WooSox Lose on Tuesday at Polar Park
IL Worcester Red Sox

WooSox Lose on Tuesday at Polar Park

Published on April 7, 2026 under International League (IL)
Worcester Red Sox News Release


Worcester Red Sox reliever Tommy Kahnle
Worcester Red Sox reliever Tommy Kahnle
(Worcester Red Sox, Credit: Ashley Green)

Worcester, MA - The Worcester Red Sox (6-3) battled back from 4-0 and 7-2 deficits to eventually take a 7th inning lead, 10-8 on a towering 3-run HR by catcher Matt Thaiss, but the Columbus Clippers scored 3 times in the 8th inning and added 3 more in the 9th inning to out-last the WooSox, 14-10 on Tuesday night at Polar Park. The loss snapped Worcester's 5-game winning streak.

Columbus (7-3) scored 4 runs in the top of the 1st inning off WooSox starter T.J. Sikkema. Kody Huff drilled a 2-out, 3-run triple off the wall in centerfield and catcher Cooper Ingle followed with an RBI single.

Worcester cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the 1st inning as 2B Nick Sogard and 1B Mickey Gasper led with sharp singles and both scored on a throwing error by Columbus pitcher Trenton Denholm on an infield single by Kristian Campbell, who led the Sox with 3 hits.

Columbus scored 3 times off reliever Jacob Webb in the 3rd inning with all runs coming again with two outs in the frame. George Valera ripped a 2-run single and Dayan Frias came home on a wild pitch.

The WooSox chipped away with single runs in the 4th -inning on a Tsung-Che Cheng triple followed by a Thaiss sac fly and in the 5th as Nate Eaton singled and came home on a Mikey Romero RBI double.

Worcester pulled to within a run at 7-6 in the 6th -inning as Thaiss walked and scored ahead of Nick Capra's line-drive 2-run HR onto the left field berm. It was Capra's second homer of the season.

Kyle Keller did a nice job in relief tossing 2.1 scoreless innings before giving way to newly-activated Tommy Kahnle to begin the 7th inning. Kahnle was charged with an unearned run in his inning of work as his own two-base throwing error on a bunt single by Petey Halpin led to a run to make it 8-6 Columbus. Tommy walked one and struck out one in his first appearance in the Red Sox organization.

Kahnle, 36, was signed as a free agent by the Boston Red Sox on March 19 and added to the club's 2026 Spring Training roster as a non-roster invitee. He was placed on the WooSox Development List to begin the season and has been working out in Fort Myers, FL. He owns a 3.61 ERA with 502 strikeouts in 436.2 innings in 456 career Major League games with the Colorado Rockies (2014-15), Chicago White Sox (2016-17), Yankees (2017-20, 2023-24), Los Angeles Dodgers (2022), and Detroit Tigers (2025).

The WooSox took their first lead of the night in the 7th inning. Eaton smacked a one-out single and raced home on another RBI double from Romero. With two outs, Cheng walked to put two on for Thaiss and the WooSox catcher promptly belted 3-run HR (#1) down the right field line to give the Sox their first lead of the night, 10-8. Thaiss' bomb was 107 off the bat and traveled 380 feet.

The Sox lead was short-lived, however, as Columbus touched losing pitcher Noah Song (0-1) for 3 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks in the 8th inning. Dayan Frias and 2B Travis Bazzana, the 1st pick of the 2024 draft by the Guardians, had key RBI singles in the rally that put the Clippers ahead, 11-10. Columbus would break things open with another 3-spot in the 9th inning before WooSox first baseman Nathan Hickey came on to pitch and record the final out of the inning.

Boston Red Sox lefty Patrick Sandoval will make his first rehab start for the WooSox tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon at Polar Park in game two of their 6-game series against the Columbus Clippers at 12:05 pm. It will be his first official appearance in 22 months. Sandoval, 29, has been sidelined since undergoing Tommy John surgery on June 26, 2024. He missed all of last season after signing a 2-year contract with the Red Sox on December 23, 2024.

In 107 career Major League games (100 starts) all with the Los Angeles Angels, Sandoval is 19-45 with a 4.01 ERA with 529 strikeouts in 536 carer big league innings. Originally an 11th round selection of the Houston Astros in 2015 out of Mission Viejo High School in California, Patrick was traded to the Angels for Martin Maldonado in July of 2018. He made his MLB debut with the Angels in 2019 and spent the next four seasons in the Los Angeles rotation (2020-24) before leaving a start on June 21, 2024 with his injured elbow. From 2021-23 he posted a 3.53 ERA in 72 games despite a tough-luck losing record. He also owns MLB's 7th-lowest HR/9 IP ratio since the start of 2022 (0.675).

RHP Pedro Avila (0-0, 9.00) gets the starting nod for Columbus in Wednesday's matinee. The game will be live on NESN+ and can be heard on NASH 98.9 FM and the rest of the WooSox Radio Network.

Check out the Worcester Red Sox Statistics

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Images from this story

Worcester Red Sox reliever Tommy Kahnle
Worcester Red Sox reliever Tommy Kahnle
(Ashley Green)		   



International League Stories from April 7, 2026


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