Red Sox Minor Lines: Daniel McGrath is having a silly season

Pawtucket L 1-5

Tzu-Wei Lin, SS: 0-5, 1 R, 3 K, 1 E

C.J. Chatham, 2B: 1-4

Jantzen Witte, 1B: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K

Rusney Castillo, RF: 1-4

Bobby Dalbec, 3B: 2-3

Cole Sturgeon, LF: 2-3, 1 BB

Ryan Weber: 4 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 5 K (77 pitches)

Mike Shawaryn: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 1 K (44 pitches)

Colten Brewer: 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K (22 pitches)

This was, simply, an ugly game for the PawSox. There really isn’t a whole lot to say about this one. Dalbec had a couple of singles as he continues to adjust well to Triple-A and make a case for a September call-up. Witte also had multiple hits, but he isn’t super relevant to the major-league roster. On the pitching side, Shawaryn had the best day and even he walked three while striking out one. Just one of those days, I suppose.

Portland W 2-1

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

Brett Netzer, DH: 0-2, 2 BB, 1 R

Marcus Wilson, RF 0-4, 2 K

Joey Curletta, 1B: 0-3, 1 RBI, 1 K

Jeremy Rivera, SS: 1-1, 1 BB, 1 SB, 1 CS

Daniel McGrath: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 8 K (94 pitches)

Eduard Bazardo: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K (21 pitches)

What a bizarre game for the Sea Dogs to win. I included Rivera in this one because, well, that single he hit was the only hit for Portland on the day. Despite that, they were able to come away with a 2-1 victory. They did draw six walks, including three in the first that loaded the bases. Duran then scored on a wild pitch before Curletta knocked in the second run with a sacrifice fly. The real reason this all worked, though, was McGrath continuing to dominate Double-A. You have to go back too May 9, a stretch of 17 starts, for the last time he allowed more than one earned run in a start with Portland. (There is one start in Pawtucket mixed in where he allowed three.) He’s having an absurd season.

Salem PPD

Greenville L 4-5

Brandon Howlett, 3B: 2-3, 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 R, 2 RBI

Tyler Esplin, RF: 2-4

Triston Casas, 1B: 1-4, 1 RBI, 3 K

Jonathan Ortega, SS: 2-3, 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 R, 1 RBI

Alex Scherff: 7 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 3 K (95 pitches)

It had been a struggle for Howlett of late after he’d picked up steam in the middle of the year. The 2018 draftee hit a bit of a wall in late August, but hopefully this is the kind of game that can boost him to a strong finish. All things considered it’s been a solid year for the third baseman. He didn’t exactly break out and catapult his prospect status, but he didn’t tank it, either. After this 2-3 day, Howlett is hitting .236/.343/.369 on the year.

Lowell L 1-3

Gilberto Jimenez, CF: 2-4, 1 R, 1 K, 1 E

Cameron Cannon, SS: 0-3, 1 BB

Stephen Scott, 1B: 1-2, 2 BB, 1 SB

Nick Decker, RF: 0-4, 3 K

Antoni Flores, 2B: 0-2, 1 BB, 1 K

Chris Murphy: 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K (57 pitches)

Free Chris Murphy! This year’s sixth round pick has the nicest of ERAs — 0.69 — in eight starts over 26 innings this year. He also has 31 strikeouts to just four walks. His domination knows no bounds. If we’re picking favorites for non-elite picks breaking out on the pitching side next year, a la Thad Ward and Kutter Crawford, Murphy is the clear pick right now. The thing is, neither of those guys performed like this in their professional season.

GCL G1 W 6-5

Tommy Joseph, 1B: 1-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 RBI

Matthew Lugo, DH: 1-3, 1 BB, 1 RBI, 1 K

Nilo Rijo, 3B: 2-2, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 RBI, 1 CS, 1 E

GCL G2 L 4-7

Bramdon Perez, RF: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI

Daniel Bakst, DH: 2-3, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

Dean Miller, LF: 2-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI

Dominic D’Alessandro, 1B: 1-3, 1 BB

Matthew Lugo, SS: 0-3, 2 K

Aaron Perry: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 2 K

DSL 1 L 5-6

Alixandri Alvarez, SS: 2-4, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB

Eduardo Lopez, DH: 0-2, 2 BB, 2 R

DSL 2 L 1-5

Axel James, LF: 2-4, 2 K, 1 CS

Bryan Gonzalez, DH: 1-4, 2 K

Danny Diaz, 3B: 4-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI