IL Worcester Red Sox

WooSox Clobber Seven Homers, Overpower Mets in 17-9 Win

Published on August 3, 2023 under International League (IL)
Worcester Red Sox News Release


SYRACUSE, NY - The Worcester Red Sox (17-12, 56-48) unleashed a season-high 17 runs and matched a season-best with seven homers as part of a 17-9 win over the Syracuse Mets (10-19, 43-60) on Thursday night at NBT Bank Stadium.

Stephen Scott delivered a two-homer game, blasting a pair of three-run shots beyond the wall in right. Remarkably, five of Scott's eight home runs in 29 Triple-A games have been three-run homers.

His first foray on Thursday night came in the fifth inning after a Wilyer Abreu single and a Ryan Fitzgerald double. With runners on second and third, Scott turned on a 97 mile-per-hour fastball from Dedniel Nunez and drilled it 356 feet over the right-field fence. The big fly extended Worcester's lead to 12-4 at the time, but proved to be the game-winning swing as Syracuse totaled nine runs on 17 hits by night's end.

Scott went deep again in the ninth inning, following a hit batter and another Fitzgerald double. This time, he worked the count to 3-2 and demolished a letter-high cutter from Jeff Brigham. The ball exploded off his bat at 106 miles per hour and traveled 424 feet to right. Scott finished the night 3-for-5, including a double in the third.

The WooSox took their first lead with seven runs in the third inning and never trailed again. Worcester went back-to-back off David Griffin (L, 1-4) twice in the frame, starting with David Hamilton and Ceddanne Rafaela. After a Niko Kavadas single and a Nick Sogard double, Hamilton sent a frozen rope to right that landed 385 feet from home plate. Rafaela came up next, and after working the count to 3-0, he crushed a high fastball 355 feet over the left-field fence to give Worcester a 5-1 advantage.

Rafaela, Boston's No. 2 prospect according to MLB.com, has homered in three straight games and his now batting .325 with nine home runs and a 1.051 OPS in 28 games with the WooSox.

Two batters later, Ronaldo Hernandez hit perhaps the most impressive home run of the night. A 1-2 slider caught a bit too much of the plate, and Hernandez obliterated the pitch halfway up the light tower in left. The tape-measure blast - the 13th of the season for Hernandez -- traveled an estimated 429 feet and left the bat at 107 miles per hour. The next batter was Ryan Fitzgerald, who got an elevated changeup and did not miss. His skyscraping fly ball soared 417 feet toward center, landing just to the right of the batter's eye. Fitzgerald went 3-for-5 with a homer and two doubles.

Bradley Zimmer added a two-run home run of his own in the fourth, a screaming line drive to right field. The 414-foot howitzer had an exit velocity of 110 miles per hour.

On the mound, Shane Drohan (W, 3-4) earned his first win since June 10, holding Syracuse to four runs on nine hits (including three home runs) with two walks and six strikeouts in five innings.

At one point, Syracuse was able to narrow a 12-4 deficit to 12-9 thanks to five home runs: one from Brandon McIlwain, Tomas Nido, Jose Peraza, Carlos Cortes, and former Boston College Eagle Joe Suozzi (SWAH-zee), who was making his Triple-A debut.

In addition to hitting his 12th homer, David Hamilton stole his 39th and 40th bases of the season, swiping both second and third in the top of the ninth. Worcester has now stolen 150 bags this season, which breaks the Red Sox Triple-A Record, set by the 1983 Pawtucket Red Sox (148).

The lopsided win was the first WooSox game of the last seven that was decided by more than one run. Worcester has now won two straight and is back within one game of first place in the second half with 46 games remaining in the regular season.

The teams play game four of this six-game series on Friday night at 6:35 pm at NBT Bank Stadium in Syracuse. Pregame coverage begins at 6:15 p.m. on NASH Icon 98.9 FM and the rest of the WooSox Radio Network.

Check out the Worcester Red Sox Statistics

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International League Stories from August 3, 2023


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