Red Sox Minor Lines: Getting excited about Bryan Mata

Pawtucket L 7-9 (F/11)

Rusney Castillo: 1-6, 2 R, 1 K

Steve Selsky: 1-5, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 2 K

Bryce Brentz: 3-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 4 RBI

Kyle Kendrick: 5.2 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 1 BB, 5 K

Austin Maddox: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

Chandler Shepherd: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K

Noe Ramirez: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 K

In two, three, four years we are going to look back at this Red Sox season and see Kendrick’s name and try really hard to remember what he was doing on this roster. He must have been a break-in-case of emergency option, right? The Kendrick that had the organization excited during spring training seems to be totally gone, as he’s getting hit hard by Triple-A competition after his rough start in the majors. He’s allowed seven runs in two of his last three starts and he’s up to a 7.38 ERA in Triple-A for the season. Also, shoutout to Brentz, who’s also having a tough year but tied this game with a seventh-inning grand slam.

Portland G1 L 2-6

Danny Mars: 0-3, 1 K

Josh Tobias: 0-2, 1 RBI, 2 K

Rafael Devers: 0-2, 1 BB, 1 K

Trey Ball: 5.1 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 0 BB, 4 K

Jake Cosart: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K

Portland G2 L 3-4 (F/13)

Danny Mars: 3-6, 1 R, 1 CS

Rafael Devers: 2-4, 1 3B, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K

Nick Longhi: 0-5

Ty Buttrey: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K

Trey Ball with another rough start, and at this point I’m just counting down the days until he changes his role. Devers had a solid day, even with the 0-for in the first game. He drew a couple walks and somehow hit a triple. Let’s talk about Longhi, though, whose 0-5 day is just extending his big slump. It’s been a roller coaster season for the 1B/OF, but he’s currently on a downward trend and has just four hits in his last eight games. He’s currently hitting .245/.290/.340 on the season.

Salem W 2-0

Tate Matheny: 0-4

Michael Chavis: 1-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 2 K, 1 E

Josh Ockimey: 3-3, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 R

Trenton Kemp: 0-4, 2 K

Austin Rei: 2-3, 1 2B, 1 K

Austin Glorius: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K

While Longhi is in the midst of a slump, Ockimey is on his way up. This three-hit game extends his hit streak to 15 games, and this was easily the best of the bunch. He’s still going to strike out plenty — I’m not sure I ever really see that leaving his game — but his plate discipline is still strong and he does real damage when he does make contact. After this big game he’s hitting .321/.427/.521.

Greenville W 7-1

Lorenzo Cedrola: 3-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI

Tyler Hill: 1-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 K

Roldani Baldwin: 1-4, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 K

Bryan Mata: 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 6 K

Talented youth was on full display in Greenville on Wednesday. Bryan Mata, just 18 years old, looked quite good in his second start with the Drive. Now two starts into his Low-A career, the righty has thrown nine innings and has allowed two runs with ten strikeouts to four walks. Expect to hear a lot more about this youngster as the year goes on. Meanwhile, Cedrola has been with Greenville all year but he’s just starting to turn it on in a big way recently. The 19-year-old hit his second home run of the year and is now up to a .300 batting average on the season.