PAWTUCKET - It has been an out-of-the-park experience for Ryan Lavarnway.

In each of the past three seasons, Lavarnway's home run total has exceeded the previous. He hit 21 in Class A Greenville two years ago. Last year, splitting time between Salem and Portland, the 23-year-old California native hit 22.

Already this season, splitting time between Portland and the Pawtucket Red Sox, the catcher-designated hitter has put the baseball out of the park 24 times.

He had three more hits Monday at McCoy Stadium, the 13th multi-hit game of his AAA career thus far for the PawSox in a 4-1 victory over the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs.

Lavarnway already has 101 hits this season, including home run No. 24, a two-run shot to left field in the seventh inning, an RBI-double in a two-run third inning, a two-out single in the first inning and a fifth-inning walk. "Looking at numbers and what other people are doing, it's a trap that you don't want to fall into - you have to take care of your own business," said Lavarnway, who has 10 homers and 28 runs batted in 31 games with the PawSox, hitting at a gaudy .381 rate.

"For me, it's pitch-to-pitch, my focus is on bat-to-bat, then game-to-game," said Lavarnway. "Then it's a series that turns into a week. Then, over time, eventually, you can focus on your season."

The No. 1 catching prospect in the Boston organization, according to Baseball America, and heir apparent to a spot at the major league level, "it's a delicate balance," said Lavarnway of being moved along from A to AA to AAA, not losing sight of personal development with the numbers games.

The Yale University product owns the Ivy League career home run record (33) and has an eye-popping .687 slugging percentage at the AAA level. Lavarnway was hitting .284 in 55 games with AA-Portland before being promoted June 13 as a result of PawSox catcher Mike McKenry being traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

"He has a great idea of what he wants to do at the plate," said PawSox manager Arnie Beyeler. "He adjusts pitch to pitch, not at-bat to at-bat. He uses the whole field well, he can drive the ball."

Lavarnway has caught in 15 games, sharing time behind the plate with Luis Exposito. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Lavarnway has "made a lot of great strides defensively, but I'm still learning." A sixth round draft pick by the Red Sox in 2008, Lavarnway has not been intimidated by pitching at any level. Thus far with the PawSox, Lavarnway is hitting .341 with six homers against right-handers, .444 with four homers against left-handers.

Lavarnway's batting average has not slipped below .300 at the AAA level and he has a combined 66 runs batted in.

"I'm just trying to keep it simple every day," said Lavarnway, aware that his power numbers (19 extra base hits) outweigh his 25 strikeouts. "Being a prospect doesn't make me any closer (to Boston)," added Lavarnway.

"I'm in Pawtucket and knocking at the door of the big leagues, but I don't have any sense of how close I am. It's out of my hands, it's their job (Theo Epstein and Co.) and obviously they're very good at it - the last few years, they've proven that. They've created a World Series team and this year an excellent team.

"Here I'm kind of putting the finishing touches on. Major league baseball is all about winning. So obviously, I'm working on my skills here at the AAA-level.

"You need to know what you need to do - the fact is, you're trying to make yourself a big leaguer. This isn't where I want to be."

Foul Balls

With OF Carl Crawford returning to Boston, the PawSox gained utility infielder Drew Sutton. However, Sutton likely will take a few days off before reporting to the PawSox later in the week The PawSox also hope to have SS Jose Iglesias (concussion) by then as well, "he feels good," said manager Arnie Beyeler Japanese-bred reliever Hideki Okajima was "delighted and very happy" that the women's World Cup was taken home by Japan Okajima hurled two scoreless innings, retiring all six batters that he faced, three on strikeouts. Eighteen of his 26 pitches were for strikes LHP Felix Doubront, who has allowed three or fewer runs in 10 of his 12 starts for the PawSox, hurls the first pitch in tonight's (7:05) game Lehigh Valley's first-year manager Ryne Sandberg, the Hall of Fame infielder, is one of only two (Roberto Alomar this year) second baseman to be inducted over the past 25 years. He believes that a trio of current players are worthy of consideration in time, "those three guys are the cream of the crop," said Sandberg of Dustin Pedroia, Robinson Cano and Chase Utley Former PawSox player Brandon Moss is touring LF for the Iron Pigs, batting .258 with 17 homers and 53 RBI. A cousin of country singer Alan Jackson, Moss was shipped by Boston to Pittsburgh in the Jason Bay trade. He drove in the lone Iron Pigs run with an RBI-single in the eighth inning off Michael Bowden CF Che-Hsuan Lin dropped a flyball in the eighth inning, just his second error in 43 games Winning pitcher Brandon Duckworth hurled five shutout innings, allowing four hits and a walk.

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