Red Sox Minor Lines: Brandon Workman and the PawSox pitching staff shine

Pawtucket W 2-0

Rusney Castillo, CF: 3-4, 1 R, 1 CS

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

Jeremy Barfield, RF: 0-2, 1 BB, 2 K

Aneury Tavarez, CF: 0-3, 1 K

Justin Haley: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K (90 pitches)

Brandon Workman: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K (33 pitches)

Bobby Poyner: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K (18 pitches)

It was an incredible day on the mound all-around for Pawtucket, but it was Workman who stood out the most from the box score. It’s been a bit of an inconsistent year for the right-handed reliever who figures to contribute in Boston at some point in 2018. This was an example of why he could do that, as a reliever who can miss bats and succeed in a multi-inning role. Haley is also someone who I think is a bit underrated in the system as a potentially useful arm, though the relative inefficiency around his five shutout innings make things mildly less impressive. Though, obviously he was still great. On offense, Castillo was the only one to do much of anything, and he continues to hit well, although it’s a bit of an empty .327 batting average.

Portland L 4-12

Tony Renda, 2B: 2-4, 2 R, 1 K, 1 SB

Cole Sturgeon, CF: 1-4, 1 2B, 1 R

Josh Ockimey, DH: 2-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 K

Tate Matheny, RF: 1-4, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 2 K, 1 E

Trey Ball: 2.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 1 K (38 pitches)

It was a rough one for the Sea Dogs on Sunday, but on the positive side Ockimey did go yard. The first baseman has had some issues bringing his raw power and converting it to game power, so any time he goes deep it’s a good thing. That’s his second of the year. The defense was a major issue for Portland, though, as they made a whopping five errors on the day, with five different players making one apiece. On the mound, nobody really succeeded but Ball was the most notable arm. It’s been a struggle for him lately after some initial success in his new role.

Salem L 2-5

Santiago Espinal, SS: 1-5, 1 K

Roldani Baldwin, C: 1-4, 1 2B, 1 K

Bobby Dalbec, 3B: 0-2, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 K

Tyler Hill, RF: 0-4, 1 K

Kyri Washington, DH: 1-3, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K

Darwinzon Hernandez: 1.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 4 K (61 pitches)

Joan Martinez: 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (40 pitches)

That’s not the kind of line we want to see from Hernandez, though it’s an extreme version of who he’s been for much of his pro career. The stuff was very good as he recorded five outs on the day, with four of them coming via strikeout. That’ll work! Unfortunately, the command was decidedly not there and it led to an extremely early exit for the lefty. Sometimes, these types of outings can lead to a tailspin or can lead to a big adjustment that starts a big run. How Hernandez comes back from this will be interesting to see. On a more positive note, Martinez had a great day out of the bullpen in what’s been a rough start to the year for the reliever.

Greenville W 10-2

Lorenzo Cedrola, CF: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 BB

Victor Acosta, LF: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

Marino Campana, RF: 3-5, 2 R, 1 RBI

Kervin Suarez, DH: 4-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 CS

Denyi Reyes: 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K (83 pitches)

Acosta is really turning it on for Greenville to the point where he’s becoming an interesting player to follow day-to-day. The positional value isn’t great in any given game, but that doesn’t matter as he’s seemingly hitting the ball with authority every day. Reyes has also quietly had a strong start to his season, now possessing a 3.12 ERA with 40 strikeouts in 34 innings.

Player of the Day: It was a strong all-around day for Greenville, but Kervin Suarez was the standout in that game. The infielder doesn’t have a huge bat and really isn’t a big time prospect, but he is only 19 years old and he had a monster game on Sunday. There have been some flashes of excitement in his first full season and it’s entirely possible that we’ll be looking at him as a potential bench piece heading into next season.