Red Sox Minor Lines: A no-no for Portland

Pawtucket W 5-2

Cole Sturgeon, RF: 1-3, 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 R, 1 RBI

Rusney Castillo, CF: 1-3, 1 2B, 1 BB, 3 RBI, 1 K, 1 CS

Josh Ockimey, DH: 0-4, 2 K

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

Sam Travis, 1B: 1-3, 1 HR, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

Jantzen Witte, 3B: 3-4, 1 R, 1 SB

Erasmo Ramírez: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 7 K (88 pitches)

Bobby Poyner: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (29 pitches)

Jenrry Mejia: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (9 pitches)

This was a clutch game for Pawtucket, who went up 2-0 after the first two innings before letting Lehigh Valley come back and tie it up in the fifth. After Ramírez left, though, the bullpen was fantastic and didn’t budge at all. Mejia in particular looked good again, and he’s now allowed no runs and one or fewer baserunners in seven of nine appearances. One wonders when he’ll get a chance in the majors. On offense, Castillo had a big bases-clearing double in the seventh to put Pawtucket ahead and eventually give them the win.

Portland W 2-0

Brett Netzer, 2B: 0-4, 3 K

C.J. Chatham, SS: 0-4, 1 K

Bobby Dalbec, 3B: 2-4, 2 R, 1 K

Tate Matheny, CF: 3-4, 1 K, 1 SB, 1 CS

Jhon Nunez, C: 2-3, 1 K, 1 E

Kyle Hart: 6.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K (96 pitches)

Daniel McGrath: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (17 pitches)

Adam Lau: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K (19 pitches)

Notice anything about that pitching line? Kyle Hart allowed no hits. Then Daniel McGrath allowed no hits. Then Adam Lau allowed no hits. That’s....a no-hitter! This was the fourth no-hitter in Sea Dogs history, and the second since they became a Red Sox affiliate. The last was a rain-shortened, six-inning no-hitter from Henry Owens in 2014. Prior to that, a pair of combined no-hitters were thrown in the team’s days as a Marlins affiliate in days that included names like Josh Beckett and Brad Penny. None of the names here really qualify as true MLB prospects, but it’s extremely exciting nonetheless.

Salem W 7-6 (F/10)

Jarren Duran, CF: 1-4, 1 BB, 3 R

Pedro Castellanos, 1B: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 K

Ryan Fitzgerald, SS: 0-1, 2 BB, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 K

Salem finished off a sweep of Potomac, but not before they almost blew a leave. Salem had a 5-1 lead after the top of the second, but they were able to score two in the tenth and the bullpen just barely held on and preserved a win. It was what is emerging as something of a big three really standing out for the offense. Castellanos had his third double in two days as he starts to break out, Duran did Duran things and Fitzgerald reached base three times. The latter is now slashing .364/.425/.530 on the year.

Greenville W 10-9

Cole Brannen, CF: 1-3, 1 2B, 2 BB, 2 R, 1 K

Tyler Esplin, RF: 1-4, 1 2B, 1 BB, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 K

Jordan Wren, LF: 1-4, 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

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

Brandon Howlett, 3B: 1-4, 1 RBI, 1 CS

Brayan Bello: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 7 K (83 pitches)

Alex Demchak: 3.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K (52 pitches)

Don’t look now, but Casas is starting to roll in the middle of Grenville’s lineup. There was a realistic expectation that the 2018 first round pick would struggle a bit early on given that he just turned 19 at the start of the year and had essentially no professional experience before this. Sure enough, he went two weeks without a multi-hit game and struggled mightily with contact. He’s still striking out quite a bit, but he’s making better contact as well. Over the last week he has three multi-hit games, and his OPS has improved from .646 to .745. It’s going to be up and down all year, but it’s nice to see what the ups look like.

Player of the Game: Really, this should go to the entire Portland pitching staff, but it’s player of the game. So, we’ll give it to Kyle Hart since he threw the majority of the no-hitter. Hart has been really great this year, pitching to a 2.74 ERA over 23 inning with 29 strikeouts and six walks. Granted, he’s a 26-year-old who’s repeating the level, but performance is performance.