Red Sox minor lines: Rafael Devers is back

Pawtucket W 2-1 (6/9)

Deven Marrero: 2-3

Kyle Martin: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

There was another Pawtucket game in this span. The only player who's been covered around these parts that participated was Noe Ramirez. I sat, and I thought about it, and I asked myself: does Noe Ramirez even qualify anymore?

"Noe," I decide. "Noe he doesn't."

Oh God I'm so sorry why have I done this?

Portland L 1-4 (6/8)

Andrew Benintendi: 0-4, K

Teddy Stankiewicz: 5.2 IP, 11 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Luis Ysla: 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K

Portland L 7-10 (6/9)

Andrew Benintendi: 1-4, 2B, BB, K

Williams Jerez: 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

Yikes, in the span of two starts, Stankiewicz has seen his ERA jump from 3.25 to 4.52! And if you take it back over his last four, he's actually walked one more than he's struck out. Something has suddenly gone horribly awry. Is the Pawtucket pitching plague spreading to Portland?

Salem W 10-6 (6/9)

Yoan Moncada: 2-6, 2B, 2 K, SB
Mauricio Dubon: 4-5, 2B, BB, SB
Nick Longhi: 1-4, 2 BB, K
Rafael Devers: 5-5, BB
Joseph Monge: 2-6, K

Travis Lakins: 4.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 9 K
Yankory Pimentel: 2.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 HR

Well, that's a game.

Moncada's performance is arguably the least impressive of the bunch, and it's still enough to suggest he's back in rhythm. I'd say something about getting him up to Portland, but by this point I've kind of just accepted it'll happen when it happens, with no clear indication what will push him over the top.

Dubon has the least-noticed .397 OBP in the minors. Unless, of course, you're Matt Collins, in which case you were born with the words "Dubon MVP" ringing in your head. Looking back at his last 10 games is actually pretty amusing. He's gone hitless in half of them, but holds a .333 average thanks to two four-hit games, and has six walks to keep that on base figure nice and high. For a guy who seemed like a utility player at best, there's enough contact and discipline here that there may just be a long-shot leadoff man dream scenario to be found.

Longhi and Monge also did fine, but of course, Devers is the one who really stands out here. And thank goodness for that. After a brutal start to the year, it seems like it's finally the young third baseman's time to shine. This is no one-off burst. He's reached base in each of his last 16 games, and the only one of his last 11 where he didn't get a hit saw him draw three walks. He's hitting .448/.515/.517 in the month of June. It was always only a matter of time, but it's nice to see that time has come.

Things are not quite as impressive for Travis Lakins, who started this game looking completely untouchable and then exploded in the fifth. There's been no real rhyme nor reason to when he's gone through his terrible implosions, and both his repertoire and build suggest he should have no problems with going longer in games. Frankly, there's a whiff of 2012 Henry Owens to all this.

Greenville L 2-3 (6/8)

Michael Chavis: 0-3, BB
Josh Ockimey: 0-3
Kyri Washington: 1-4, 2 K
Luis Alexander Basabe: 1-4, 3B

Jake Cosart: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

Greenville L 2-8 (6/9)

Josh Ockimey: 0-3, 2 K
Kyri Washington: 0-3, 2 K
Luis Alexander Basabe: 1-4, 2B, K

Greenville's performances are...less impressive by half. Jake Cosart, at least, continues to strike out a ridiculous number of batters. 44 in 30 is otherworldly, even in the SAL.