Red Sox Minor Lines: Kutter Crawford struggles with Portland

Pawtucket L 6-9

Tzu-Wei Lin, DH: 0-2, 2 BB, 2 R, 1 K, 1 SB

Gorkys Hernández, CF: 2-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 CS

Bryce Brentz, LF: 0-5, 4 K, 1 E

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

Chris Owings, RF: 1-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

Juan Centeno, C: 2-3, 1 R

Ryan Weber: 5 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 7 K (84 pitches)

Tyler Thornburg: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (16 pitches)

Travis Lakins: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K (6 pitches)

Pawtucket was in control of this game for most of the night in Rochester, holding a 6-3 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth. It was there that the bullpen imploded to allow six runs, and that was that. Apparently, six-run innings were a theme in the organization on Saturday. The positive story here was Owings’ first homer with the Red Sox organization. The former major-league utility man isn’t exactly known for his power, or his offensive prowess in general. He’s off to a solid start here, though, with an .802 OPS. On the mound, Thornburg came through with his second straight scoreless outing. It’s still tough to see him back on the major-league roster, though.

Portland L 1-4

Jarren Duran, CF: 1-4, 1 K

C.J. Chatham, SS: 1-4

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

Kutter Crawford: 2.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 BB, 5 K (63 pitches)

Eduard Bazardo: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 K (20 pitches)

Portland is struggling a bit right now after they came out of the gates hot in the second half of their schedule. Bobby Dalbec in particular is going through a rough stretch. He’s still drawing walks, which is good to see, but he only has three multi-hit games in the entire month and hasn’t hit a homer since June 11. As a result, his OPS has fallen from .886 on June 1 to .825 today. It’s nothing major, but it’s worth monitoring how he’ll bounce back. As for Crawford, he’s having a bit of a tough time with Double-A competition. It’s only been two starts, though, so he still has time to turn things around.

Salem W 2-1

Ryan Fitzgerald, SS: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 R, 2 K

Pedro Castellanos, 1B 3-4, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 RBI, 1 K

Jagger Rusconi, 2B: 2-4, 2 K, 1 CS

Enmanuel De Jesus: 5.2 IP, 9 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 K (104 pitches)

Rio Gomez: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (30 pitches)

This one was all about the pitching for Salem, who got two runs in the bottom of the first then let the men on the mound do the rest of the work. De Jesus in particular clearly stood out. The southpaw spent a little time in Salem at the end of last year and has been here all year. It’s been an....okay year as he has pitched to a 3.81 ERA with 70 strikeouts and 23 walks over 75 ²⁄₃ innings. It’s also nice to see a three-hit effort from Castellanos, who’s having another disappointing year at the plate.

Greenville L 6-7

Cole Brannen, CF: 0-5, 2 K

Devlin Granberg, 1B: 2-3, 2 BB, 1 R

Tyler Dearden, LF: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 BB, 2 R, 1 RBI

Dylan Hardy, RF: 2-4, 1 HR, 1 BB, 1 R, 4 RBI, 1 K

Jonathan Ortega, 3B: 2-4, 1 K, 1 E

Brayan Bello: 4.1 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K (82 pitches)

Logan Browning: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K (21 pitches)

There was a ton of early offense in this game, with the two sides combining for 12 runs by the time the fifth inning had ended. Greenville couldn’t quite complete their comeback, though. Bello had another tough start, and this is turning into a nightmare season for the 20-year-old. After finishing April with a sub-2.00 ERA, he has watched it balloon all the way up to 7.82 at this point. On a more positive note, the Logan Browning train just keeps chugging along.

Lowell G1 PPD

Lowell G2 L 7-8

Xavier LeGrant, 1B: 2-5, 1 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 K

Gilberto Jimenez, CF: 1-5, 1 R, 3 K, 1 E

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

Nicholast Northcut, 3B: 1-4, 2 RBI, 1 K

Jonathan Diaz, C: 2-4, 1 3B, 1 R, 1 K

Antoni Flores, SS: 1-3, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 E

Kervin Suarez, 2B: 2-4, 1 R, 1 E

This was a supposed to be a doubleheader, but weather earlier in the afternoon was not cooperative in Brooklyn. They did get the second game in, though, but Lowell’s offense couldn’t quite do enough to make up for a six-run sixth on the other side. One guy who should be talked about is Diaz, who is making waves in short-season ball. The catcher had some fans in the evaluation world before the season, and he’s making more in the very early going this year. It’s only been eight games, but he has a 1.086 OPS with half of his hits being doubles.

GCL W 2-0 (F/9)

Danny Diaz, DH: 0-4, 3 K

Trey Bal, LF; 0-2, 2 BB, 1 K

Caleb Ramsey, CF: 2-2, 1 BB, 3 SB

After saying yesterday Diaz had no business being stuck in this league other than the overcrowding at his position in Lowell, he comes out and does this. I suppose I jinxed him. As for Ball, the start to his hitting career isn’t exactly thriving with two hits in four games, but he does have four walks on top of that to help him get to a solid .375 OBP.

DSL 1 W 10-1

Nelfy Abreu, CF: 2-4, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 SB

Eddinson Paulino, SS: 2-4, 1 BB, 2 RBI, 1 E

Carlos Sanchez, PH/LF: 1-1, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI

Albert Feliz, 1B: 2-4, 1 BB, 1 R, 2 RBI

Eduardo Vaughan, RF: 2-5, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

DSL 2 W 6-3

Elio Prado, CF: 2-4, 2 R

Bryan Gonzalez, DH: 2-3, 1 BB, 2 R, 1 RBI

Axel James, LF: 3-4, 2 RBI, 1 K