Red Sox Minor Lines: Marcelo Mayer hits his first homer

Worcester W 2-0

Danny Santana, DH: 1-1, 1 2B, 2 BB, 1 R, 1 SB

Franchy Cordero, LF: 0-3, 1 BB, 2 K

Jeter Downs, SS: 0-4, 3 K

Delino DeShields Jr., CF: 0-3, 1 K

Connor Seabold (SP; W): 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K (87 pitches)

John Schreiber (SV): 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (24 pitches)

Well hello there Connor Seabold. Considering all factors, including efficiency, this is right up there with any start from a pitcher in the Red Sox organization this season. The righty had a no-hitter going into the seventh, having allowed just a walk to that point in the game, and Donny Sands broke up the no-no with a one-out single in that inning. But to reinforce what kind of day it was for Seabold, he immediately followed that up with a double play. It’s unclear if he’ll get a chance in the majors without injury — remember, September call-ups only expand the roster by two players now rather than the whole 40-man — but he’s settling in this month with a 2.35 ERA over 23 innings, striking out 30 and walking just four. It’s hard for me to buy he wouldn’t be an upgrade over some other options. Meanwhile, Santana made his first rehab appearance and got on base all three trips to the plate.

Portland G1 L 0-4

Triston Casas, 1B: 0-3

Ronaldo Hernández, C: 2-3

Hudson Potts, DH: 0-3

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

Jeisson Rosario, CF: 0-2, 1 K

Tyreque Reed, LF: 1-2, 1 K

Brayan Bello (SP; L): 5 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 5 K (90 pitches)

Portland G2 L 3-5

Triston Casas, 1B: 0-2, 2 BB, 1 R, 2 K

Cameron Cannon, 2B: 1-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI

Hudson Potts, 3B: 1-4, 1 2B, 1 K

Jeisson Rosario, RF: 1-1, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 K

Tyreque Reed, LF: 0-2, 1 BB, 1 K

Denyi Reyes (SP): 1.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K (49 pitches)

This was a tough day for Portland, with the offense struggling to get much of anything going across 14 innings of action. But we should start with the pitching, and specifically Bello. The righty has obviously been among the biggest breakouts in the system this year, but his consistency was my biggest concern coming into this season and we’re starting to see it again here in the second half. The stuff is always going to be there, but while this start wasn’t necessarily a disaster for a pitcher of his stature in the system now he can’t be this hittable as often as he is. Bello has now allowed four runs in three of his four starts this month and has a 5.32 ERA in August. That comes after pitching to a 5.29 ERA in July. More positively, we did see some power from both Cannon and Rosario, both of whom are known more for their on-base ability than their pop.

Greenville L 2-4

Christian Koss, SS: 1-4, 1 K, 1 E

Stephen Scott, RF: 1-3, 1 BB

Joe Davis, 1B: 0-4, 1 K

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

Elih Marrero, C: 2-3, 2 2B, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 SB

Brandon Walter (SP): 5 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K (57 pitches)

Zach Nail: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K (15 pitches)

We have to start with Walter, who was deserving of a win here but was not picked up by his offense, or his defense for that matter. The southpaw just continues to deal, though, with a 1.29 ERA this month to go with 28 strikeouts and six walks over 21 innings of work. There hae been a couple of bad starts in the mix in terms of contact, but Walter’s control of the strike zoen thsi season has been really impressive. You have to go back to June 13 for the last time he didn’t strike out at least one batter per inning while walking one or zero opponents. June 1 is the last time he walked multiple batters in an outing. I sound like a broken record at this point when talking about him, but at 24 he needs to get a shot at Double-A before this season is over. And with just under a month left in the minor-league season, we’re getting to the point where this would have to happen sooner than later.

Salem W 11-10 (F/10)

Nick Yorke, 2B: 3-6, 2 HR, 3 R, 5 RBI, 1 K

Tyler McDonough, CF: 0-6, 1 K

Matthew Lugo, SS: 3-6, 1 R

Nick Decker, LF: 1-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 K

Nicholas Northcut, 1B: 2-2, 2 2B, 2 RBI

Alex Erro, DH: 2-5, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 K

Antoni Flores, 3B: 2-3, 1 BB, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 K, 1 E

Jeremy Wu-Yelland (SP): 3.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 K (74 pitches)

Devon Roedal (W): 1.1 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K (25 pitches)

Yorke simply cannot be stopped right now. The turnaround compared to the first few weeks of this season really have been incredible, and speak to the makeup that was part of why the Red Sox were so drawn in by him last summer. Obviously the talent came first, but given that he just graduated high school last year, they had to believe he could mentally handle the quick transition to full-season ball to even push him to Salem to start this season in the first place. And when he started the year slashing .195/.264/.220 in May, it would have been easy to just let this be a learning season. Instead, he just has been scoring hot since, and today his season-long slash line is .321/.409/.500. Lately it’s been the power that has impressed the most, as seven of his 10 homers on the year have come in August.

FCL W 11-5

Eddinson Paulino, 2B: 2-3, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 CS

Marcelo Mayer, SS: 2-6, 1 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI, 1 K

Nathan Hickey, DH: 2-5, 1 2B, 1 R, 2 K

Niko Kavadas, 1B: 2-2, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 BB, 2 R, 2 RBI

Bryan Gonzalez, LF: 3-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB

Ricardo Cubillan, 3B: 2-5, 2 R, 1 K

Freddy Valdez, RF: 1-4, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 RBI, 1 K

Phillip Sikes, CF: 2-4, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 RBI

Colten Brewer (SP): 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K

Eduard Bazardo (W): 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K

This was a big game for the FCL offense, and of course we have to start with Mayer hitting his first professional home run. This summer’s fourth overall pick, he’s not expected to have power play a major role in his success at the highest level, but it’s hard to approach his potential ceiling without having at least average pop. That is what most scouts expect, and we got to see it on display a bit here. We also saw a big day from Kavadas, who is off to a hot start to his career. As a talented college bat, he’s probably a bit too polished for this level. On the pitching side, the Red Sox got two strong rehab outings from Brewer and Bazardo. The latter is a sleeper to provide a boost down the stretch, and after a couple of appearances on the complex should hopefully be ready soon to move back up to the upper levels.

DSL Red L 0-4

Miguel Bleis, DH: 1-3, 2 K

Enderso Lira, C: 1-3, 1 2B

Starlin Santos (L): 4 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 3 K

DSL Blue W 4-0

Alixandri Alvarez, 2B: 1-4, 1 2B, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 E

Alex Zapete, 1B: 2-4

Carlos Reyes (W): 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K

This was another matchup between Red Sox squads, with Blue once again coming out on top. They are now 4-2 in the season series, with six more matchups still remaining.

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Player of the Day: Connor Seabold

Player of the Day Chart