IL Worcester Red Sox

Downs Homers Twice in One Day in Split against SWB

Published on August 17, 2021 under International League (IL)
Worcester Red Sox News Release


WORCESTER, M.A. - The Worcester Red Sox (47-43) used two late blasts to split a two-game slate against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (52-35) on Tuesday, a 7-4 loss in game one and a 2-0 victory in game two.

The second game of the day at Polar Park entered the bottom of the eighth inning in a scoreless tie with a total of five hits between the two teams. With two outs and no one on, Connor Wong came to the plate and jumped on the first pitch, crushing it deep over the left field wall for a go-ahead solo shot that went 425 feet. Jeter Downs was next, and he delivered a 389-foot home run, his 11th of the season, to left to put the WooSox on top 2-0.

Kaleb Ort closed a strong nightcap for Worcester pitching, tossing a scoreless ninth to close the win. Raynel Espinal began the game by tying a career-long with seven innings of runless ball, allowing just a single hit in his Triple-A East-leading ninth win.

Hours earlier, the two teams resumed a suspended game during the afternoon, picking up the July 17 game in the top of the sixth inning with a 0-0 score. Despite the fact the teams only had four offensive innings remaining, they combined for 11 total runs.

SWB took the lead in the top of the seventh on an RBI triple from Kyle Holder off WooSox reliever John Schreiber, who began the day on the mound. In the bottom of the seventh, Worcester faced Corey Kluber and greeted Yankees Major League rehabber with a single and a two-run home run from Downs. The long ball travelled 437 feet over the left field wall and put the home team on top.

From there, the RailRiders offense took over, scoring three times in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively. In the eighth, they collected runs on three straight balls in play: an RBI groundout from Socrates Brito, followed by RBI singles by Greg Allen and Holder. The ninth inning three spot came from a double by Estevan Florial, a throwing error at the plate and a solo shot from Matt Pita. The WooSox managed two runs in the ninth on RBI singles by Josh Ockimey and Jeremy Rivera, but the RailRiders got the final out to seal the 7-4 win.

The WooSox continue the eight game series at 6:35 p.m. against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders at Polar Park. Television coverage is on NESN+, while radio coverage starts live at 6:15 p.m. on 98.9 Nash Icon and the WooSox Radio Network. Worcester's Kyle Hart (4-6, 4.40) faces Clarke Schmidt on the mound.

Check out the Worcester Red Sox Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



International League Stories from August 17, 2021


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central