Red Sox Minor Lines: Bryan Mata is back

Pawtucket G1 L 4-19

Gorkys Hernández, CF: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 K, 1 E

Marco Hernandez, SS: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

Bryce Brentz, DH: 1-3, 1 RBI

Josh Ockimey, 1B: 0-1, 1 BB, 1 RBI, 1 K, 1 E

Juan Centeno, C: 1-2, 1 HR, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 RBI

Pawtucket G2 L 4-7

Gorkys Hernández, CF: 1-3, 1 R, 2 K

Marco Hernandez, 2B: 0-1, 1 K

Josh Tobias, 2B: 1-2, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI

Bryce Brentz, DH: 0-3, 1 K

Josh Ockimey, 1B: 1-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI

Trevor Kelley: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K (42 pitches)

Jenrry Mejia: 1 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 1 K (38 pitches)

Well, that was a rough-as-hell day for the PawSox, who dropped a pair of brutal games on Friday. The first was a straight-up blow-up from the get-go. The second was more frustrating, as Pawtucket took a 4-2 lead into the seventh before Mejia blew another one, this one as an absolute implosion. The big blow was a three-run shot from Brent Rookie to break a 4-4 tie and give Rochester their lead. As you can see, Marco Hernandez also left this game early, though he wasn’t hurt. Instead, he got ejected presumably for arguing balls and strikes. There were a few home runs on the day including one for Ockimey, if you’re looking for positives.

Portland W 10-3

Jarren Duran, CF: 0-4, 1 BB, 1 K

Jhon Nunez, C: 4-5, 1 HR, 3 R, 1 RBI

Bobby Dalbec, 3B: 1-3, 2 BB, 1 R, 1 K, 1 E

Joey Curletta, 1B: 1-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

Brett Netzer, 2B: 1-4, 1 2B, 1 BB, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 K

Tate Matheny, RF: 2-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI

Luke Tendler, LF: 2-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI

Dylan Thompson: 6 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 5 K (91 pitches)

It was a good day for Portland, at least, as they were tied at three heading into the bottom of the fifth when Tendler’s home run helped break that game open. Matheny also contributed a home run to give them a lead in the fourth as the outfielder continues to stay hot. On a more negative note, it seems Duran is struggling a bit with his adjustment to Double-A. Obviously it’s only been four games so this is in no way saying we should make any sort of judgements, but he’s hitless in his last two and is hitting just .214 overall. That said, he still has a .421 OBP, so even if he’s not hitting early he’s still producing.

Salem L 6-7

Ryan Fitzgerald, SS: 1-4, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 RBI, 1 K

Pedro Castellanos, 1B: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 R

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

Nick Sciortino, C: 2-3, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 K

Bryan Mata: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K (66 pitches)

Zach Schellenger: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K (17 pitches)

This was a disappointing result as the Mudcats had been held scoreless for the first half of the game before Salem’s bullpen imploded for seven runs across the sixth and seventh innings, putting the game away. Still, there is a big positive here with Mata simply being on the mound, never mind pitching extremely well. The righty was off to a hot start before going down with an injury, and this was his first outing since May 4. Clearly the Red Sox wanted to let him work his way back a bit, limiting him to 66 pitches, but based on the results he hasn’t missed a beat. It was also nice to see a good, solid performance from Schellenger, who needs to string a bunch of those together.

Greenville L 2-4

Cole Brannen, CF: 0-4, 1 BB

Tyler Esplin, RF: 0-4, 1 K

Devlin Granberg, 1B: 0-4, 3 K

Alan Marrero, C: 2-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

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

Chase Shugart: 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 7 K (93 pitches)

Greenville just couldn’t find its offense in this game with Triston Casas sitting, as they held a 1-0 lead through five-and-a-half but failed to give their pitcher any more breathing room. Speaking of their pitcher, Shugart put forth a hell of a start here for the Drive. Last year’s 12th round pick missed most of the season so far due to a failed drug test, but he’s looked good since coming back. After this latest strong showing, Shugart has a 2.20 ERA over three starts and 16 ¹⁄₃ innings with 14 strikeouts and four walks.

DSL 1 L 2-4

Brainer Bonaci, SS: 2-5, 1 R, 2 SB

Eduardo Lopez, CF: 0-2, 1 K

Darel Belen, RF: 2-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 SB

Albert Feliz, DH: 2-4, 1 RBI, 2 K

Alex Zapete, 3B: 2-4, 1 CS

DSL 2 L 1-3

Bryan Gonzalez, RF: 1-4

Luis Mota, 2B: 2-4, 1 BB, 1 SB

Leonel Jimenez, 1B: 2-3

It was a rare day with little offense down at the DSL level, though a few guys did come through with multi-hit games. Feliz didn’t hit any homers after knocking three on Thursday, but he did come through with a couple base knocks. Bonaci, Belen and Zapete, meanwhile, have OPS’s of 1.071, 1.084 and 1.097, respectively. All three were signed within the last calendar year.

Player of the Day: Red Sox affiliates only picked up one win on Friday, and sure enough the player of the day was a part of that victory. Jhon Nunez stood out above the rest of that Sea Dogs offense for the day, smacking four hits including a home run to help put the game away. Nunez has shown some flashes before but has failed to consistently produce at a high level. He has, however, done so this year with a .318/.360/.486 line in 32 games. He’s probably still a third catcher at best, but it’s nice to see some of his tools starting to play up more consistently.