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Pawtucket L 3-5
Jackie Bradley Jr.: 2-3, 2 BB, K
Bryce Brentz: 2-4, HR, BB
Jeremy Hazelbaker: 1-5, 2B, 3 K
Jose Iglesias: 1-4
Brock Holt: 0-4, 2 K
Rubby De La Rosa: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, K
Those first two games in Triple-A were a little concerning. Anything other than an immediate bounce-back was going to be. But these last two games are very much Bradley in a nutshell, and man is it good to see that again. And if you're someone who would feel the need to harp on the lack of performance in the majors, remember, we'd be feeling awfully good about Bradley looking like Bradley this soon after a promotion to Triple-A.
And hey, good stuff from the rest of the team too. Brentz going deep, Jose Iglesias not striking out, and Rubby De La Rosa taking a baby step from "Uh oh, this is really bad." to "Uh oh, this isn't as good as I'd hoped." Except after the first few games, I think most people will be fine with this.
Portland W 9-8 (In 10)
Xander Bogaerts: 2-5, 3B, BB, K, E
Travis Shaw: 1-3, 2 BB, K
Michael Almanzar: 1-5
Kolbrin Vitek: 1-4, BB, 2 K, 2 E
Christian Vazquez: 2-4, BB
Craig Breslow: 0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
Brandon Workman: 5 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
Daniel Bard: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
So Xander is hitting .311 now, which shouldn't be remarkable given the man in question but is given how badly he started. With 16 hits (and five walks) in his last eight games, Bogaerts has caught fire and will hopefully not be looking back.
The results on the mound are, sadly, not so impressive. But before we start freaking out about Craig Breslow, let's remember that he didn't really have a spring training to speak of. It's no surprise if he needs a bit to catch up.
Salem W 8-1
Garin Cecchini: 2-4, HR, BB, K
Brandon Jacobs: 0-2, 3 BB
Keury De La Cruz: 1-4, HR
Blake Swihart: 1-4, K
Henry Ramos: 1-4, K
Henry Owens: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Noe Ramirez: 2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Garin Cecchini and Henry Owens are pretty good bets for the two prospects who will come onto the radar for the everyday fan next year. Not as players who are major league ready, but the ones the media picks up on and who get their names out there, not unlike Bradley, Bogaerts, and Barnes. The pure quality probably isn't really on the same level, but that speaks more to the excellence of the Three Bs than anything else.
Greenville L 0-4
Jose Vinicio: 0-3, BB, K
Pat Light: 5 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
If'n you're concerned with the dullness of Greenville, remember this: It'd look better if Deven Marrero hadn't made the jump right to Salem (and given how well he's handling it, that's exclusively a positive thing), and Lowell will at least have a few very interesting names between Ty Buttrey, Jamie Callahan, and Manuel Margot. The bottom of the system isn't empty.