Red Sox Minor Lines: Duran Season rolls on

Portland W 5-2

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

C.J. Chatham, SS: 1-2, 1 BB, 1 RBI, 1 K, 1 CS

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

Kyle Hart: 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 7 K (99 pitches)

Yours truly was at this game, and it was absolutely freezing. The cold had a noticeable impact on the game, too, particularly as it went on with the umps expanding the zone trying to get it over. That certainly helped Hart out, but he was good all the same with solid command and a good pitch mix keeping Hartford hitters off-balance. Dalbec’s home run was impressive, too. To me it appeared he got under it and that he was still able to power it well over the wall in left field through the cold was kind of amazing.

Salem W 13-6

Jarren Duran, CF: 3-3, 2 2B, 2 BB, 3 R, 2 RBI, 1 CS

Marco Hernandez, SS: 3-5, 1 2B, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

Pedro Castellanos, 3-5, 1 2B, 1 R, 3 RBI

Ryan Fitzgerald, DH: 2-4, 1 BB, 2 RBI, 2 K

Jonathan Ortega, 3B: 2-5, 1 2B, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 K

Jagger Rusconi, RF: 2-5, 2 R, 1 RBI, 2 K

Kutter Crawford: 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 K (92 pitches)

There’s that Salem offense that’s been surprising effective all year long. Each of the top three hitters in this lineup got three hits including at least one double, with Duran getting on base all five times he came to the plate. He also got caught trying to steal home, seemingly on a double steal attempt. This is a really fun offense when they are firing on all cylinders like this, though. On the mound, Crawford also continued what has been a phenomenal season for him. The righty now has two straight quality starts and has allowed more than two runs in an outing just once through his first eight starts. Overall he has a 2.48 ERA with 50 strikeouts and 13 walks in 40 innings.

Greenville L 0-2

Cole Brannen, CF: 1-4

Devlin Granberg, DH: 0-2

Triston Casas, 1B: 0-3, 1 BB, 2 K

Brandon Howlett, 3B: 0-3, 2 K

Alex Scherff: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K (79 pitches)

Yoan Aybar: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (11 pitches)

This was a brutal day for the Greenville offense, who managed just three singles and two walks on the entire day. Scherff, meanwhile, had been skidding a bit in his last couple starts but was solid in this one. He certainly wasn’t perfect and did allow a pair of solo home runs, but he made it through five for the first time since April 26 and struck out a batter per inning. Overall it’s still be a solid year for the righty, but things have taken a turn away from spectacular after his first four starts.

Player of the Day: It’s gotta be Duran. Who else? Salem’s center fielder, as I said above, got on base five times in this game with two of those being doubles. The season he is having is absolutely absurd as he’s now hitting .412/.469/.542 on the year. I don’t know what else there is to say about this guy at this point.