Red Sox Minor Lines: Jay Groome has himself a day

Worcester L 7-9 (F/10)

Jarren Duran, CF: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 BB, 3 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

Jeter Downs, SS: 1-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI, 3 K, 1 E

Triston Casas, 1B: 3-5, 1 2B, 2 RBI

Rob Refsnyder, RF: 0-4, 1 BB, 1 R

Ryan Fitzgerald, 3B: 2-5, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 2 K, 1 E

Connor Wong, DH: 0-5, 3 K

Ronaldo Hernández, C: 1-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

Yolmer Sánchez, 2B: 1-3, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 K

Brian Keller (SP): 4.2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K (74 pitches)

Tyler Danish: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (12 pitches)

Well, Duran has had quite the run these last couple of days as he makes his case to not be forgotten among Red Sox fans. After coming just a double shy of the cycle on Friday, he had two more extra-base hits on Saturday. He’s now six for his last nine with a double, a pair of triples, and a homer, and his season OPS is now up to 1.090. It’s also nice to see Triston Casas with a big multi-hit game. The first baseman had been in a bit of a slump this week, but two singles and a double should go a long way towards fixing that. And finally there’s Downs, who is still largely struggling this season but is tapping into a little more power. His homer on Saturday was his fourth of the season.

Portland L 2-3

David Hamilton, 2B: 0-4, 1 K

Christian Koss, SS: 1-4, 1 E

Jay Groome (SP): 5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 10 K (84 pitches)

Groome didn’t get the win in this one like he deserved, but this was one of the best starts we’ve seen from anyone in the system this year. The only damage came on a two-run homer in the third, and even that should have been a solo shot as it was immediately preceded by an error from Koss. Groome’s career to this point has obviously been incredibly uneven, largely due to injuries early on as a pro, but he started to show some flashes in the second half last season and he’s off to a nice start here in 2022. Through four starts, the lefty has pitched to a 3.60 ERA over 15 innings, striking out 19 and walking five. He’s a bit overshadowed in this rotation which also features Brayan Bello and Brandon Walter, but Groome gives the Red Sox another arm who could be up at Triple-A and knocking on the door to the majors later on this summer.

Greenville L 1-9

Nick Yorke, 2B: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 K

Tyler McDonough, LF: 0-4, 1 K

Ceddanne Rafaela, CF: 1-3, 1 BB, 1 K

Alex Binelas, 3B: 0-3, 1 BB, 2 K

Matthew Lugo, SS: 0-4, 1 SB

Gilberto Jimenez, RF: 0-3, 2 K

Joe Davis, DH: 1-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K

Nicholas Northcut, 1B: 0-3, 1 K

Chih-Jung Liu (SP; L): 3.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 1 K (71 pitches)

I’ll be honest, I’ve really got nothing on this one. Just rough performances up and down the Greenville roster on Saturday.

Salem L 4-9

Eddinson Paulino, SS: 1-5, 1 3B, 1 R, 2 K, 1 E

Nathan Hickey, C: 0-4, 2 K

Tyler Miller, 3B: 1-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI, 3 K

Karson Simas, 2B: 2-4, 1 R, 2 K, 1 E

Gabriel Jackson (SP; L): 2.2 IP, 5 H, 7 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 3 K (53 pitches)

Not a whole lot to say on this one either. Miller is off to a quietly solid start, hitting his third homer of the season. Sort of a corner utility man who can play all four corner spots, Miller has some solid pop as we’ve seen this year but his hit tool is the big question. He can get too aggressive and not tap into the power. He probably projects as an organizational player, but there’s a big-league future if the bat comes close to maxing out. There’s just not a ton of wiggle room with the relative lack of defensive value.

Player of the Day: Jay Groome

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