Red Sox minor lines: Blake Swihart adjusts, Henry Owens does not

It's been quite a while, folks, so let's get right into it...

4/27

Pawtucket W 3-1

Jackie Bradley Jr: 3-4, 2B, K
Blake Swihart: 2-4, K
Travis Shaw: 0-3, BB
Bryce Brentz: 1-4, K
Garin Cecchini: 0-3, BB, K

Brian Johnson: 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 6 K

4/28

Pawtucket W 4-1

Blake Swihart: 2-3, BB, E
Travis Shaw: 0-3, BB, 2 K
Deven Marrero: 1-3, BB, K, E
Sean Coyle: 1-4, K

Portland Game 1 L 7-11

Carlos Asuaje: 1-3, BB, E
Keury De La Cruz: 0-4, BB, K

Portland Game 2 L 1-7 (In 7)

Keury De La Cruz: 1-3, 2B

Salem W 4-3

Manuel Margot: 0-3, BB, SB
Sam Travis: 2-3, 2B, BB, K
Wendell Rijo: 1-3

Greenville L 2-3

Nick Longhi: 1-4
Rafael Devers: 1-4, 2B
Michael Chavis: 0-4, 2 K

4/29

Pawtucket L 1-5

Jackie Bradley Jr.: 2-4
Blake Swihart: 1-4, K
Rusney Castillo: 0-4, K
Bryce Brentz: 1-4, 2 K
Garin Cecchini: 1-3, 2 K
Deven Marrero: 0-2

Henry Owens: 5 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
Heath Hembree: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Believe it or not, this is the best game Owens has had in terms of peripherals so far this season. Only once before has he walked fewer than he struck out (his previous start, when those numbers were four and five respectively). It's been a really rough start to the year.

For Brian Johnson, on the other hand, this five-walk wildness is completely out of line with his first three outings. He managed to dodge any real damage on the scoreboard to boot, so hopefully this will just be an entirely ignorable outlier by season's end.

Meanwhile, Blake Swihart, who had not walked in the first two weeks of April, draws has now drawn four in the third. As with last year, it took a bit of a slump to get him working on it--an 0-for-10 in three games did the job this time--and now he's looking like an all-around player once more with five hits in his last 11 at bats. Just need that power to come through now.

Portland L 3-8

Carlos Asuaje: 2-3, 2B, BB
Keury De La Cruz: 2-4, K

Portland may be the worst, but at least the guys who are there are trying. Asuaje's OBP is back up over .400, and Keury De La Cruz has stayed hot after missing a week, reaching base seven times in his four games since returning. His OPS is a shiny .942.

Salem L 1-7

Manuel Margot: 0-4, K, SB
Sam Travis: 2-4, K, SB

Trey Ball: 5 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

And so ends the streak. 62 at bats into his season, Margot becomes the last minor league hitter to strikeout. Speaking of striking out, there's a joke to be made here about Trey Ball, but I won't be the one to make it becaue ugh.

Greenville W 11-8

Nick Longhi: 1-5, K
Rafael Devers: 2-5
Michael Chavis: 0-5, 2 K, E

Chavis wasn't always supposed to be a top contact bat, and at 19 it's not surprising that SAL pitchers seem to have found a way to exploit the holes in his swing. It will be interesting to see how he adjusts over the course of the season.