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IL Worcester Red Sox

Rafaela Homers Again to Force Extras; WooSox Win Fourth Straight

August 5, 2023 - International League (IL)
Worcester Red Sox News Release


SYRACUSE, NY - The Worcester Red Sox (19-12, 58-48) pulled off another dramatic come-from-behind victory to earn their fourth straight win - a 6-3 thriller in 10 innings - over the Syracuse Mets (10-21, 43-62) on Saturday night at NBT Bank Stadium.

The WooSox trailed 2-1 in the top of the ninth inning, with the offense limited to a solo home run by Caleb Hamilton, who broke up Denyi Reyes' no-hit bid with one out in the sixth. Syracuse brought in closer Sean Reid-Foley (BS, 3) for what they hoped would be the final frame, but Ceddanne Rafaela had other ideas.

Leading off the inning, he worked the count to 3-1 and drove a thigh-high fastball to right. The 366-foot, opposite-field missile left the bat at 103 miles per hour, and tied the game at 2-2. Reid-Foley then struck out the next three batters on fastballs to send the game to extras.

Rafaela has now homered in a WooSox-record five consecutive games, and has gone deep 11 times in his first 30 games with Worcester. If he clears the fences again on Sunday, he'll have tied the longest homer streak in Triple-A this season, set by Syracuse's Luke Voit during the last week of July.

Since joining the WooSox on June 29, Rafaela has lit up the International League leaderboards, ranking first in home runs (11), sixth in hits (39), sixth in slugging percentage (.683), and 14th in OPS (1.053).

Worcester rallied with four runs in the top of the 10th off Jeff Brigham (L, 0-1) to put the game away. After Bradley Zimmer was hit by a pitch, Caleb Hamilton singled to center, which eventually scored automatic runner Narciso Crook from second and Zimmer from first as Brandon McIlwain struggled to field the ball, slipped, and then fired a hasty throw that wound up clanging off the third-base dugout.

David Hamilton put the cherry on top with a two-run rocket over the fence in right center to make it 6-2, his second home run of the week. He used his quick hands to turn a fastball into a flying saucer, blasting it 378 feet with an exit velocity of 102 miles per hour. Hamilton started the season with 12 long balls in his first 40 games, but hadn't gone deep since May 25 until his two shots in Syracuse.

With three more dingers on Saturday, the WooSox have now hit 18 homers in five games this week, which is three more than any other team in baseball (including MLB).

Tanner Houck made his first rehab start since suffering a facial fracture on a comeback line drive on June 16. He threw 46 pitches (27 strikes), and allowed two runs on three singles while walking three and striking out three. All three punchouts came in the first inning as he worked out of a bases loaded jam. Houck's fastball sat at 91-92 and topped out at 93 miles per hour.

Syracuse scored two runs against Houck in the second inning after loading the bases on a walk and two infield singles. Wyatt Young and Ronny Mauricio hit run-scoring groundouts to make it 2-0, but the Mets would not score again until an RBI double from Luke Ritter in the bottom of the 10th.

Brandon Walter delivered 3.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen, scattering two singles with one walk and no strikeouts. Rio Gomez put together a perfect sixth, and Justin Hagenman spun two scoreless innings to keep his ERA at 0.00 since the Kike Hernandez trade.

A.J. Politi (W, 7-3) ultimately forced extras by stranding two walks in the bottom of the ninth, striking out Mauricio and Abraham Almonte to silence a hopeful crowd and leave the tying run at second base.

The teams play the final game of this six-game series on Sunday afternoon at 1:05 pm at NBT Bank Stadium in Syracuse. Chris Sale is scheduled to make a rehab start for Worcester. With a win, the WooSox will be guaranteed at least a share of first place when they start a 13-game homestand at Polar Park on Tuesday.

Pregame coverage begins at 12:45 p.m. on NASH Icon 98.9 FM and the rest of the WooSox Radio Network.

Check out the Worcester Red Sox Statistics



International League Stories from August 5, 2023


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