Owens equal parts talent, confidence

When Henry Owens made his Double-A debut two weeks ago, Portland Sea Dogs manager Kevin Boles described him as "bright" and "advanced."

If you're going to start listing adjectives, feel free to add "competitive," "confident," "savvy" and "fearless" somewhere near the top.

You can put them in any order you like. The Red Sox's No. 4 prospect doesn't mind.

Owens allowed an unearned run and struck out 10 over five hitless innings in Friday night's 4-1 win at Harrisburg, the latest in a season full of superlative performances.

Having turned 21 last month, Owens -- the only member of the Sea Dogs born after 1991 -- is more than three years younger than the average Eastern League pitcher this season. He's averaging 17.4 strikeouts per nine innings and boasts an almost 5-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio through three games in his new league, where he's holding opponents to a .067 average with runners in scoring position.

Not that there've been that many runners who reach scoring position, of course.

With his age and relative lack of experience in mind, did Owens really expect to waltz into the Eastern League and put up video game-like numbers?

"Yes."

That one word says a lot, perhaps as much about his bravado as his raw ability.

"I felt like I was ready to face these hitters and I felt like I could compete," said Owens, MLB.com's No. 55 overall prospect. "That goes back to the confidence level. You can never be timid. Everyone says it's a very mental game and that the game is not for the mentally weak. There's a difference between flamboyantly loud confidence and quiet confidence.

"I like to lead by example. I try to inflict fear in batters so they don't know what page I'm on. And that's not fear like, 'He's a big guy, look at the size of him,' but more like, 'I've swung and missed at the first two pitches, I wonder what he's going to throw next.'"

Against the Senators, Owens (2-0) issued three walks in lowering his ERA to 1.20. It marked the third time this season the left-hander has gone at least five innings without allowing a hit and the 12th time in 23 starts across two levels that he's given up one earned run or fewer.

The lone blemish against Owens on Friday came in the bottom of the first, when Billy Burns drew a leadoff walk and took second on a passed ball. After two strikeouts, Burns stole third and came home on a wild pitch.

"Early on, it was a poor effort, but I made a couple adjustments and retired the next 12," Owens said. "I was out of sync. It's just part of the game, part of baseball. Maybe it was adrenaline or excitement or nerves. I don't have an answer. But I would rather give up a couple hits and go deep into a game than pitch five innings and give up no hits.

"I tried to slow everything down [after the first inning]. I adjusted my leg kick and slowed it down. It was less than half a second slower, but it made all the difference. All of my pitches -- fastball, curveball, changeup -- were working and I could throw them in any count. Then, when I got ahead, I could finish them off with with the fastball, curveball or changeup."

The 6-foot-6 southpaw has amassed 29 strikeouts over 15 innings since joining Portland.

He fanned 11 over six scoreless innings in his Double-A debut on Aug. 3 at Bowie, then struck out eight more Baysox when the teams squared off again six days later. In the two weeks, Owens has been with the Sea Dogs, no pitcher in affiliated ball has more punchouts.

Selected 36th overall in the 2011 Draft, Owens went 8-5 with a 2.92 ERA in 20 starts for Class A Advanced Salem. He struck out 123 batters over 104 2/3 innings before his promotion two weeks ago.

"There's no secret, man. It's just 60 feet, 6 inches." Owens said. "One thing they told me in A-ball was not to change a thing and to pitch the same way I have all year. Sometimes the tougher outings, the grinds, are better than the easy, breezy ones. That's where you learn the most.

"I've failed this year. Every time I lose a game, I've failed. But there are still positives to get from failures, and that is the thought process I have. If I lose a ballgame for the team, I think I could have done something to stop it."

Jeremy Kehrt followed Owens and allowed two hits over three scoreless innings before Rafael Perez worked around a hit and a walk by fanning two in the ninth for his fourth save.

Michael Almanzar doubled, singled, drove in a run and scored once for the Sea Dogs.