IL Worcester Red Sox

Abreu's Big Day Leads WooSox to Dramatic 7-6 Win

August 2, 2023 - International League (IL)
Worcester Red Sox News Release


SYRACUSE, NY - Right fielder Wilyer Abreu hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the top of the eighth inning before throwing out a runner in each of the final two frames to lead the Worcester Red Sox (16-12, 55-48) to a wild 7-6 win over the Syracuse Mets (10-18, 43-59) on Wednesday afternoon at NBT Bank Stadium.

With the WooSox trailing 6-5 in the eighth, Ceddanne Rafaela worked his career-high fourth walk of the ballgame to get aboard for Abreu. With the count 1-1 against Nolan Clenney (L, 0-2), Abreu went down and got a slider that he cranked over the right-field wall. The 378-foot blast put Worcester in front, 7-6, and they held the lead thanks to Abreu's defense.

Syracuse rallied with two singles in the eighth inning, and were on the cusp of tying the game when Abraham Almonte roped a single into right field. Branden Fryman sped around third and sprinted toward the plate, but Abreu fired a perfect strike to catcher Stephen Scott, who slapped the tag on Fryman as the two collided at home for the final out of the inning.

Abreu wasn't done. Luke Ritter led off the bottom of the ninth with a rocket off the right field wall, and quickly made the turn toward second base. Abreu perfectly played the carom off the fence, and whipped the ball to David Hamilton, who made an acrobatic tag at second while rolling away from Ritter's foot-first slide.

Recent trade acquisition Justin Hagenman (S, 1) eventually recorded his first WooSox save by striking out Carlos Cortes and inducing a pop out from Brandon McIlwain.

Worcester built an early 4-1 lead thanks to a four-run rally in the fourth inning. Trailing 1-0 after a Wyatt Young RBI single, Ryan Fitzgerald started the big frame with a leadoff walk. He moved up to third when Abreu roped a single to center, which brought Scott to the plate with two men aboard. Scott turned on a fastball from Mike Vasil and crushed a three-run homer 369 feet into the WooSox bullpen in right.

After Niko Kavadas and Nick Sogard were hit by pitches, Trevor Story lined an RBI double off the right center field wall to make it 4-1 Worcester.

Scott finished the day 3-for-5, and was a triple shy of the cycle.

Syracuse got a run back when Ritter hit a run-scoring two-bagger in the fourth, but Ceddanne Rafaela extended the advantage to 5-2 with a leadoff homer in the sixth. He powered a 1-1 curveball from Sam Coonrod 395 feet to right on what turned out to be his only swing of the game.

Rafaela, who entered the day with three walks in his first 26 Triple-A games, drew a career-high four walks. He saw 19 pitches, including 17 balls, one called strike, and one home run.

The Mets grabbed a 6-5 lead with a Nick Meyer grand slam in the bottom of the sixth before Abreu's homer put the WooSox ahead for good in the eighth.

Worcester got a strong start from Dinelson Lamet, who held the Mets to two runs on five hits in five innings with three walks and four strikeouts. Oddainer Mosqueda (W, 3-2) worked 1.2 scoreless innings to earn the win in relief.

Massachusetts native Mike Vasil got the start for Syracuse, and was rolling with six strikeouts through his first three innings while scattering three walks and a Scott double. He was eventually chased from the game when the WooSox started the fourth inning with four consecutive baserunners, including Scott's three-run homer.

The teams play game three of this six-game series on Thursday night at 6:35 pm at NBT Bank Stadium in Syracuse. LHP Shane Drohan (2-4, 5.80 ERA) is scheduled to face RHP Tylor Megill (0-3, 8.67). Pregame coverage begins at 6:15 p.m. on NASH Icon 98.9 FM and the rest of the WooSox Radio Network.

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