Red Sox Minor Lines: A big day for the lower minors

Pawtucket L 1-3

Gorkys Hernández, RF: 1-4, 2 K

Rusney Castillo, CF: 2-4, 1 R

Josh Ockimey, DH: 0-3, 1 BB

Bryce Brentz, LF: 0-3, 1 BB, 2 K

Sam Travis, 1B: 2-4, 2 K

Teddy Stankiewicz: 6 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 6 K (90 pitches)

Josh Taylor: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K (30 pitches)

Jenrry Mejia: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (12 pitches)

Pawtucket’s offense is rough right now. They just cannot seem to get any runs on the board without Michael Chavis and Tzu-Wei Lin, and they wasted a solid 2019 debut from former second rounder Teddy Stankiewicz. Most in this lineup have been at least somewhat disappointing, but Brentz might take the cake as he’s hitting just .156/.264/.244 in this young season. In fact, of the nine starters on Wednesday five had an OPS under .600 on the season.

Portland L 0-3

Brett Netzer, 2B: 0-4

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

Luke Tendler, DH: 2-3, 1 BB

Jerry Downs, 2-4, 2 K

Dedger Jimenez: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 6 K (81 pitches)

Zach Schellenger: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K (18 pitches)

Speaking of offenses grinding to a halt and wasting a good start from their starting pitcher, Portland’s came to a halt with C.J. Chatham getting a day off. They had just six hits on the day and all of them were singles. On a more positive note, Schellenger looked solid in his first appearance in just about a week. The righty still has to work on finding more consistent command, but the’s a sleeper for major-league time if he can turn things around.

Salem W 11-5

Jarren Duran, CF: 3-5, 2 R, 1 CS

Marco Hernandez, SS: 3-4, 3 R, 2 RBI

Pedro Castellanos, 1B: 2-4, 2 2B, 1 BB, 1 R, 3 RBI

Ryan Fitzgerald, SS: 2-5, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 E

Garrett Benge, 3B: 2-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

Bryan Mata: 4 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K (80 pitches)

Eduard Bazardo: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K (39 pitches)

Well how’s that for some offense? After Mata gave up three runs in the second to put Potomac up 3-0, the Sox roared back with four in the fourth and just kept going from there. It was Mata’s first rough outing of the year, which isn’t great, but the offense more than made up for it. The damage came almost entirely from the top, too, including from Hernandez. It’s great to see the infielder swinging the bat well as he’s struggled in his rehab appearance so far. Before this game he had just a single over his first three games. Then there’s Duran, who’s really just too advanced for this level and probably should be promoted sooner than later, though it’s rare to see the Red Sox be that aggressive.

Greenville G1 W 6-4

Cole Brannen, CF: 2-5, 1 3B, 1 K, 1 CS

Triston Casas, 1B: 2-4, 2 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

Marino Campana, RF: 1-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI

Brandon Howlett, 3B: 1-4, 1 RBI, 1 K, 1 E

Alan Marrero, C: 1-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 CS

Yoan Aybar: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K (27 pitches)

Rio Gomez: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K (38 pitches)

Greenville G2 W 4-2 (F/8)

Cole Brannen, CF: 1-4, 1 R, 2 K, 1 SB

Tyler Esplin, RF: 1-4

Triston Casas, 1B: 1-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 K

Brandon Howlett, 1-3, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K

Chris Machamer: 6 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 3 K (86 pitches)

Logan Browning: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K (17 pitches)

This was an exciting day for the Drive, who played a little under two games after their game on Wednesday was suspended. Their first game was a bit tamer with Greenville controlling the action pretty much all of the way. In the second, they mounted a comeback to score in the seventh to force extras before plating two in the eighth. It was the two big 2018 draft picks with big swings, too, with Howlett hitting an RBI double to tie it in the seventh and Casas hitting a sacrifice fly for their second run in the eighth. Howlett is still really struggling to get going at the plate, though hopefully that double can help turn things around. Casas is doing a little better of late, but he’s still struggling with consistent contact.

Player of the Day: The entire top-third of Salem’s lineup has a real case here, but I’m going to give this one to Pedro Castellanos over Duran and Hernandez. All three reached base three times, but Castellanos did so with a pair of doubles mixed in and also drove in three. The first baseman has always been a confounding guy for scouts, as they see huge potential in batting practice but he struggles to translate his power to games. It’s been a rough start to the year for the 21-year-old, but his OPS is now at a season-high and hopefully this game can help spark a bit of a run.