Red Sox Minor Lines: Jarren Duran walks it off in Worcester

Worcester W 5-2 (F/10)

Jarren Duran, CF: 1-4, 1 HR, 1 BB, 1 R, 3 RBI, 3 K

Marcus Wilson, RF: 1-4

Yairo Muñoz, LF: 1-4, 1 K

Michael Chavis, 2B: 1-4, 2 K

Josh Ockimey, 1B: 2-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 RBI, 2 K

Marcus Walden (SP): 2.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 4 K (53 pitches)

Matt Hall: 2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K (35 pitches)

Austin Brice: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (39 pitches)

Kaleb Ort: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K (41 pitches)

Another day, another big moment for Jarren Duran in Worcester. This time he got to play hero, hitting a three-run shot in the tenth to give them the win. This was his 12th homer of the season already, and he’s up to a 1.006 OPS this season. Over on the staff, Ort just continues to dominate out of this bullpen. The former minor-league Rule 5 selection has served largely as Worcester’s closer this year, and he’s at a 0.45 over 20 innings this year with 28 strikeouts and only eight walks. The Red Sox have a little bit of a 40-man crunch that will make it difficult for Ort to get a chance, but he’s certainly earned it with his performance.

Portland L 2-7

Jeisson Rosario, RF: 2-4, 1 K

Triston Casas, 1B: 1-3, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 K, 1 E

Devlin Granberg, LF: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI

Hudson Potts, 3B: 1-4, 1 K

Ronaldo Hernández, C: 1-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI

Andrew Politi (SP; L): 2.1 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 BB, 4 K (73 pitches)

Frank German: 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K (46 pitches)

Politi came into this season with a decent amount of hype, and he had some solid showings early on in the season, But lately things have been very uneven, with poor command showing up in each of his last three starts. That has led to some poor results as well, and he's allowed at least five runs in four of his last six starts. Later in the game, we saw German in the bullpen for the first time this season. It will be interesting to see whether that is a trend that continues or not. He’s always seemed to profile better in a bullpen role as it is, so consider this writer in favor of this being a permanent change.

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Greenville W 9-8 (F/10)

Nick Sogard, 2B: 4-5, 1 2B, 1 BB, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 K, 1 SB

Cameron Cannon, SS: 3-6, 2 2B, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB, 1 CS

Brandon Howlett, 3B: 1-5, 1 HR, 1 BB, 1 R, 3 RBI, 4 K

Tyreque Reed, 1B: 2-5, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 K

Tyler Dearden, LF: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 BB, 2 K

Jay Groome (SP): 5.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 8 K (92 pitches)

Alex Scherff (BS): 2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K (43 pitches)

For what seems like the first time in his career, Groome is settling into a little bit of a groove. That’s not to say he’s been great or that he was even anything more than okay in this start all told, but he’s pitching consistently and there are at least positive signs every time out. This was the lefty’s fourth start in June, and he has a 3.79 ERA over 19 innings with 27 strikeouts and 10 walks. On offense, Howlett just continues to rake, Reed drove in the game-winning run, and Sogard, who came over from the Rays this winter along with Ronaldo Hernández, continued what has been a quietly solid season with a huge day at the plate.

Salem W 3-2

Nick Yorke, 2B: 2-5, 1 2B 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K, 1 CS

Eduardo Lopez, RF: 0-4, 1 BB, 3 K

Matthew Lugo, SS: 0-4, 1 K, 1 E

Stephen Scott, 1B: 0-1, 3 BB, 2 R, 1 SB

Jaxx Groshans, C: 2-3, 1 BB, 1 K

Ceddanne Rafaela, CF/3B: 2-4, 1 K

Nick Northcut, 3B: 1-3, 1 BB, 1 RBI, 1 K

Jeremy Wu-Yelland (SP): 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K (48 pitches)

Aaron Perry (W): 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K (35 pitches)

There was a lot of good to take away in this game, starting first and foremost with Yorke. It was a tough start to the season for the 2020 first rounder, and it was easy to get discouraged based on the hype he’s gotten from the team since being drafted. But that also made it easy to forget he was less than a year removed from his high school graduation playing full-season ball. Struggles are part of the deal. He’s turning it on lately, and really has been for the entire month. In June he is hitting .346/.444/.538. It was also nice to see Wu-Yelland to get back on track after his worst start of the year last time out.

Player of the Day: Nick Sogard

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