Red Sox Minor Lines: Dustin Pedroia with a good day

Pawtucket L 8-10

Mike Miller, SS: 2-4, 1 BB, 2 R, 1 RBI, 2 K

Rusney Castillo, RF: 2-5, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

Josh Ockimey, 1B: 0-4, 1 BB, 1 R, 3 K

Sam Travis, LF: 2-5, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 K

Bryce Brentz, DH: 1-3, 1 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 K

Gorkys Hernández, CF: 1-4, 1 R

Chandler Shepherd: 3.1 IP, 11 H, 7 R, 0 BB, 4 K (83 pitches)

Travis Lakins: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K (27 pitches)

Jenrry Mejia: 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 K (28 pitches)

This was a tough game for the PawSox, whose offense jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the top half of the first before watching its pitching staff implode after that. Shepherd is having a brutal year in Pawtucket’s rotation, with this latest outing bringing his season ERA up above 10.00. Meanwhile, Lakins is struggling a bit since coming back down to Pawtucket having allowed a run in two of three outings. He’s actually allowed exactly one run in every other outing this year and now has an ERA just over 4.00. Mejia ended up allowing the back-breaking double to break the tie in the ninth then threw a wild pitch to allow an insurance run to score. Mejia’s ERA is up to 4.73, but he’s only allowed runs in three of his 12 appearances, so take that ERA with a grain of salt.

Portland L 4-5 (F/10)

Marcus Wilson, CF: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 BB, 3 R, 1 K

Dustin Pedroia, 2B: 3-4, 1 RBI, 1 K

CJ. Chatham, SS: 2-4, 1 2B, 2 RBI

Bobby Dalbec, 3B: 1-5, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 3 K

Tate Matheny, RF: 3-5, 1 K

Darwinzon Hernandez: 5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 5 K (105 pitches)

Portland was able to come back and force extra innings in this game thanks to back-to-back clutch swings from Chatham and Dalbec to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth. Unfortunately, the they couldn’t hold strong in the tenth and left with the loss. On the plus side, Pedroia got himself three hits and played seven innings in the field without having to leave early. We all know there are no guarantees with the veterans push back to the majors, but every position step is reason to celebrate. Meanwhile, Hernandez continues to show solid stuff that is tough to square up and even just make contact with, but also shows some control issues with three walks, a hit batter and a wild pitch.

Salem L 2-3

Jarren Duran, CF: 0-4, 2 K

Marco Hernandez, SS: 0-2, 1 BB

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

Ryan Fitzgerald, 2B: 0-3, 1 BB

Bryan Mata: 3.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 5 K (73 pitches)

Joan Martinez: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K (39 pitches)

For this first time this year, Duran has gone hitless in back-to-back games and his batting average is now down to .378. Might as well cut him! Anyway, Salem tried their best to come back in this game with help from the opposing pitching staff, but they can up just short. The Red Sox’ offense was stagnant all day, drawing a bunch of walks but not doing much else. Meanwhile, Mata took a big step back with four walks in just 3 ²⁄₃ innings, showing some flashes of last year. Bad starts happen, of course. It’s all about what you do after. On a more positive note, it was a great day for the Salem bullpen including with Martinez, who now has a 2.55 ERA in 17 ²⁄₃ innings with 28 strikeouts and six walks.

Greenville W 7-3

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

Brandon Howlett, 3B: 0-0

Devlin Granberg, DH: 2-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI

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

Yoan Aybar: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K (22 pitches)

The Drive gave up three runs in the top half of the first, but then came back and scored seven unanswered for the win. That prevented a sweep in the minor-league system for the day, too. Unfortunately, it came at a cost. Brandon Howlett was hit by a pitch in the first inning and eventually left the game in the third. I can’t find any information on the play or why he left, but it seems reasonable to guess it might be related. Either way, the 2018 breakout was starting to heat up so hopefully this is not something that will cause an extended absence. In more positive news, Granberg had yet another big day and Aybar controlled himself enough to show off the big stuff.

Player of the Day: Devlin Granberg is on fire, and has now won this fake award three times over a four-day stretch. Granted, he’s benefitted a lot from the farm hitting a skid all at once, but still he’s been very good. The 2018 sixth round pick was hitting .219/.329/.266 at the end of April. After this latest multi-hit game that included a homer he’s hitting .275/.368/.388 and he has 14 total bases over his last four games. Not too shabby, particularly considering there’s an 0-fer mixed in there.