Henry Owens took a step forward in the transformation of his delivery Sunday afternoon as he helped the Portland Sea Dogs pull out a 3-2 win against the Reading Fightin Phils in an Eastern League game at Hadlock Field.

Owens, who was sent down from Triple-A Pawtucket to work on his delivery after switching to a three-quarters arm slot two weeks ago, pitched five scoreless innings, though he walked five and hit a batter. He struck out five and gave up two hits.

Henry Owens, in his second start since being sent to Portland to work on a new pitching motion, threw five scoreless innings with two hits, five walks, five strikeouts and a hit batsman in a 3-2 win Sunday over the Reading Fightin Phils. Carl D. Walsh/Staff Photographer

Michael Chavis smacked a two-run homer as Portland went into the All-Star break on a winning note.

Owens couldn’t make it out of the first inning last Tuesday in his first start since joining the Sea Dogs, as he walked six of the eight batters he faced.

This time, he walked three of the first five batters but got out of the inning without allowing a run.

“After the first inning, he got back on track and had a good rhythm and was able to execute pitches,” Portland Manager Carlos Febles said. “It was a huge step forward for him.”

Mostly, Owens featured his changeup and his slider.

“Every inning I felt more comfortable, more consistent,” he said. “My defense made some great plays at the right time, (and) I thought (catcher Jake) Romanski did a great job of keeping me in the zone at some big moments.”

Owens threw 56 of his 96 pitches for strikes.

“By and large, it was a good step forward on what has been going on for (just) two weeks now,” Owens said. “I’m very optimistic that I’m getting a lot of closer to where I need to be.”

Romanski, who also caught Owens in the previous game when he threw just 15 of his 42 pitches for strikes, noticed the difference in the 24-year-old pitcher’s approach.

“(Last Tuesday) was his first time dropping down there, so this time he had a good feel for it,” the catcher said. “He had some walks, but he really threw well today.”

The change in his delivery is a big adjustment for Owens.

“To get consistent with anything mechanically, there has to be a lot of repetition that’s involved,” he said. “I think these last two weeks, I’ve taken some huge strides. … I’m not sure on the duration of the time I will spend here, but right now I’m in a good place and in position to keep working hard to get to where I need to be.”

The Sea Dogs took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning when Chavis lined a homer off the video board in left-center after Henry Urrutia walked, stole second and moved to third on a fly ball.

Chad De La Guerra led off the sixth with an infield hit, stole second, went to third on a groundball and scored on Jeremy Barfield’s ground single past third to make it 3-0.

The Phils scored an unearned run in the seventh on an error and three consecutive singles. They closed to within a run when Mitch Walding led off the eighth with a single, stole second and eventually scored on a groundout.

NOTES: Portland reliever Williams Jerez has been added to the Eastern Division squad for the All-Star game on Wednesday night at the Northeast Delta Dental Stadium in Manchester, New Hampshire. Jerez, a left-hander who is 2-0 with three saves and a 3.40 ERA, joins teammates Rafael Devers, Teddy Stankiewicz and Danny Mars on the squad. … The announced attendance was 6,368.

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