Red Sox Minor Lines: Chandler Shepherd has another good start

Pawtucket W 6-1

Tzu Wei Lin, 2B: 2-5, 1 2B, 2 K

Cole Sturgeon, RF: 2-3, 2 BB, 2 R, 1 K

Aneury Tavarez, DH: 1-4, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 K

Rusney Castillo, CF: 1-5, 1 2B, 2 RBI

Sam Travis, 1B: 2-4, 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

Ivan De Jesus, SS: 2-4, 1 PO

Chandler Shepherd: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 6 K (92 pitches)

Robby Scott: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 K (25 pitches)

The Pawtucket offense had some good days from players who could provide key depth to the major-league roster if need be. Lin has obviously been in the majors this year and is just one infield injury to being back. He’s hitting fairly well, and had a nice game here, but what I’m more interested on a daily basis is his position. He played second base yesterday after playing center field the day before, and has gotten time at shortstop and third base as well. At first base, Travis hit another home run as he continues to prove that his new swing can produce positive results. The outfield has always been looked at as a major weakness, but Sturgeon is starting to turn it on after a slow start in Triple-A, and he could feasibly move his way to the top of this depth chart if he keeps this up. On the mound, another strong start for Chandler Shepherd’s, who’s somewhat surprising success as a starter has been overshadowed by teammate Jalen Beeks.

Portland L 3-8

Jeremy Rivera, SS: 2-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 K

Josh Ockimey, 1B: 0-4, 2 K

Tate Matheny, CF: 1-4, 1 K

Danny Mars, RF: 1-3, 1 K

Trey Ball: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 0 K (31 pitches)

I said recently that I felt like Rivera had been a better hitter than his numbers indicated. Well, he has been red-hot lately. The overall season-long numbers still aren’t all that impressive, and he’s never going to be known for his bat, but he’s showing that there’s some potential here for at least a major-league quality player. Given his glove, that’s all he needs. Rivera has hits in six of his last seven games, and multiple hits in four of those. He’s also raised his OPS by 87 points since May 6, so things are trending upward at least.

Salem L 2-3 (F/10)

Santiago Espinal, SS: 0-5, 1 K

Brett Netzer, 2B: 0-4, 1 BB

Roldani Baldwin, C: 1-5, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 K

C.J. Chatham, DH: 1-4

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

Tyler Hill, RF: 0-3

Roniel Raudes: 4 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K (78 pitches)

This was a weird game for Raudes, and it’s one of those outings that’s hard to decipher just from the box score. On the one hand, he allowed eight hits in four innings. That’s bad! On the other hand, he struck out a batter per inning, didn’t allow a walk and only allowed one earned run. That’s good! I think what really stands out to me is that seven of those eight hits were singles with the other being a double. It’s possible that Raudes just allowed a lot of hard-hit singles, but his defense very well could have played a role in allowing all of those singles to sneak through/drop in. Like I said, it’s tough to tell from the box score.

Greenville PPD

Player of the Day: There were a handful of good games on the farm, but not really a standout great one. I’m going to go with Chandler Shepherd here, who as I mention has seen his solid season go somewhat unnoticed. With his latest strong outing, the righty has now allowed one or fewer earned runs in four of his last five starts, and he’s starting to make it deeper and deeper into games. His overall numbers are still being affected by a rough start to his season, but it seems like he can hold his own as a starter, or at the very least as a multi-inning reliever in the majors.