Red Sox Minor Lines: Carson Smith keeps progressing

Pawtucket: L 4-5

Rusney Castillo: 1-4

Sam Travis: 0-4, 1 K

Bryce Brentz: 0-4

Deven Marrero: 2-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

Hector Velazquez: 4 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 3 K

Carson Smith: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

It was another encouraging rehab outing for Smith, who still has a ways to go to get back to full strength but seems to be progressing with each outing. That is all the team is looking for. He made quick work of his opponent in this inning of work, getting through in just 13 pitches with eight strikes. According to reports, his velocity was 91-92, which is possibly a slight uptick from his last time out. Either way, it’s good to see him moving in the right direction. Meanwhile, Marrero hit his second home run of the week.

Portland W 4-2

Danny Mars: 2-5, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K

Michael Chavis: 1-4, 1 2B, 1 K

Josh Ockimey: 0-4, 1 BB, 4 K

Josh Tobias: 2-4, 1 R, 1 E

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

Ty Buttrey: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K

Saturday was the first time since the beginning of June that Owens had a start with fewer than three walks and just the fourth time all season. By all accounts, this was the best and most efficient he’s looked since the demotion to Portland. We’re certainly going to need to see it for more than one outing before getting too excited, but mechanical changes like the one he’s been working on since moving to Double-A can take some time to implement fully. The next outing will be a true test.

Salem W 5-4

Conrad Gregor: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 K

No prospects on note took the field for Salem on Saturday, so we’ll highlight Gregor. The former Astros fourth round pick was just recently signed and has been great for Salem thus far, hitting .414/.553/.621 in nine games. He’s a 25-year-old first baseman.

Greenville G1 L 0-2

Tyler Hill: 1-3, 1 K

Roldani Baldwin: 0-3, 1 K

Brett Netzer: 0-3, 1 K

Bobby Dalbec: 0-3, 2 K

Jason Groome: 5 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 7 K

Greenville G2 L 0-4

Tyler Hill: 1-3, 1 K, 1 CS

Bobby Dalbec: 0-2, 2 K

It was a tough-luck loss for Groome in the first game, but his performance was certainly encouraging. The seven hits over five innings doesn’t look great, but as always it’s difficult to know how much of that is due to poor defense and how much is due to hard contact. One of the hits was a home run, for what it’s worth. We can only judge by the numbers, and seven strikeouts with no walks over seven innings is phenomenal. That’s Groome’s third consecutive good outing as the former first round pick is starting to get on a roll. Meanwhile, it was 14 scoreless innings for the offense. Yikes.

Lowell W 5-3

Michael Osinski: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 K

Garrett Benge: 2-4, 1 3B, 2 RBI, 1 K

Tanner Houck: 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 1 K

Houck’s last couple outings had been encouraging down in Lowell, but he took a step back in this one. He’s still not up to a full workload, and won’t be until next season after he goes through a full offseason, so these numbers aren’t anything to get worked up over. That goes for when he’s good, too.

GCL Red Sox W 5-4 (F/10)

Cole Brannen: 1-5, 1 K

Pedro Castellanos: 1-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

Blake Swihart (C): 2-2, 1 2B, 2 BB, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 SB

Juan Perez: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 9 K

The other day, I mentioned that Swihart hadn’t been doing much at the plate in his rehab. Well, he got going on Saturday in a great day that also included two stolen bases. Presumably, those were the result of taking advantage of young, inexperienced catchers.

DSL Red Sox L 3-4

Ivan Houellemont: 1-4, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB