Red Sox Minor Lines: Josh Ockimey is heating up

Pawtucket L 4-5 (F/10)

Mike Miller, SS: 2-5, 1 R

Rusney Castillo, RF: 1-5, 1 R

Sam Travis, 1B: 0-4, 1 BB, 1 K

Josh Ockimey, DH: 2-2, 2 HR, 2 BB, 2 R, 3 RBI

Travis Lakins: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 1 K (34 pitches)

Josh Taylor: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (17 pitches)

This was a very frustrating loss for the PawSox, who jumped out to a 2-0 lead and were winning this game all the way through until the Clippers were able to tie it in the eighth. The pitching was pretty rough all around for Pawtucket, with five pitchers appearing in the game and Taylor being the only one who didn’t allow a run. Lakins is struggling right now, never really blowing up but allowing exactly one run in three of his last four outing, four of his last six, five of his last eight and seven of twelve overall on the year. On a more positive note, Josh Ockimey is red-hot at the plate right now and stayed that way with two more blasts and a pair of walks.

Portland L 0-8

Brett Netzer, 2B: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 K

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

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

Denyi Reyes: 4.2 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 4 K (100 pitches)

Zach Schellenger: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (11 pitches)

Durbin Feltman: 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K (37 pitches)

Yeesh. This was a brutal game for the SeaDogs in a second consecutive miserable day at the ballpark. Reyes continued what has been a rough year trying to build off his breakout 2018. The righty has now allowed at least five runs in four of seven starts and he’s failed to make it through at least five in three of them. The big factor for Reyes seems to be his control, as he’s had a few starts with one or fewer walks and he’s been great in all of them. The hope should be that the warm weather will get him back on track, if it ever shows up in Maine. Meanwhile, it’s nice to see a strong outing from Schellenger. As for Feltman, he was good in his first inning of work before getting hit around in that second.

Salem L 7-10

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

Marco Hernandez, SS: 0-2, 1 R, 1 E

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

Ryan Fitzgerald, 2B/SS: 1-5, 1 R, 1 K

Jagger Rusconi, RF: 2-3, 2 R

Eduard Bazardo: 3.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K (56 pitches)

Salem pretty much had no chance in this one with Fayetteville jumping out to an early 5-0 lead and eventually getting to a 10-2 lead after just four innings of play. Salem did cut their deficit down to three with a big four-run fifth, but that was all the rally they had in them. It’s actually pretty amazing they managed seven runs considering they had only six hits with just one of them, the Duran double, going for extra bases. Either way, it was a tough loss but another reminder Eduard Bazardo should get a shot at starting again. He’s been a long relief, piggy-back type this year and has a 1.05 ERA over 25 ²⁄₃ innings with 30 strikeouts and just five walks.

Greenville L 3-4 (F/12)

Cole Brannen, CF: 0-5, 1 K

Brandon Howlett, 3B: 1-4, 1 BB, 3 K

Devlin Granberg, DH: 1-5, 1 R, 1 K

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

Tyler Esplin, RF: 3-5, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 K

Thad Ward: 7.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K (91 pitches)

Logan Browning: 3 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K (41 pitches)

What a game. This one was actually scoreless through the first nine innings with Ward and Hickory starter Tai Tiedemann dueling it out with a pair of shutout performances. Ward, last year’s fifth round pick, continues to shine in his full-season debut. After this latest gem he is up to 43 ¹⁄₃ innings over his first eight starts with a 2.91 ERA, 51 strikeouts and 18 walks. He’s a little more polished than a lot of guys at this level, but it’s still great to see and will likely earn him a promotion later in the summer. Unfortunately, Browning couldn’t preserve the great pitching. It’s quietly been a big year for Browning in 2019, so one tough performance isn’t enough to get too panicky about.

Player of the Day: There are really two options here with one great performance at the plate and another on the mound. I’m going to go with the offense, though, and give this to Josh Ockimey over Ward. Ockimey reached base in all four plate appearances on Tuesday including two blasts. He’s having an extremely Josh Ockimey season, by which I mean he’s hitting for a low average but doing everything else well. Through 32 games he is hitting .230/.403/.610 with ten homers, and Tuesday was his second multi-homer game in his last three.