Red Sox minor lines: The elusive promising Trey Ball start

Pawtucket L 2-7

Jackie Bradley Jr.: 1-4
Allen Craig: 1-4, BB
Travis Shaw: 3-5, 2B, K
Garin Cecchini: 1-4
Sean Coyle: 0-4, 2 K

Brian Johnson: 5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HR

Pawtucket L 2-4

Jackie Bradley Jr.: 0-3, BB, K
Allen Craig: 0-3, BB
Garin Cecchini: 0-4
Sean Coyle: 1-4, 2 K

Henry Owens: 5 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 2 K, 1 HR

Henry Owens' struggles continue. Yes, he's trying to get his curveball to work. Yes, that likely explains some of his issues. No, that doesn't alleviate the problem. The reason there's this focus on his curve is because Owens very likely needs that curveball to be an effective pitch at the major league level if he wants to start. And if it's not even working as his second offering in the minors, it's probably not up to the task of playing a prominent role in the majors.

Maybe fastball - changeup is enough. Maybe the slider he's messing with will prove to be something. Until one of those two things happens, though, there's reason for concern, and not reason that's brushed aside by "well it's just because he's throwing his curveball."

Portland L 3-4

Carlos Asuaje: 1-4, 2B

Justin Haley: 4 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 4 K

Still, Owens will be glad not to be dealing with Haley's problem: a 6.04 ERA in his first 44 innings of work. That the jump to Double-A has proved so difficult for him is bizarre given that he actually made it relatively successfully last year. One wonders what happened in the intervening months.

Salem W 12-0 (In 7)

Manuel Margot: 2-5, K, SB
Sam Travis: 2-4, 2B, BB, K
Wendell Rijo: 3-4, BB

Trey Ball: 5.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K

Salem W 3-2 (In 8)

Manuel Margot: 1-4, K
Sam Travis: 1-4, K
Wendell Rijo: 2-4, SB, E

Look! Wait, no, don't! At least not right at it! It's the promising Trey Ball start! A rare sight, to be sure, and if you move too suddenly, you might just scare it off. Stay perfectly still, and hope it stays for a while this time around. Maybe, oh, 15 years, give or take.

Greenville L 4-5

Nick Longhi: 0-3, BB, 3 K
Yoan Moncada: 0-3, BB, K
Javier Guerra: 1-3, BB, K, SB, E

Edwin Escobar: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Edwin Escobar is one of the forgotten men in the system this season, which is no surprise partially because there are so many other more interesting arms, and partially because this is the first time he's taken the mound. It used to be there was no room for starting pitching in the top levels, but now that Pawtucket has been emptied out a bit, maybe he'll find a place in the rotation after all.