Velázquez stingy in return to PawSox

After seven seasons in the Mexican League and eight roster moves in 2017, Hector Velázquez has found a way to put together the best year of his career.
"He's resilient," PawSox pitching coach Bob Kipper said. "He has a level of adaptability."
The Boston right-hander continued his breakout campaign by allowing one hit and a walk over seven innings as Triple-A Pawtucket blanked Lehigh Valley, 3-0, on Sunday at McCoy Stadium. He struck out three.

Three days after returning from a stint in the Majors, Velázquez (8-4) utilized his fastball command to near perfection. With two outs in the first inning, he allowed a single by Cameron Perkins on an 0-1 changeup. But it would be the only hit of the game for the IronPigs.
"Outstanding," Pawtucket manager Kevin Boles told the club's website. "Commanded the zone, efficient, got our defense involved. Nice job by him, especially with this lineup. They've been scoring some runs. That was a very professional outing.
"He's unpredictable. He really doesn't fall into patterns. He uses both sides of the plate. I liked how he just snuck some pitches on the inner half to left-handed hitters just to get them off."
Gameday box score
Starting with the final out of the first, Velázquez retired 16 straight batters as he cruised through his ninth scoreless outing for Pawtucket this season.
In the seventh, Phillies No. 4 prospectJ.P. Crawford worked a leadoff walk, but was erased on a forceout by Perkins. After a pair of flyouts, Velazquez completed one of his most dominant starts of the season.

"It's always fun to watch a guy in control of the baseball game," Kipper said.
Knowing Velázquez had logged over 650 innings across seven seasons in his native Mexican League, Kipper said they wanted to take things slow with him to start the year, giving him extra days off between starts. The 28-year-old notched a 2.23 ERA with 78 strikeouts and 24 walks in 101 innings across 18 International League starts.
As Velázquez has progressed, he's gotten a few calls to "The Show." Across four callups, the 6-foot hurler sports a 4.08 ERA with 12 strikeouts and four walks in 17 2/3 innings over four games -- including two starts. He didn't pitch the last time he went up.
"Whether it was the fifth day or the 11th day, he's gone out and pitched well," Kipper said. "So adaptability is something he has shown in his character. He's gone to the big leagues, he's pitched in relief and in the rotation. He shows that he's capable of handling different roles. And the guy just knows how to pitch."
Edgar Olmos struck out five and walked one in two hitless frames for his fourth save. With its 17th shutout of the season, Pawtucket tied a single-season franchise record.
Leadoff hitter Tzu-Wei Lin slugged a three-run homer in the seventh to account for the game's only runs.
Lehigh Valley starter José Taveras allowed five hits and a walk while striking out seven over six scoreless innings.