Red Sox Minor Lines: Bryan Mata leads a day of strong starts

Pawtucket L 4-7

C.J. Chatham, SS: 0-3, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 E

Michael Chavis, DH: 0-4, 1 BB, 3 K

Rusney Castillo, RF: 1-5, 1 R, 1 K, 1 SB

Bobby Dalbec, 3B: 1-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 K

Tzu-Wei Lin, LF: 1-3, 1 R

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

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

Kyle Hart: 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 K (103 pitches)

Bobby Poyner: 1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 2 K (26 pitches)

Tanner Houck: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K (35 pitches)

Travis Lakins: 1 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K (21 pitches)

We’ll start with the good, which is that Dalbec went deep yet again. The slugger now has a homer in each of his last three games and has six overall in just 22 games with Pawtucket. That’s a 41-homer pace over 150 games, for whatever that’s worth. The bad news is the bullpen just didn’t get the job done, wasting a strong outing from Hart as the lefty tries to make his case for a September call-up. Houck did have a solid night with his run being unearned, though it’s worth noting it was his own error that led to the run. Still, his control has been much better after a shaky start to his run with Pawtucket, walking only two batters over his last six outings and nine innings.

Portland W 3-2

Jarren Duran, CF: 0-2, 1 K, 1 CS

Marcus Wilson, RF/CF: 1-5, 1 RBI, 1 SB

Joey Curletta, 1B: 0-4

Charlie Madden, C: 4-4, 2 2B, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI

Bryan Mata: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 2 K (89 pitches)

This was a nice night for Mata, who had been struggling a bit of late. The young righty, who has had a major breakout season regardless of how things end, had allowed 14 runs over his previous three starts including one in which he allowed four runs without including an out. However, that doesn’t include a strong four innings he had thrown last week before the game was cancelled and wiped from his records. The lack of strikeouts here isn’t ideal, but we’ll take the results. His battery mate also had one hell of a game at the plate, almost single-handedly carrying the Sea Dogs offense.

Salem W 4-0

Ryan Fitzgerald, SS: 0-4, 3 K

Devlin Granberg, LF: 2-4, 2 K

Victor Acosta, RF: 2-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI

Jhonathan Diaz: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K

Zach Schellenger: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K

What a night for Jhonathan Diaz. It’s been an up-and-down season for the 22-year-old southpaw, but he’s been mostly strong for the last couple of months. He had been coming off a start in which he allowed six runs while failing to make it through three innings, but prior to that he hadn’t allowed more than three earned runs since June 4. Diaz doesn’t have big stuff and isn’t a big-time prospect, but if all goes well he could be a guy that could be on the Pawtucket/Boston (or I guess Worcester/Boston at that point) shuttle for a few years as a depth option.

Greenville L 0-7

Brandon Howlett, 3B: 0-4, 2 K, 2 E

Tyler Esplin, RF: 0-2, 1 BB, 1 K

Triston Casas, 1B: 1-3

We’ve talked a bunch of late how it’s been a nice end of the year for Esplin in Greenville. The opposite can be said for Howlett over at third base. After a slow start, the 2018 breakout draftee had a hot summer but he’s cooling back off to end the year. He now has only two hits over his last seven games, and just one homer going all the way back to July 20. Perhaps even more concerning than his slump at the plate has been his defense. Errors are not a good measure of overall defense, of course, but he has 23 this season. It’s tough to make up for that in other ways.

Lowell L 1-5

Gilberto Jimenez, CF: 2-4, 1 HR, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

Antoni Flores, SS: 1-4, 1 K

Cameron Cannon, 2B: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 K

Wil Dalton, RF: 2-3, 1 BB, 1 CS

Even on a day where Lowell can’t get much of anything going at the plate, Jimenez hits a home run. Power isn’t a big part of the outfielder’s game, but this was his third homer of the year and he has a modest but workable .121 ISO.

GCL L 2-5

Roldani Baldwin, C: 0-2, 2 K

Dominic D’Alessandro, 1B: 1-4, 1 K

Matthew Lugo, SS: 0-3, 1 BB, 2 K

Jay Groome: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K