Red Sox Minor Lines: Alex Scherff keeps sliding

Pawtucket W 13-2

Gorkys Hernández, CF: 2-3, 1 2B, 3 BB, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 SB

Marco Hernandez, 2B/SS: 2-5, 1 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 K

Josh Ockimey, 1B: 0-6, 3 K

Rusney Castillo, CF: 2-5, 1 BB, 2 R, 1 RBI

Bryce Brentz, LF: 2-5, 1 HR, 1 BB, 3 R, 3 RBI

Jantzen Witte, 3B: 2-4, 1 HR, 1 BB, 3 R, 3 RBI, 2 K

Teddy Stankiewicz: 6 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K (96 pitches)

Dan Runzler: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (10 pitches)

This was a wild game for the PawSox offense, who got plenty of hits but also drew a whopping ten walks on the night. That includes a stretch in the sixth inning in which they drew four consecutive bases loaded walks. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that. They also swung a heavy stick, with Gorkys Hernández hitting another home run as he continues to heat up following his brutal start to the year. On the mound, we haven’t talked much about Runzler this year but he’s been very good for Pawtucket. The minor-league signing from this past winter has only tossed 16 ¹⁄₃ innings but he has a 1.65 ERA with 15 strikeouts, though he’s also walked ten.

Portland L 0-6

Jarren Duran, CF: 2-5, 1 2B, 2 K, 1 CS

Bobby Dalbec, 3B: 1-2, 2 BB

Joey Curletta, 1B: 0-2, 2 BB

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

Denyi Reyes: 6 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 2 K (99 pitches)

Duran was back in action at the top of Portland’s lineup, getting his first multi-hit game at the Double-A level. Other than that, though, there was nothing much going on for the Sea Dogs offense. On the pitching side, the line looks pretty rough for Reyes but it wasn’t quite as bad as it seems. He didn’t miss any bats all night, but all of the damage was done in the first inning. Not that you can really wave that away, of course, but he did put together five strong, scoreless innings after that opening frame.

Greenville L 4-5

Cole Brannen, CF: 1-3, 1 BB

Tyler Esplin, RF: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 K

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

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

Alex Scherff: 4 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 5 K (86 pitces)

Scherff continues to reel down in Greenville after a great start to his season that provided a lot of promise and hope for a potential mid-season promotion to Salem. The righty ha a 1.89 ERA after his fifth start, but it’s been brutal since then as he’s allowed at least three runs in five of his seven starts since then and has failed to go at least five innings in five of those starts as well. After that big start, his ERA is all the way up to 5.04 now, and he’s allowing a ton of hits for that to happen. With the lower levels it’s always tough to know how much of this stuff is on the pitchers and how much is on the defense, but Scherff is definitely allowing too much contact right now. On a more positive note, Esplin had himself a big game at the top of the lineup.

DSL 1 L 7-8 (F/10)

Eduardo Lopez, CF: 1-5, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 3 K

Darrel Belen, RF: 3-5, 3 R, 1 RBI

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

Alex Zapete, 3B/1B: 2-5, 1 RBI, 1 E

DSL 2 L 6-9

Elio Prado, CF: 3-4, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 SB

Bryan Gonzalez, DH: 1-4, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 K, 1 SB

Andres Gari, C: 2-3, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 E

Noelberth Romero, 2B: 3-4, 1 BB, 2 R, 1 CS

Jesus Maita, RF: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 BB, 2 RBI, 1 E

It was a tough day down in the Dominican with both DSL squads taking the loss. Top international prospect Eduardo Lopez did get back into action here, only getting one hit but making it his second triple in as many games. The offensive prospects are really standing out here, though it should be noted that this league generally skews towards offense in general. Still, Gonzalez in particular has been impressive and even with a relatively quiet game he has a 1.683 OPS very early in this DSL season.

Player of the Day: This was a tough call, but I think I have to give another one to Gorkys Hernández. There were a lot of good performances across the organization on Wednesday, but the veteran outfielder got on base a whopping five times in Pawtucket’s win, knocked in a couple, scored one himself and even stole a base on top of all of it.