Red Sox Minor Lines: Bryan Mata scratched

Pawtucket L 4-5

Brandon Phillips, 2B: 0-4, 1 BB, 1 K

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

Adam Lind, DH: 0-4, 2 K

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

Ivan De Jesus, 3B: 2-3, 1 R, 1 K

Kyle Wren, LF: 1-2, 1 BB, 1 RBI, 1 K

Chandler Shepherd: 5 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 1 K (84 pitches)

Shepherd had been on a really solid run not too long ago, but things have taken a turn for the worse lately. Over his last five outings he has allowed at least four runs (not all earned) in four of them and has struck out just one batter in three of them. Furthermore, this five inning run is his deepest of this stretch. Shepherd has pitched well enough on the whole this year that I still believe he’ll be a nice bit of help in September as a long man, but he needs to turn things around. Also, time for our periodic Rusney Castillo update: He’s hitting .317, but it’s somewhat empty with a .352 OBP (that’s not bad!) and a .416 slugging percentage (not great power!). Again, he’s not getting promoted.

Portland L 1-4

Josh Ockimey, DH: 0-3, 1 BB

Tate Matheny, CF: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 SB

Luke Tendler, LF: 2-4, 1 RBI

Deiner Lopez, 2B: 3-4, 1 K

Kyle Hart: 7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K (100 pitches)

Trey Ball: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 K (12 pitches)

Travis Lakins: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K (17 pitches)

It’s another rare blemish for Lakins out of the bullpen, though in this instance it appears to be just one bad pitch. That bad pitch was made to Forrest Wall, a legitimate prospect, and he hit it over the fence. This isn’t something to worry about. Ball, on the other hand...probably isn’t going to make it.

Salem L 3-7

Brett Netzer, 2B: 1-4, 1 K

C.J. Chatham, SS: 1-4, 1 K

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

Roldani Baldwin, C: 1-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 K, 1 E

Victor Acosta, RF: 2-4, 2 2B, 1 BB, 1 RBI

The real story from this game happened before the first pitch, when Bryan Mata was scratched from his scheduled start. The top healthy pitching prospect in the system being scratched led to obvious trade speculation, though the team maintains that it was just a little extra rest. We shall see! As for happened on the field...well, it wasn’t great! Baldwin went deep, though, so that’s neat.

Greenville W 10-6

Kervin Suarez, CF: 2-5, 1 R, 2 K

Ryan Fitzgerald, SS: 2-4, 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 K

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

Garrett Benge, 3B: 2-3, 2 BB, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

Pedro Castellanos, DH: 0-3, 1 R

Zach Sterry, 1B: 2-5, 1 R, 1 RBI

Jordan Wren, LF: 2-5, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 K

Kutter Crawford: 5.2 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 7 K (93 pitches)

This was a big day for the Drive’s lineup as they got contributions from pretty much everyone. I want to talk a little about Fitzgerald, though, because he’s been on fire of late. An undrafted free agent from Creighton University and Indy Ball, the infielder has been in Greenville for 40 games and in that time he is hitting .296/.358/.469, and he’s increased his OPS by 71 points in the last two weeks. I won’t pretend to know a ton about him on the scouting side, and it’s worth mentioning that he’s a 24-year-old in A-Ball, but I’m weirdly intrigued.

Lowell SUSP

GCL W 7-6 (F/10)

Juan Carlos Abreu, LF: 5-6, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

Josh Tobias, DH: 1-2, 1 BB, 1 R

Elih Marrero, PH/DH: 2-2

Jecorrah Arnold, SS: 3-5, 1 2B, 2 R, 1 RBI

Chad Hardy, RF: 1-4, 1 HR, 1 BB, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 K

Carlos Pulido, 1B: 2-5, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI

Tobias is a familiar name as he begins a rehab road back to Portland. The infielder, who came to Boston in exchange for Clay Buchholz prior to the 2017 season, is not a great prospect, but he’s got a decent hit tool and can play second base. I don’t think there’s a major-league future here — he’s already 25 years old — but he’s mildly intriguing. This was his first game since May 29.

DSL 1 W 12-2

Gilberto Jimenez, CF: 3-6, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 R, 6 RBI

Ceddanne Rafaela, SS: 1-3, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K

Leonel Jimenez, 3B: 2-5, 3 R, 1 K

Luis Mota, DH: 2-5, 1 2B, 1 RBI

Jesus Maita, RF: 2-2, 1 BB, 1 2B, 2 R, 1 RBI

Jeison Pena: 3.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K

DSL 2 W 5-1

Nelfy Abreu, CF: 1-4, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 R

Kleiber Rodriguez, 2B: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI

Brayan Bello: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K

We’ve discussed this before, but the DSL rosters for Boston are very position player heavy, which makes it exciting whenever a pitcher pops up here. Bello has turned in a great season though, making nine starts spanning 41 ¹⁄₃ innings and over that time has a 1.74 ERA with 41 strikeouts and just eight walks. He’s 19 years old and got just $28,000 for a signing bonus, but he should come stateside relatively soon.

Player of the Day: There are a couple of options here, but I think we have to give this one to Juan Carlos Abreu of the GCL. Abreu is likely not much of a prospect as the 21-year-old former 23rd round pick is now in his third season in the GCL. He’s hitting better of late, however, and has probably been around enough that he’ll get a call to Lowell if/when some space on that roster opens up.