Red Sox Minor Lines: Brandon Walter does it again

Worcester L 1-2

Jarren Duran, LF: 1-5

Connor Wong, C: 0-4, 2 K

Ryan Fitzgerald, 1B: 2-4, 1 R, 2 K

Jonathan Araúz, SS: 2-4, 1 K

Ronaldo Hernández, DH: 2-3, 1 BB, 1 K

Thomas Pannone (SP; L): 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 K (81 pitches)

Phillips Valdez: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K (25 pitches)

Zack Kelly: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K (15 pitches)

Not too much to really talk about here as it was a quiet day all around for Worcester. That said, Hernández continues to hit well as he looks to recover from a slow start. Granted, he is still hitting under the Mendoza line and has an OPS of just .541, but over his last four games he’s 7-14 with two doubles, a homer, and a pair of walks. On the mound, Valdez is pitching well since being sent down. There’s no obvious spot for him on the majors right now unless the Red Sox are ready to make some sort of move with Matt Barnes, but Valdez does have a 1.17 ERA over 7 ²⁄₃ innings, striking out nine, though also walking seven.

Portland W 3-1

David Hamilton, 2B: 2-4, 1 R, 1 K, 2 SB

Nick Sogard, 3B: 2-4, 1 SB

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

Pedro Castellanos, 1B: 0-4, 1 K

Christian Koss, SS: 0-4, 2 K, 1 E

Wil Dalton, CF: 3-4, 2 2B, 1 R, 1 K

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

Brandon Walter (SP; W): 7 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 8 K (76 pitches)

Joan Martinez (H): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (7 pitches)

Chase Shugart (SV): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K (12 pitches)

Brandon Walter is something else. The lefty did give up a solo home run in this game, but that was all in a phenomenal pitching performance, which has mostly become par for the course for him since the start of last season, really. Although he did struggle a bit earlier in the month for two straight starts, he’s putting that in his rearview with two straight phenomenal outings. On the season, he has a 2.88 ERA over 50 innings, striking out 68 and walking only three. Three! He only has 50 innings at Double-A, so he’ll probably be sticking there for a bit, but I have to think the Red Sox are getting tempted to move him up the ladder sooner than later. Also, the David Hamilton stolen base watch is up to 20.

Greenville W 7-3

Nick Yorke, 2B: 0-5, 1 K

Tyler McDonough, LF: 2-5, 2 R, 2 K, 1 SB

Matthew Lugo, SS: 2-4, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 RBI

Alex Binelas, 1B: 1-4, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

Gilberto Jimenez, CF: 3-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 CS

Joe Davis, DH: 1-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI

Shane Drohan (SP; W): 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K (75 pitches)

Austin Lambright: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (15 pitches)

Robert Kwiatkowski: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (16 pitches)

What a weird season this has been for Drohan, who is a pitcher I still am not sure at all how I feel about. The talent is clearly there, as shown by starts like this and his stretch early in the month when he allowed just one run across two starts and 11 innings, striking out 13 and walking two. On the other hand, he still has an ERA approaching five because of his tendency to blow up from time to time. Having started concentrating on baseball relatively late, he was always more raw than your typical college prospect when taken in the 2020 draft, but we’re approaching the point where we need to see some more consistently from the lefty. At the plate, it’s nice to see a big game like this from Jimenez, who got off to a big start but had been cooling off of late.

Salem L 1-12

Eddinson Paulino, SS: 1-5

Brainer Bonaci, 2B: 1-4

Nathan Hickey, DH: 1-3, 1 BB, 1 K

Blaze Jordan, 3B: 1-4, 1 R

Tyler Miller, LF: 1-2, 2 BB, 1 E

Tyler Uberstine (SP; L): 5 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 7 K (88 pitches)

Frankly, this is just one of those games where there’s not much to say. On to the next!

Player of the Day: Brandon Walter

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