In giving up the pursuit of perfection, Salem starter Seth Garrison has gotten pretty darn good.

Garrison allowed just one run on two hits over six innings Friday night to lead the Red Sox to a 5-1 Carolina League win over the Potomac Nationals at Salem Memorial Ballpark.

"From the first pitch of the game it was like, 'Oh wow,' " Salem manager Chad Epperson said. "He had good feel for his breaking ball and when he has his breaking ball and his change-up going, he can flat-out roll."

First baseman Anthony Rizzo went 4-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI and Che-Hsuan Lin went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run to back Garrison's effort. Daniel Nava also had a pair of doubles for the Red Sox.

Potomac scored its run on two hits in the first inning. Then Garrison sat down the next 13 batters. He walked the 14th, but picked him off, and finished his outing striking out six and facing only two over the minimum in six innings.

Meanwhile, P-Nats starter Terrence Engles had to leave the game after giving up a leadoff double to Nava in the fourth and then straining himself on a wild pitch that let Nava get to third.

Patrick McCoy came on in relief, but struggled. The Red Sox scored two in the fourth with an RBI double by Rizzo and a sacrifice fly by David Mailman and touched McCoy for three more runs in the fifth.

Kris Negron led off the fifth with a single and stole second, then jogged home when Lin hit a skyscraper homer over the left-field wall. With one out, Nava doubled again, and after moving up on a groundout, he scored on a single by Rizzo for the 5-1 lead.

That was plenty for Garrison, who has given up just three runs, two earned, in his last four starts.

"He's been stringing 'em together," Epperson said.

Garrison's turnaround started just after the first of June.

He went 2-6 with a 6.27 ERA through his first 10 starts of the season. Over his next nine appearances, including an emergency relief appearance, beginning on June 9, he's gone 5-2 with a save and a 1.55 ERA.

"I haven't done anything different in my mechanics or my pitches," Garrison said. "But the way I approach each game is completely different. I'm not making every game like the last game of the World Series. ...

"I need to not put so much pressure on myself and just trust myself."

P-Nats outfielder Aaron Seuss pitched in the seventh inning, his fourth relief appearance of the season. Though Seuss threw a knuckleball that didn't seem to flutter much and a slow-going fastball, only three Red Sox reached and two of them via fielding errors.

Potomac made some noise with one out in the eighth when Michael Martinez doubled and stole third. Brian Peacock followed with a walk, but was thrown out trying to steal second. Boomer Whiting then walked, which would have loaded the bases, bringing the tying run to the plate with one out. Instead, Dan Nelson flied out to end the inning.

The P-Nats loaded the bases again with one out in the ninth after catcher Luis Exposito, who'd gone 1-for-4 but struck out against Seuss, got himself tossed out of the game by home plate umpire Andy Dudones.

"Obviously he said something he shouldn't have," Epperson said of Exposito. "He was frustrated. One, with his offensive performance, and two, with calls that he thought were good pitches. Sometimes you lose it. I don't think it was the right time for it."

After Exposito's ejection the P-Nats got a single, a double and a hit batter off reliever Josh Papelbon to load the bases. But Francisco Plasencia banged a grounder in front of the mound, which Papelbon fielded and threw home for the force out. Catcher Tim Federowicz then threw to first for the double play and the win.

How the runs scored

Potomac first: One out. Espinosa singled. Valdez grounded out, Espinosa to second. Burgess singled, Espinosa scored. P-Nats 1, Red Sox 0.

Salem fourth: Nava doubled. McCoy relieved Engles. Jones flied out, Nava scored. Rizzo doubled. Exposito singled, Rizzo to third. Mailman flied out, Rizzo scored. Red Sox 2, P-Nats 1.

Salem fifth: Negron singled. Negron stole second. Lin homered, Negron scored. Borowiak grounded out. Nava doubled. Rizzo singled, Nava scored. Red Sox 5, P-Nats 1.