Red Sox Prospects

5/16 Cup of Coffee: Strong offensive outputs led each affiliate to a win on Tuesday. The lone loss of the evening came as Salem dropped the second game of their doubleheader. 

A combination of a quick offensive start and steady pitching allowed Pawtucket to roar past the Durham Bulls (TB), 8-2. Brandon Duckworth moved to 5-0 on the season as he tossed 6.0 innings, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits while punching out 4. Garrett Mock added 2.0 scoreless innings of relief, walking a batter and striking out 1. Mark Melancon pitched a flawless ninth inning to extend his scoreless inning streak to 12. The PawSox jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first on a Josh Kroeger three run home run. Jose Iglesias lined a two run home run in the second inning to give Pawtucket a 5-0 advantage. Leading 5-2 in the fifth, the PawSox extended their lead to 6-2 on a Che-Hsuan Lin RBI single. In the ninth, Ryan Lavarnway’s RBI double brought home two insurance runs as Pawtucket extended their lead, 8-2. Iglesias and Kroeger were each 3 for 5 with a home run to lead the PawSox offense. 

A five run second inning and steady relief pitching pushed Portland past the Reading Phillies (PHI), 8-5. Anthony Ranaudo made his 2012 debut, hurling 4.0 innings, allowing 4 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks while striking out 2. Jeremy Kehrt picked up the victory for his 4.0 innings of work, allowing 1 run on 3 hits and a walk, punching out 2. Caleb Clay notched his third save for a scoreless ninth inning. Down 1-0 in the second, Portland’s offensive plated five runs on a Reynaldo Rodriguez solo home run, Matt Spring two run home run, a throwing error and an Oscar Tejeda RBI ground out. In the fourth, Kolbrin Vitek’s RBI double extended Portland’s lead, 6-1. Reading quickly chipped away at the five run lead as they brought home three runs in the bottom of the fourth and one in the fifth to pull to within a run, 6-5. In the eighth, Tejeda provided some insurance as his RBI double brought home two to extend the Sea Dogs lead, 8-5. Every member of the Sea Dogs line up reached base except for Ronald Bermudez, who was 0 for 5. 

In the first game of a doubleheader, Salem’s offense outlasted Carolina’s as the Red Sox slipped past the Mud Cats (CLE), 8-6. Miguel Celestino started for Salem, hurling 4.0 innings, allowing 5 runs on 6 hits and a walk, striking out 4. Marco Duarte picked up his first victory of 2012, providing 2.0 innings of relief, allowing 1 run on 2 hits while striking out 4. Michael Olmstead picked up his seventh save for a scoreless seventh inning. Sean Coyle wasted no time providing a spark for the Red Sox, blasting a two run home run in the first to give Salem a quick 2-0 lead. After Carolina tied the game in the bottom of the second, Salem responded with five runs in the third on RBI doubles by Michael Almanzar and Shannon Wilkerson as well as a throwing error by the Mud Cats catcher. Wilkerson provided another RBI double in the fifth, giving the Red Sox an 8-2 advantage. The Mud Cats rallied for four runs in the bottom of the fifth to pull to within two, but were held in check the rest of the contest. Almanzar, Wilkerson and Adalberto Ibarra each had two hits to pace the Red Sox. 

Unlike game one, Salem’s offense only mustered three hits as they fell 4-1 to Carolina. Brandon Workman dropped to 2-1 for his 3.2 inning effort, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks while striking out 6. Keith Couch followed Workman and provided 1.1 innings of flawless relief. Jeremiah Bayer added an inning of relief, allowing an unearned run on 2 hits, striking out 3. Salem’s lone run of the contest came in the first inning on a Michael Almanzar RBI single. 

Greenville used a five run fourth inning and another solid start from Miguel Pena to brush back the Asheville Tourists (COL), 8-2. Pena moved to 3-2 as he tossed 6.0 innings, allowing 1 run on 2 hits and 3 walks, striking out 8. Scott Swinson added 2.0 innings of scoreless relief, allowing 2 hits and punching out 2. Nefi Ogando came on in the ninth, allowing 1 run on 2 hits and a walk. Down 1-0 in the third, Greenville tied the game on a Keury De La Cruz solo home run. In the fourth, the Drive expanded their lead to 6-1 on a Jose Vinicio RBI triple, RBI singles from De La Cruz and Garin Cecchini, a passed ball and an RBI double by Boss Moanaroa. A Bryan Johns sacrifice fly in the fifth and Cecchini solo home run in the sixth padded the Greenville lead, 8-1. Cecchini and Drew Turocy each had three hits to lead the Drive offense. 

Player of the Night: Josh Kroeger, who went 3 for 5 with a home run, 2 doubles, 3 RBI and 2 runs scored in Pawtucket’s 8-2 victory over Durham.

Greenville's Miguel Pena played the central role in The Drive's first-ever no-hitter and Portland's Bryce Brentz posted some eye-popping numbers at the plate last week en route to being voted SoxProspects.com Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively.

Pena worked six perfect innings against Rome (ATL) last Tuesday, striking out seven and earning the win before giving way to Hunter Cervenka and Tyler Lockwood who combined with him to complete the no-hitter, the Red Sox system's first since 2006. On the season Pena owns a 3-2 record with an 1.69 ERA in seven appearances (six starts) with Greenville, having allowed seven earned runs on 25 hits over 37.1 innings pitched, striking out 37 while walking only six and holding opposing batters to an .192 average.  

In six games last week Brentz went 12-for-23 and took one base-on-balls for a .522/.560/.870 line with two home runs and two doubles, highlighted by his five-for-five day (with a double) at Trenton (NYY) to close out the week. After a disappointing April, Brentz has raised his season line to .298/.338/.443 with three home runs, eight doubles and a triple in 131 at-bats over 34 games. He is currently the ninth ranked prospect in the organization by SoxProspects.com.

WEEI.com's Alex Speier reports the Red Sox have sent left-handed pitcher Hunter Cervenka to the Chicago Cubs. The move completes last month's deal in which the Red Sox acquired outfielder Marlon Byrd in exchange for pitcher Michael Bowden.

Cervenka, 22, was originally drafted by Boston in the 27th round of the 2008 June amateur draft out of Sterling High School in Baytown, TX. Highly touted after an excellent senior year and committed to signing with the University of Texas, the Red Sox went way above slot to sign Cervenka, inking him to a $350,000 bonus at the signing deadline. He appeared in 56 games in the Red Sox system over the past 4 seasons, compiling a 5.97 ERA in 173.1 innings. He struck out 8.6 per nine innings on the strength of a good 94 mile per hour fastball, but struggled with his control, walking 7.2 per nine. Assigned to Greenville to begin the 2012 season, Cervenka made 9 appearances, all out of the bullpen, throwing 15.2 innings. He had a 8.04 ERA, 1.723 WHIP, 24 strikeouts and 12 walks. 

Cervenka's biggest highlight with the Red Sox organization was his participation in last week's no-hitter for Greenville. In that game, he entered in the seventh inning in relief of starter Miguel Pena, throwing 2.0 innings, striking out 5 and walking 1.

5/15 Cup of Coffee: Portland pitchers stepped up in place of an injury to scheduled starter Stolmy Pimentel to get the win, defensive lapses led to a big inning in Pawtucket's loss, Greenville's arms could not quiet Asheville, and rain kept Jackie Bradley hitless for the second consecutive day.

Consecutive errors doomed Pawtucket in a 5-3 loss to the Columbus Clippers (CLE). Starting pitcher Justin Germano, who entered the contest with a 2.29 ERA, again looked sharp to start the evening. He allowed only 2 singles through his first five innings, and had faced only one batter over the minimum, as one of those hits was erased on a caught stealing. Germano had been given a 1-0 lead in the third when newly-acquired Scott Podsednik singled to score Pedro Ciriaco. However, things fell apart in the sixth. Columbus led off the inning with a double followed by a single, giving them a first and third situation with nobody out. Germano then got a ground ball back to him, looked the runner back to third and got the out at first. Another ground ball to Ciriaco looked like it would cut down a run at the plate, but Ciriaco's throw went wild, allowing the first run to score, and giving Columbus another second and third opportunity. Germano induced yet another ground ball, but Nate Spears was unable to field it cleanly, and Pawtucket's second consecutive error gave Columbus a 2-1 lead. Given an extra out, Matt LaPorta hit a three-run home run to left. All 5 runs allowed by Germano were unearned, as he finished 6.0 innings, allowing 5 hits, striking out 1 without walking a batter. The PawSox picked up a run in the sixth on a Lars Anderson solo home run, and another in the eighth when Anderson singled following a Podsednik triple to cut the deficit to 5-3. Junichi Tazawa was once again excellent out of the bullpen, throwing 2.0 perfect innings, striking out 3. Tazawa has been unscored upon in 13 of his 14 appearances between Triple-A and the majors. Will Inman threw a scoreless ninth inning, allowing 1 hit and striking out 1. Podsednik finished his second game in a Pawtucket uniform 2 for 3 at the plate, with a triple, run scored and a sacrifice.

Portland was able to hold off the Reading Phillies (PHI) in a 2-1 victory. Chris Martin was put into emergency starting duty following the news earlier in the day that scheduled starter Stolmy Pimentel would be placed on the disabled list with a blister on his index finger. Martin was excellent, allowing only 1 unearned run on 4 hits in 5.0 innings, striking out 6 without walking a batter in picking up the win. The bullpen came through as well, with Aaron Kurcz throwing 2.0 scoreless innings, allowing 2 hits, 1 walk and striking out 1. Josh Fields followed with 2.0 scoreless of his own, also allowing a pair of hits while striking out 2 to pick up the save. The Sea Dogs took a 1-0 lead in the third inning. Derrik Gibson led off the inning with a single and stole second base. He moved up to third on a Heiker Meneses single to center, and came in to score when Jeremy Hazelbaker grounded into a double play. Portland added a second run in the fourth when Oscar Tejeda doubled and was driven in by the streaking Bryce Brentz. Brentz followed his five-hit performance on Sunday with a 3 for 4 night with a double and an RBI. His strikeout in the ninth ended an 8-for-8 roll. His two-day surge has raised his average from .248 to .294. Going in the other direction, Kolbrin Vitek ended an 0 for 22 slide with an eighth inning triple.

Salem's game against the Carolina Mudcats was rained out, and will be made up today as part of a doubleheader.

Despite several rallies to keep the game close, Greenville never led in an 11-6 loss to the Asheville Tourists (COL). Asheville got out to an early lead, scoring a pair of runs in both the first and second innings. Greenville cut the deficit to 4-1 in the second when David Renfroe led off with a double, moved up to third on a Boss Moanaroa ground ball, and scored on a Henry Ramos grounder. The lead was cut to 1 in the fourth, as a Ramos single scored Moanaroa. Drew Turocy, making his 2012 debut, reached on an error that also moved Ramos to third, and Ramos scored on a Jordan Weems single. Asheville scored 3 in the seventh to take a 7-3 lead, but Greenville responded of 3 of its own in the bottom of the inning. Jose Vinicio led off the inning with a single, followed by a Jose Garcia walk. Garin Cecchini's team-leading 12th double of the season scored Vinicio. An Asheville error on a Renfroe grounder then allowed both Garcia and Cecchini to score, once again cutting the lead to 1. However, Asheville would blow the game open with two runs apiece in the eighth and ninth. Starter Madison Younginer allowed 4 runs on 6 hits in 6.0 innings pitched, striking out 5 while walking 1. Matty Ott threw 1.0 inning out of the bullpen, allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 2 hits, 1 walk and 1 strike out. Michael McCarthy pitched the final 2.0 innings, giving up 4 runs on 4 hits, walking 2 and striking out 2. Garcia and Vinicio both went 2 for 4 on the evening. 

Player of the Night: After a rough April, Bryce Brentz seems to be making the transition to Double-A. A 3 for 4 night brings his line through ten games in May to .474/.500/.737.