Red Sox Minor Lines: Blake Swihart returns to Pawtucket

Pawtucket L 2-5

Tzu-Wei Lin: 0-5, 2 K

Bryce Brentz: 1-4, 2 K, 1 E

Blake Swihart (DH): 0-4, 1 K

Steve Selsky: 1-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 K

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

Jalen Beeks: 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 6 K

Chandler Shepherd: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Noe Ramirez: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Another day, another strong outing for Beeks. I’m starting to wonder if he’ll be called up at all when rosters expand for September to give Boston another talented lefty, particularly since he stuff could theoretically play up in short stints down the stretch. I’d probably bet no, but since he will have to be added this winter to protect against his selection in the Rule 5 draft it’s certainly far from impossible. Meanwhile, Swihart is back in Pawtucket’s lineup, though he’s still not able to catch nearly every day. Also, Selsky went deep. I don’t think it’s enough to save his spot on the 40-man, but a strong run through the end of August certainly couldn’t hurt.

Portland L 6-8

Danny Mars: 1-5

Michael Chavis: 0-5, 1 K

Jake Cosart: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K

The lack of action from the big names in Portland gives me a minute to talk about Cosart, someone I had big expectations for coming into the year. I’ve seen him a couple times in person this year, and have been disappointed by the lack of command. It’s what held him back as a starter, and after pitching so well last year it’s crept up again this year. That being said, both times I saw him were in the first half, and he’s been much better since the start of July. Perhaps he just had a long adjustment period in Double-A.

Salem W 5-2

Tate Matheny: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 K

Austin Rei: 0-2, 1 BB, 1 K

Austin Glorius: 1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 1 K

Speaking of mildly disappointing relief prospects, Glorius hasn’t taken the step forward I was hoping for in 2017. The hard-throwing righty certainly misses enough bats to have success out of the bullpen, but he’s got to limit his walks if he’s ever going to become a major-league quality arm.

Greenville W 2-1

Tyler Hill: 0-4, 1 BB, 1 K

Roldani Baldwin: 0-3, 1 BB, 2 K

Brett Netzer: 1-4, 1 R

Bobby Dalbec: 2-2, 2 BB

It’s been a rough year for Dalbec to say the least, as the hope was he’d at least be in Salem by now. That hasn’t happened to due injury and underperformance. There’s not enough time in the year to completely salvage his season, but a strong finish would go a long way towards getting him back in the right direction for 2018. Sunday was that kind of game.

Lowell W 12-3

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

Yoan Aybar: 3-4, 1 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 K

Jake Thompson: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K

Thompson, Boston’s fourth round pick in this year’s draft, took the bump for his third professional outing. It was also his first to go beyond one inning. As I’ve said with Houck, the results aren’t really what’s important here. He’s just getting work with the organization so they know what he needs to work on over the winter and next spring before he makes his full-season debut in 2018.