Red Sox Minor Lines: Salem hits five home runs

Pawtucket W 5-4

Rusney Castillo, CF: 0-5, 2 K

Ivan De Jesus, 2B: 0-3, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 CS

Mike Ohlman, C: 2-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 K

Ramon Flores, LF: 2-5, 1 2B, 1 R

Aneury Tavarez, RF: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SB

Jeremy Barfield, DH: 2-3, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 R

Chad De La Guerra, SS: 1-4, 1 E

William Cuevas: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K (95 pitches)

Williams Jerez: 0.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 2 K (24 pitches)

There weren’t really a lot of true stars or top prospects playing for Pawtucket on Friday, but there were some strong performances. It’s been a rough year for Barfield who has likely fallen on the outfield depth chart since spring, but he finally showed some on-base skills. Ohlman is someone who won’t see the majors without at least one injury to a catcher, but he’s hitting the ball just about as well as he ever has in the majors. Cuevas is also more of an emergency pitcher, but like Ohlman he’s performing well and could see the majors with another team next year if he keeps pitching like this.

Portland L 4-5

Jeremy Rivera, SS: 1-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 K, 1 E

Cole Sturgeon: 3-4, 1 2B

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

Tate Matheny, CF: 1-4, 1 K

Danny Mars, LF: 2-4, 2 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

Mike Shawaryn: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 3 K (93 pitches)

Sturgeon has been on another level for the Sea Dogs all year long, and it’s becoming clear that he really should be up in Pawtucket. They aren’t going to move heaven and Earth to make room for Sturgeon, a 26-year-old former tenth round pick, but it’s obvious that he’s figured out Double-A. The outfielder has been lights out all year for Portland, hitting .400/.475/.647 to start the year. When there’s room, he’ll get the call. As for Shawaryn, well, it wasn’t the best start he could have had but overall he’s off to a fine start to his Double-A career. One bad start is no reason to freak out.

Salem W 9-7

Santiago Espinal, SS: 3-5, 1 2B, 1 R

Brett Netzer, 2B: 2-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

Roldani Baldwin, C: 1-4, 1 HR, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

Bobby Dalbec, 3B: 1-3, 2 BB, 1 R, 1 K

Tyler Hill, CF: 1-4, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 K

Kyri Washington, LF: 3-5, 3 HR, 3 R, 5 RBI, 1 K

Jake Thompson: 5 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 5 K (80 pitches)

Washington is, of course, the story of the game with his three home runs, but we’ll get to him more later. Salem also got homers from Netzer — hit first long ball as a pro — and Baldwin — who continues to hit well out of the gate since returning from his injury. Salem is more known for its pitching than anything else, and for good reason, but don’t sleep on this lineup. Speaking of the pitching, it was a solid night for Thompson who was going up against a tough Potomac lineup that included top prospect Juan Soto and a rehabbing Anthony Rendon.

Greenville L 8-9

Victor Acosta, LF: 1-5, 1 2B, 1 K, 1 E

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

C.J. Chatham, DH: 2-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

Marino Campana, RF: 1-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 4 RBI

Zach Sterry, 1B: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

There’s not a whole lot to say about Greenville these days, with Brannen seemingly getting one or zero hits in every game, Chatham playing inconsistently and never in the field and Pedro Castellanos being out for a few days in a row. Acosta is not a big name in this system and he’s been in Lowell for parts of three straight years, but the 21-year-old is hitting well in his first taste of Greenville with an .865 OPS. He’s slowly been working his way up the lineup and is gaining more trust as the year goes on.

Player of the Day: Kyri Washington is the easy choice today. That’ll happen when you hit three homers in a game. Washington had a bit more buzz as a prospect heading into last season, but he missed a good chunk of 2017 with injury and never really got to start rolling. There’s swing and miss in his game that will always hold him back, but if he can make enough contact he’s a somewhat interesting player given the raw power in his swing. At 23 years old, don’t be surprised if Washington gets a promotion to Portland at some point later in the summer.