Red Sox Minor Lines: Darwinzon Hernandez loses control

Pawtucket L 0-2

Rusney Castillo, CF: 1-4, 1 K

Sam Travis, 1B: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 K

Ivan De Jesus Jr., SS: 0-4, 1 K

Jeremy Barfield, RF: 0-4, 1 K

Chad De La Guerra, 2B: 0-3, 2 K

Justin Haley: 6.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K (96 pitches)

Ty Buttrey: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K

Tough day for the Pawtucket lineup, who has a few hitters that had mild excitement around them that are struggling to start the year. Barfield and De La Guerra are probably the most notable that fit into that category, and while neither was anything close to a top propect there was a chance either or both could help the big-league squad at some point this year. More positively, Sam Travis is starting to catch fire and he’s now up to five straight multi-hit games, though he could still stand for a little more power. Both pitchers can be happy with their days, at least.

Portland L 4-9

Cole Sturgeon, RF: 0-4, 1 BB, 1 SB

Danny Mars, LF: 1-4, 1 CS

Esteban Quiroz, 2B: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 CS

Josh Ockimey, 1B: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 E

Tate Matheny, CF: 2-4, 1 R, 1 K

Josh Tobias, 3B: 2-4, 1 R, 1 K

Jeremy Rivera, SS: 3-4, 1 3B, 1 HR, 1 R, 4 RBI

This Portland lineup is....not great, though they do seem to have one player who stands out in every game. This time around it was Rivera, who has been playing most games for them but rarely making an impact at the plate. This was a day to forget for the bigger names, as Ockimey is still looking for his first extra-base hit (he’s only played two games) and Quiroz struggled a big on Wednesday after lighting the world on fire to start this season. The SeaDogs were leading this game after five but the bullpen allowed six runs over the last four innings.

Salem L 5-9

Santiago Espinal, SS: 1-5, 1 R

Tyler Hill, RF: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 R, 2 K

Bobby Dalbec, 3B: 1-2, 1 HR, 2 BB, 2 R, 1 RBI

Jhon Nunez, C: 3-4, 1 PO, 1 E

Darwinzon Hernandez: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 1 K (32 pitches)

Yikes. Hernandez will need to put this one out of his mind as soon as possible, as the young lefty couldn’t even make it out of the first inning against Washington’s High-A squad. The command was clearly not there, though for what it’s worth (not much) the one hit he allowed was a single, and he also hit a batter in this rough outing. Bad outings happen from time to time, and while we don’t like to see it the hope now just has to be that’s all it was and there’s no lingering injury affecting him here. At the plate, Dalbec continues a rollercoaster season with his fourth home run and more importantly a game without a strikeout. I still have no idea what to think of him.

Greenville L 4-8

Kervin Suarez, 2B: 1-5, 1 R, 3 K

Cole Brannen, CF: 2-5, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

C.J. Chatham: 2-5, 2 RBI, 1 K

Pedro Castellanos, 1B: 0-5, 1 K

Everlouis Lozada, SS: 0-2, 2 BB, 1 R

Kutter Crawford: 5 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 8 K (88 pitches)

Another loss in the system as they get swept for the day, but there are a few nice days in this game. Brannen smacked an extra-base hit and had multiple hits in one game, which is a nice little step forward for him. Chatham also had a couple of hits, pushing his season average up to .381. On the mound, Crawford isn’t the most exciting prospect and didn’t even have a particularly great day, but his peripherals have been outstanding to start the year with 21 strikeouts and just three walks through his first 14 innings of work. Keep an eye on the 22-year-old righty as he could get a surprise midseason promotion if this keeps up.

Player of the Day: There weren’t any winning performances on the farm on Wednesday, but Jeremy Rivera certainly stood out in Portland. The shortstop was once a semi-interesting prospect because of his stellar glove in the field and by all accounts he has great makeup. The bat just never developed to where it needed to be, though he is still just 23 so I suppose there’s time. I wouldn’t bet on it, but he showed on Wednesday that there’s some potential here, maybe. I should also note that we have had a different player of the day every day of the season so far, and I’m not so sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.