Red Sox Minor Lines: Tanner Houck is rolling

Pawtucket W 6-5

Tzu-Wei Lin, CF: 1-4, 1 R, 1 K

Rusney Castillo, DH: 2-3, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 K

Brandon Phillips, 2B: 0-0

Adam Lind, 1B: 1-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 4 RBI

Kyle Wren, LF: 2-4, 1 K, 1 CS/PO

Mike Miller, SS: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 K

Brandon Workman: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (16 pitches)

Williams Jerez: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K (13 pitches)

The Red Sox need some infield help right now with the Rafael Devers injury (as of this writing we know it’s likely to put him on the disabled list but not much beyond that). Lin is almost certainly coming back up, and Phillips almost certainly represented the best option after that. Unfortunately, you may notice he had 0 at bats in this game. That’s because he was hit in the hand and had to leave the game early. Fun! Without Phillips, the next best infielder is...Miller? Tony Renda? Not ideal.

Portland L 2-3

Jeremy Rivera, SS: 2-4, 1 R, 1 K, 1 CS

Chad De La Guerra, 2B: 1-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 K

Michael Chavis, 3B: 0-4, 1 K

Josh Ockimey, 1B: 0-3, 1 K

Tate Matheny, CF: 2-3, 1 K, 1 SB, 1 CS

Dedgar Jimenez: 7 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 3 K (105 pitches)

Travis Lakins: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K (13 pitches)

As for infielders who could move up to Pawtucket in the chain reaction, De La Guerra could be the option. Now, he hasn’t been great this year and was demoted down to Portland early in the season for that very reason. But they don’t have a ton of options, and he has hit home runs in each of his last two games. On the pitching side, Lakins continues to completely dominate out of the bullpen.

Salem W 7-2

Tyler Hill, RF: 1-5, 1 RBI

Brett Netzer, 2B: 3-4, 2 2B, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 K, 1 E

C.J. Chatham, SS: 2-5, 1 RBI, 1 E

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

Roldani Baldwin, C: 0-4

Michael Osinski, 1B: 2-3, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 SB, 1 CS/PO

Chris Madera, CF: 3-4, 3 R, 1 SB

Tanner Houck: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K (82 pitches)

Well, there’s not a whole lot of positives within the Red Sox farm system right now, but Houck is beginning to qualify. The plan to change him didn’t work out, but since Boston has let him revert to his old self he has turned things around and then some. He still has a 4.32 ERA on he year, but over his last five starts he has a 2.03 ERA with 28 strikeouts and six walks in 31 innings. This is a big development for both Houck and the Red Sox system.

Greenville W 10-8

Kervin Suarez, CF: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 K

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

Garrett Benge, DH: 1-2, 3 BB, 3 R

Tanner Nishioka, 3B: 3-5, 1 2B, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 K

Zach Sterry, 1B: 3-5, 1 2B, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 K

Kutter Crawford: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K (90 pitches)

This one was a bit of a struggle for Crawford, who hasn’t had many in 2018. The 2017 16th round pick has been among the breakouts in the Red Sox organization this year, and even after a mediocre outing his ERA sits below 3.00 for the year. Benge, meanwhile, is having a big year between Lowell and Greenville, and after this three-walk game his OBP with Greenville is up to .505.

Lowell L 1-5

Jarren Duran, CF: 1-4, 1 3B, 1 R, 1 K

Jake Romanski, C: 1-2, 1 BB

Eduard Bazardo: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 K (73 pitches)

Not a whole lot going on in Lowell on Saturday. Duran did have a big triple to kick things off — his tenth triple in 35 games! — and Bazardo was solid. The pitcher’s ERA is down to 2.25 on the year with 51 strikeouts in 44 innings.

GCL L 4-5

Lane Milligan, LF: 1-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 K

Nicholas Northcut, 3B: 0-4, 2 K

Brandon Howlett, DH: 2-4, 1 R, 1 K

Yoan Aybar: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 0 K

Milligan was not a big name coming out of the draft, and if we’re being honest as a 23-year-old his performance in the GCL doesn’t make any big statements. That being said, he’s certainly done his job in his first exposure to professional baseball. He hit his first career homer on Saturday and is now hitting .329/.409/.447 on the year.

DSL 1 W 4-2

Fabian Andrade, LF: 2-5, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

Carlos Sanchez, DH: 2-4, 1 2B, 2 RBI

DSL 2 L 4-10

Nelfy Abreu, CF: 0-4

Yulis Hernandez, 2B: 0-2, 2 BB, 2 R, 1 E

Today is one of those days in which I have nothing

Player of the Day: I’m going to give this one to both Tanner Nishioka and Zach Sterry, both of whom were 2017 draftees and senior signs. The former is having a big year, and the latter has missed most of the season but is getting on a roll right now.