Sports stats

IL Worcester Red Sox

RailRiders Stage Late Comeback, Take Series Opener 6-5 Over WooSox

August 15, 2023 - International League (IL)
Worcester Red Sox News Release


WORCESTER, M.A. - A four-run top of the ninth inning gave the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (21-17, 55-57) a 6-5 victory over the Worcester Red Sox (24-15, 63-51) on a rainy Tuesday night at Polar Park.

Worcester held a 5-2 lead entering the ninth and went to Ryan Fernandez out of the bullpen. After a leadoff single, former WooSox Franchy Cordero launched a two-run home run to right, cutting the home team's lead to one. Fernandez got the next two outs, but with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre down to its final strike, Jake Lamb cracked a game-tying solo home run to left. Brandon Lockridge followed with a single, stole second, then scored the go-ahead run on an Oswald Peraza double.

In the bottom of the ninth, Bobby Dalbec walked to lead off the frame, but Ron Marinaccio retired the next three hitters to hand Worcester its fifth loss of the season when leading after eight (previously 43-4).

Early on, WooSox starter Shane Drohan set a Triple-A career high with 10 strikeouts, posting six scoreless innings and allowing four total baserunners. The left-hander recorded a whopping 14 swing-and-misses, including six on his slider and five on the changeup.

It was a 0-0 game in the bottom of the sixth, an inning that began with an error then a Wilyer Abreu single, his 18th hit in 12 August games. That brought Stephen Scott to the plate, who worked a 3-2 count, then smashed a three-run home run down the right field line to put Worcester up 3-0.

In 37 Triple-A games, Scott now has six three-run home runs and is slashing .294/.381/.647 with 11 long balls and 38 RBI.

The rest of the inning was arguably more eventful-Ronaldo Hernandez and Bradley Zimmer were each hit by pitches, Ryan Fitzgerald was ejected after the home plate umpire deemed he left the box between pitches and eventually, Ceddanne Rafaela lined a two-run triple to right to give the WooSox a 5-0 lead through six.

After Drohan's departure, the RailRiders grabbed two runs off Justin Hagenman: a Carlos Narvaez RBI double in the seventh and an Austin Wells solo shot in the eighth, the first steps to SWB's ninth-inning comeback.

The loss marks Worcester's third loss since August 2; three of the team's four defeats in the month have come by one run.

The WooSox continue the six-game series at 12:15 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, affiliate of the New York Yankees. On the mound, Tanner Houck (0-0, 3.86) faces Clayton Beeter (1-3, 6.25). Television coverage is on NESN, while radio coverage is live on 98.9 Nash Icon and the WooSox Radio Network.

Check out the Worcester Red Sox Statistics



International League Stories from August 15, 2023


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