Red Sox Minor Lines: Thad Ward keeps rolling

Pawtucket SUSP

Portland W 5-3

Jeremy Rivera, SS: 2-4

Brett Netzer, 2B: 1-3, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 RBI

Bobby Dalbec, 3B: 1-4, 3 K, 1 CS, 1 E

Tate Matheny, CF: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI

Tanner Houck: 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 7 K (92 pitches)

The Sea Dogs were supposed to feature both Dustin Pedroia and Brock Holt on Saturday, but neither of them were in the lineup. Pedroia was scratched and is heading back to Boston to be re-evaluated. Holt, meanwhile, was on his way to Houston to rejoin the Red Sox, which he’ll do possibly as soon as Sunday. Even without them, Portland got the victory. They jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back from there. Houck was the real standout in this game as he continues his up-and-down 2019 campaign.

Salem L 3-17

Jarren Duran, CF: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 K

Nick Lovullo, 3B/P: 2-4, 1 R

Ryan Fitzgerald, SS: 2-3, 1 BB, 1 RBI, 1 E

Pedro Castellanos, 1B: 0-4, 1 K, 1 E

Edgar Corcino, LF: 1-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 K

Zach Schellenger: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 1 K (36 pitches)

So apparently this is what happens when Duran goes a game without getting a hit. All hell breaks loose. The pitching was obviously a disaster from this game with three guys allowing at least four runs. Schellenger was the most disappointing of those. The righty had spent all season to this point in Portland, and coming into the year there was hope he could make his way to the majors in the second half. Instead, he had a disastrous start to the season and was demoted to Salem to try and get back on track. His first try there...did not go well.

Greenville G1 W 4-0

Cole Brannen, CF: 0-4, 1 RBI

Tyler Esplin, RF: 0-3

Devlin Granberg, DH: 1-3, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 K

Triston Casas, 1B: 0-2, 1 RBI

Brandon Howlett, 3B: 1-3, 1 R, 2 K

Kole Cottam, C: 1-2, 1 BB, 2 R, 1 K

Grant Williams, SS: 2-3, 1 2B, 1 RBI

Thad Ward: 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K (85 pitches)

Greenville G2 W 16-10 (F/10)

Cole Brannen, CF: 1-5, 1 BB, 3 R, 2 RBI, 2 K, 1 SB, 1 E

Tyler Esplin, DH: 1-5, 1 2B, 2 R, 1 RBI, 3 K, 1 SB

Devlin Granberg, 1B/RF: 4-6, 3 2B, 3 R, 1 RBI, 2 K

Jordan Wren, LF: 3-5, 2 2B, 1 BB 1 R, 4 RBI, 1 K, 2 SB

Brandon Howlett, 3B: 1-5, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 K

Grant Williams, SS: 3-4, 2 R, 1 K

What a day for Greenville. The Drive had two wins in a totally different fashion on Saturday. In the first game, it was all about the pitching with Thad Ward tossing a complete game shutout. We’ll have more on him below, but if it wasn’t for Jarren Duran Ward would be getting more attention for his success as a mid-round success story from last year’s draft. In the second game, it took a few extra innings but the offense exploded with big games especially from Granberg and Wren.

Player of the Day: This has to go to Thad Ward, just mentioned above. As I said, he has been a revelation in his first professional season, and has been getting better as the year’s gone on. This was his tenth start of the season and he now has a 2.20 ERA over 57 ¹⁄₃ innings with 64 strikeouts and 19 walks. He’s been really good all year, but he righty has been particularly great over his last three outings. In that span he’s tossed 21 ¹⁄₃ innings with at least seven innings tossed in each start. He hasn’t allowed a run in any of those outings and he’s racked up 20 strikeouts with just two walks.