By BRENDAN MCGAIR

Sports writer

 PAWTUCKET – It was fitting that two pitchers from arguably one of the top staffs in all of Triple-A were named to the Midseason All-Star Game on Thursday. Clay Buchholz, the ace for the Pawtucket Red Sox, and Fernando Cabrera, the club’s top reliever, were selected to represent the International League.
“Both are very well-deserving,” said PawSox manager Ron Johnson. “It doesn’t really come as a surprise to me.”
The All-Star contest, which pits the I.L.’s best against the top talent from the Pacific Coast League, takes place July 15 in Portland, Oregon (10:05 p.m. first pitch on ESPN2). The teams are determined by league managers and coaches, media and on-line balloting.
Buchholz, 24, went into Thursday night's start against Scranton/Wilkes Barre as the I.L. leader in earned run average, at 1.90. He has a 5-1 record in 14 appearances, striking out 75 in 80 2/3 innings. The spindly right-hander has produced two lengthy streaks this season, one consisting of 24 scoreless frames (April 27-May 19) and 23 1/3 innings without issuing a walk (May 19-June 9).
Buchholz, who was the overall vote getter in the online portion, was selected to the Eastern League All-Star Game in 2007. Instead he wound up pitching in San Francisco as part of the Futures Game. The chances of the author of a major league no-hitter actually pitching in Portland appear slim given Buchholz is tentatively slated to pitch the final day prior to the three-day break (July 12 at home against Syracuse).
Cabrera, 27, is currently tied for the league lead in saves (16), having converted every single one of his opportunities since taking over for Daniel Bard in early-May. This marks Cabrera’s second trip to the Triple-A All-Star Game (2005 with Buffalo).
“It really goes back to when I took over the role as the club’s closer,” said Cabrera when asked to pinpoint why success has come so fluidly for him in 2009 (36 strikeouts in 35 innings).
Cabrera was signed by the Red Sox last December after spending most of last season with Baltimore. He has appeared in 125 major league games, spanning Cleveland (2004-07) and Baltimore (2007-08).
Cabrera praised the group charged with getting him the ball, noting Rocky Cherry (2.08 ERA), Marcus McBeth (three saves, 1.91 ERA), Billy Traber (five wins, 2.23 ERA) and Jose Vaquedano (4-1, 2.27 ERA) were also deserving.
Other notables in this year’s gathering of Class AAA stars is Columbus third baseman Andy Marte (sent from Boston to Cleveland in exchange for Coco Crisp) and Omaha’s Lenny DiNardo (pitched for Pawtucket from 2004-06).  DiNardo is currently with the Kansas City organization.
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A little tidbit regarding Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s Austin Jackson, rated by Baseball America as the Yankees’ top prospect: the outfielder was recruited to play college basketball at the University of Texas by Rick Barnes, the former Providence College coach.
Jackson is a native of Denton, Texas. He was about to sign a letter of intent to play hoops at Georgia Tech before deciding to concentrate solely on baseball. The 22-year-old has 22 multi hit games for Scranton. He will join Buchholz and Cabrera in Portland as one of three All-Stars representing Scranton.
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It certainly hasn’t been an easy few weeks for McCoy Stadium field superintendent Matt McKinnon and his staff, what with all the rain that has plagued the region. Thursday was no different as the tarp remained on the field until an hour before first pitch. That meant neither Scranton nor Pawtucket took batting practice outdoors.
“A lot of headaches, that’s the best way I can put it,” said McKinnon. “We are really earning our money this year.”