IL Worcester Red Sox

Dalbec's 4-4 Day Leads WooSox to 12-1 Rout

Published on August 27, 2023 under International League (IL)
Worcester Red Sox News Release


ROCHESTER, NY - The Worcester Red Sox (31-19, 70-55) bludgeoned the Rochester Red Wings (22-28, 56-67) with 12 runs on 13 hits, including home runs from Ceddanne Rafaela, Bobby Dalbec, and Yu Chang, as part of a 12-1 win on Sunday afternoon at Innovative Field.

The WooSox secured a 4-2 series win in Rochester, and will enter Tuesday's pivotal series with first-half champion Norfolk at Polar Park with at least a 1.5-game lead in the second-half playoff race with just 24 games remaining in the regular season.

All nine WooSox recorded at least one hit, highlighted by Dalbec's 4-for-4 effort. Worcester's cleanup man produced a sacrifice fly, two singles, an RBI triple, and his team-leading 31st home run. His impressive blast came on a 1-1 changeup from Anthony Banda in the fifth that Dalbec launched 414 feet to the base of the batter's eye. Now just two homers behind Luken Baker for the league lead, Dalbec busted out of a 2-for-35 skid with his first big fly since his two-homer day on Sunday, August 13.

The WooSox immediately jumped on Roddery Munoz (L, 0-3) with three runs in the opening inning. Ceddanne Rafaela walked on four pitches to begin the ballgame, and came home when Yu Chang split the gap in left center with an RBI double. Enmanuel Valdez singled with a hard liner to right, and two runs eventually came home on sacrifice flies from Dalbec and Ronaldo Hernandez.

Rafaela came up in the fourth inning with a man aboard thanks to a walk by Niko Kavadas. On what turned out to be Munoz' penultimate pitch, Rafaela drilled a first-pitch sinker the other way for his 14th home run in 48 Triple-A games. The low liner snuck over the right-field fence at 353 feet, and extended Worcester's lead to 5-1.

Dalbec's blast came one inning later, and the WooSox truly broke the game open with a four-run rally in the seventh. With the bases empty and two outs, Worcester put five straight runners on base against Hobie Harris, and plated runs with an RBI single from Hernandez and a three-run double from Kavadas. After Ryan Fitzgerald walked to load the bases, Kavadas smoked a 1-2 sinker off the warning track in left center to bring everyone home and establish a 10-1 advantage.

Yu Chang added a solo shot in the eighth. Similar to Rafaela's homer, he sliced a 1-1 fastball from Daniel Mengden around the right-field foul pole for his second WooSox dinger. Including a first-inning double, Chang registered his third multi-hit game of the series, and finished the week 11-for-21.

Two batters after Chang went deep, Dalbec capped the scoring at 12-1 in his final at bat, spraying a 3-2 cutter to right center that rolled all the way to the wall and scored Valdez from first base.

Brandon Walter (W, 2-5) delivered his longest start of the season, an impressive seven-inning outing with just one run allowed on five hits with a walk and six strikeouts. Ryan Fernandez struck out the side in the eighth, and Joe Jacques struck out two in a scoreless ninth. Jacques has yet to allow a run in 7.1 innings since being optioned to Triple-A on August 6.

The first-place WooSox return home Tuesday through Sunday for a potential playoff preview against the first-half champion Norfolk Tides at Polar Park. Tuesday's series opener is scheduled to start at 6:45 p.m. in Worcester.

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International League Stories from August 27, 2023


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