Red Sox minor lines: Teddy Stankiewicz stepping forward

Pawtucket W 2-0

Deven Marrero: 1-4, E
Rusney Castillo: 1-4, K
Blake Swihart: 0-3, BB, K
Sam Travis: 2-4, 2B
Sean Coyle: 2-3, 2B, K

Deven Marrero's start could be generously described as "ice cold," but that might not keep him in the minors. With Marco Hernandez having been sacrificed for the needs of the bullpen, the Red Sox will need to call up a bench player once they're feeling more confident in their relief situation. And unless they've got a DL move to make, Hernandez won't be available.

Portland W 1-0

Wendell Rijo: 1-4

Teddy Stankiewicz: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, E
Williams Jerez: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Luis Ysla: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K

Stankiewicz is looking like money in Portland.. He fell way down the charts after underperforming in Salem last year, but he's got both peripherals and results both working right now, and could put himself in a sort of Brian Johnson position next year if he keeps it going. Not necessarily the 1.00 ERA with a K:BB of 16, mind. Just...something better than his year gone by.

Salem W 5-1

Mauricio Dubon: 1-5, SB
Rafael Devers: 1-3, BB
Nick Longhi: 0-3, BB, E

The Salem Sox mostly rip the rest day band-aid off all at once. Oh well, at least Devers had his BABIP go up some. .158 on the season now.

Greenville L 4-5 (In 17)

Josh Ockimey: 1-4, 4 BB, K
Luis Alexander Basabe: 1-8, HR, 4 K

Roniel Raudes: 3.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

Yeesh, 17 innings and a loss is rough indeed.

We've been keeping an eye on strikeouts at this level, and for Ockimey more than most they're a big issue. But as this game shows, there's two sides to that coin. Ockimey may be striking out in 30% of his at bats, but he's only striking out in a more reasonable 25% of his plate appearances. Still a high figure, but three-true-outcome players can be pretty damn productive when the BB and HR portions are well enough represented.

That comes through a little more clearly when you put Ockimey up against Basabe, who'd been doing well on the K-front until this. He's still at a better mark than Ockimey, but with only two walks to his name, there's a lot less wiggle room available to him.