by the weather. Durham’s Mitch Talbot had struck out five and allowed just one hit through four innings of shutout ball before the rain delay ended his evening. His replacement, Steve Andrade (0-1), allowed six hits and all five of the PawSox runs in his one inning of work. Meanwhile, knuckleballer Charlie Zink allowed just one run in three innings pitched but gave way to Jose Vaquedano (1-0) after the delay. Vaquedano picked up his first win of the season for his three innings of relief work, and Chris Smith got the final two outs of the game for his sixth save of the year. … The teams traded defensive gems in the late innings. With two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the seventh, John Rodriguez took an RBI hit away from Bobby Kielty with a full-extension catch in the gap in left-center field. The PawSox returned the favor in the bottom of the eighth, as Thurston robbed Reid Brignac on the warning track in left with a diving catch that Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson later called “the play of the game.”

•KEY TO THE GAME: The weather. The 27-minute rain delay in the top of the second inning was a minor inconvenience, as both starting pitchers returned to the mound. The thunderstorm that caused the one hour, 11-minute rain delay in the middle of the fourth inning was more disruptive. Vaquedano gave up two runs in the bottom of the fourth — including a home run to John Rodriguez on the first pitch he threw — but the PawSox responded to the tune of five runs in the top of the fifth, propelling them to victory.

•THEY SAID IT: “He has not been in Triple-A that long. I think sometimes you evaluate more after you see a guy get smacked in the face a little bit. He was in the game for about 30 seconds and he got slapped, he gave up another run, and then he settled in and did a phenomenal job for us.” – PawSox manager Ron Johnson, on winning pitcher Jose Vaquedano.

•NOTES: It appears Clay Buchholz will be remaining with the PawSox for a little while longer. Buchholz, who has been with Pawtucket on a rehab assignment for the last week, was activated by Boston on Saturday night and assigned to the PawSox. The right-hander began the season in the Red Sox rotation but was placed on the disabled list May 14 after tearing the middle nail on his pitching hand. He was 2-3 with a 5.53 ERA in eight starts with Boston and allowed four earned runs in eight-innings pitched in his two rehab starts for the PawSox. Boston manager Terry Francona told reporters that the team was not displeased with Buchholz but wanted to see him work on his command and his consistency with his fastball. … With Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s 8-7 loss to Rochester, the PawSox moved within a game of first place in the International League’s North Division.

•UP NEXT: Kyle Snyder (1-2, 5.08) is slated to start tonight’s finale of the four-game series with the Bulls. His previous start came last Tuesday and was his first since coming off the disabled list. He lasted just 1 2/3 innings and allowed five runs. Snyder is set to face the surprising Jeremy Cummings, who began the season in the Chinese Professional Baseball League but has gone 4-0 with a 1.08 ERA for Durham since arriving stateside.