IL Worcester Red Sox

Dalbec & Hamilton Deliver Eighth-Inning Swings, WooSox Win 10-9

Published on May 18, 2023 under International League (IL)
Worcester Red Sox News Release


WORCESTER, M.A. - In a game that featured 19 runs, 20 hits and 14 walks, the Worcester Red Sox (21-21) rallied in the eighth to beat the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (20-21) 10-9 on Thursday night at Polar Park.

The WooSox led 7-0 after two before the IronPigs scored nine of the next 10 runs. Worcester entered the bottom of the eighth trailing 9-8, but four pitches in to the frame, David Hamilton tied the game with a home run to center. The swing made it 9-9 and gave Hamilton his team-leading ninth home run and 21st RBI.

Two batters later, Jorge Alfaro doubled to right-center, part of a night in which he had two doubles and a home run. Bobby Dalbec was next, and he laced a clutch, go-ahead RBI double to left-center to put the WooSox up 10-9.

A.J. Politi worked a 1-2-3 top of the ninth, nailing down his third save of the Triple-A season and giving Worcester two wins in the first three games of the series.

Hours earlier, Shane Drohan took the mound in his Triple-A debut for the WooSox, finishing with the following line: 5 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 6 K on 90 pitches (50 strikes). Drohan worked a scoreless first three innings before allowing a pair of two-run homers in the fourth, one to Scott Kingery and one to Jim Haley. He also gave up a solo shot in the fifth to Weston Wilson, the final run of the day allowed by the left-hander.

Offensively, Worcester scored five in the first and two in the second. In the first, the home team scored two-out runs on a Dalbec RBI single, a two-run knock by Ryan Fitzgerald and two-run single from Daniel Palka. An inning later, Jorge Alfaro ripped an RBI double, followed by another run-scoring single by Dalbec.

Alfaro went 3-for-5 with two RBI, while Dalbec delivered a three-hit, three-RBI night.

After a four-run fourth by Lehigh Valley, Alfaro hit a 456-foot moonshot to center to make it 8-4 WooSox. Wilson's homer in the fifth cut in to the IronPigs' deficit before a three-run rally in the seventh tied the game.

Joe Jacques came out of the bullpen and walked the first three men he faced before an RBI groundout. A few batters later, a throwing error allowed two to score, knotting the game at eight. An inning later, Jake Cave doubled off Brennan Bernardino to give Lehigh Valley its first lead.

That set up Worcester's dramatic comeback in the bottom of the eighth, giving the team its third victory of the season when trailing after seven innings.

The WooSox continue the homestand on Friday night at 6:45 p.m. against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. On the mound, Brandon Walter (0-3, 5.88) faces Michael Plassmeyer (1-3, 6.19). Television coverage is live on NESN+, while radio coverage is live at 6:25 p.m. on 98.9 Nash Icon and the WooSox Radio Network.

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International League Stories from May 18, 2023


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