NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — Stolmy Pimentel’s second start for the Portland Sea Dogs showed why the Boston Red Sox have high hopes for his future.

Pimentel, a right-hander signed as an international free agent at age 16 and now on Boston’s 40-man roster, allowed just two hits in five innings Friday afternoon.

He did everything but pick up his first Eastern League victory.

Steve Singleton dropped an RBI single into shallow right field with two outs in the ninth inning to give the New Britain Rock Cats a 2-1 victory before a sellout crowd of 6,781 at New Britain Stadium.

The Rock Cats (7-2) have won six straight.

Pimentel, 21, was a walk short of perfection through 4 1/3 innings. Yangervis Solarte ended New Britain’s streak of 10 hitless innings when he singled with one out in the fifth. Deibinson Romero then drove a double to the gap in right-center field, but with two runners in scoring position, Pimentel struck out Allan de San Miguel and got Chris Cates to ground out.

“He’s got the size and he’s got the mound presence for such a young kid,” Portland Manager Kevin Boles said. “Today he attacked the zone with his fastball and was able to use his breaking ball and change-up. He’s got a chance to have three quality weapons.”

Pimentel’s performance was a marked contrast from his first Double-A start, when he yielded six hits and three walks in three innings April 9 in a loss to Reading.

“He looked uncomfortable and it looked like the game got a little bit fast on him,” Boles said. “He’s such a young kid, but today he slowed things down and was able to use his pitch mix and execute.”

Pimentel threw 76 pitches, walked one and struck out three. He left with a 1-0 lead, courtesy of Portland’s only offensive uprising against Rock Cats starter Steve Hirschfield.

With one out in the fourth inning, Jorge Padron (2 for 3) laced a double into the left-field corner. Ryan Lavarnway then ripped a run-scoring single up the middle.

Tommy Hottovy, the first player in Sea Dogs history to log six seasons with the team, followed Pimentel with two scoreless innings, but the Rock Cats pushed across the tying run against Blake Maxwell in the eighth.

With runners on first and second and two outs, Chris Parmelee golfed a 1-2 pitch through the right-field alley for an RBI double.

Maxwell (0-1) avoided further trouble by striking out Evan Bigley, but he was the victim of New Britain’s winning rally in the ninth.

Solarte (3 for 3, walk) singled and took second on a one-out hit by de San Miguel. After Mark Dolenc bounced into a force play, sending Solarte to third, Singleton hit Maxwell’s first pitch, and the ball dropped in front of right fielder Chih-Hsien Chiang.

“I’ve faced (Maxwell) a lot and he usually tries to throw me off-speed stuff,” Singleton said. “I was looking for a pitch down I could handle. There was a big hole on the right side.”

Hirschfield allowed the Sea Dogs (3-5) just four hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out four. Jake Stevens pitched two scoreless innings, and Tyler Robertson (1-0) benefited from a double play in the top of the ninth to earn the win.

 

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