Red Sox Minor Lines: Nicholas Northcut doubles thrice in Lowell’s season opener

Pawtucket W 4-2

Jantzen Witte, 3B: 2-5, 2 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI

Bryce Brentz, DH: 0-5, 1 K

Rusney Castillo, CF: 3-4, 1 R

Josh Ockimey, 1B: 1-4, 1 2B, 1 K

Cole Sturgeon, LF: 2-3

Kyle Hart: 7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 5 K (99 pitches)

Pawtucket fell down 2-0 very early in this game after a two-run first inning from Indianapolis, but a big three-run seventh thanks to big swings from Witte and Chad De La Guerra gave them the win anyway. It was Hart on the mound who was most impressive, though, in a much-needed bounce-back outing. After tossing a complete game shutout in his first Triple-A appearance, the lefty struggled in piggy-back outings out of the bullpen in each of his last two outings. He was back on his normal routine here, though, and the performance matched up with his comfort level.

Portland W 3-1

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

Bobby Dalbec, 3B: 0-2, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 CS

Brett Netzer, 2B: 0-4, 1 R, 1 K

Jerry Downs, 1B: 2-3, 1 K

Joey Curletta, PH/1B: 1-1, 1 2B, 1 RBI

Ricardo Cubillan, SS: 2-4, 1 K

Konner Wade: 7 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 K (97 pitches)

Durbin Feltman: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K (38 pitches)

This one was all about the pitching, with the prospect status for the two arms appearing in this game being about as dissimilar as possible. Wade is a 27-year-old minor-league journeyman who hadn’t pitched in affiliated ball since 2017 before last month. Feltman is, of course, a guy many hoped would be knocking on the door for the majors by this point. The latter is recovering after a very tough start to his year, though, and now has five consecutive scoreless outings and eight in his last nine.

Salem G1 W 1-0

Victor Acosta, LF: 3-3, 1 R

Ryan Fitzgerald, SS: 1-3

Pedro Castellanos, 1B: 0-3

Bryan Mata: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K (73 piches)

Zach Schellenger: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (13 pitches)

Salem G2 W 4-2

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

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

Bryan Mata is pitching like a guy who wants to be up in Maine for the summer. Coming off an injury that kept him out for a month I’m not sure how much the Red Sox will want to push the 20-year-old, but his performance in Salem when he’s been healthy has been spectacular. With this latest start he now has a 1.56 ERA over eight outings and 40 innings wiht 41 strikeouts and 14 walks.

Greenville W 7-6 (F/10)

Cole Brannen, CF: 1-4, 1 2B, 1 BB, 2 R, 1 E

Triston Casas, 1B: 1-5, 2 RBI, 1 K

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

Tyler Dearden, LF: 0-2, 2 BB, 1 R, 1 K

Everlouis Lozada, 2B: 2-3, 1 2B, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 K

Grant Williams, SS: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K

Logan Browning: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K (22 pitches)

This was a fun win for the Drive in extra innings, giving up the lead in the eighth before tying it back up in the ninth and winning it on a Lozada sacrifice fly in the tenth. There really wasn’t much in the way of standout performances, though, as it was more of a team effort. Dearden was the only player without a hit in this game, but he did get on base a couple times with a pair of walks. Browning, meanwhile, continues to dominate this level and may need a new challenge.

Lowell W 6-3

Steve Pearce, DH: 1-3, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

Marino Campana, LF: 2-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 K

Nicholas Northcut, 3B: 3-4, 3 2B, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 K

Antoni Flores, SS: 1-4, 1 E

Nick Decker, RF: 0-1, 2 BB, 1 RBI, 1 K

Gilberto Jimenez, CF: 3-4, 1 K

It was the start of the Spinners’ season on Friday night, and their intriguing offense showed up in a big way. Northcut, last year’s 11th round pick and one of the more highly-touted players from that 2018 draft class, was the star here with three doubles on the night. They also got three hits from Jimenez, and Pearce doubled in his first rehab appearance. This is going to be a fun level to watch this summer, particularly when the 2019 draftees start showing up.

DSL 1 L 3-10

Brainer Bonaci, SS: 2-4, 1 3B, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

Eduardo Lopez, CF: 0-3, 1 BB

DSL 2 W 8-6

Elio Prado, LF: 2-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 SB

Bryan Gonzalez, RF: 0-4, 1 BB, 1 R, 3 K

Noelberth Romero, SS: 2-5, 1 R, 1 K