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IL Worcester Red Sox

WooSox Spark New Fourth of July Tradition

July 9, 2022 - International League (IL)
Worcester Red Sox News Release


On Monday night, the Worcester Red Sox hosted their first-ever home game on the Fourth of July, initiating a tradition. The WooSox saw a season-high attendance of 9,008 on Monday, and the crowd was rewarded with one of the most exhilarating games of the year, capped off by a go-ahead home run by Ronaldo Hernandez in the bottom of the eighth inning. After the game, the crowd enjoyed Patriotic UniBank Fireworks, which happened to be the only fireworks show in Worcester that evening. The WooSox hope that a trip to Polar Park on the Fourth of July for a ballgame and fireworks becomes a staple of the Commonwealth for Central Mass families for years to come.

When the Triple-A schedule is made, teams are given the choice of being home on July 3 or July 4. When the Sox were in Pawtucket, they always opted for July 3, followed by a fireworks show, citing that most fans already have Fourth of July plans. Worcester decided to become people's Fourth of July plans this year, as the game was the only major scheduled event in the city.

After a day off Tuesday, Worcester welcomed 8,891 more passionate fans to Polar Park, as it marked the first rehab start in Triple-A of the season for Boston Red Sox ace Chris Sale. It was also a "Give-A Wednesday," when fans received bobbleheads of Tate Matheny's iconic catch made the last time Sale pitched in Worcester. The bobblehead is the second of a two-piece set. The other, coincidentally, is Chris Sale celebrating the catch as he watched from the pitcher's mound. The two pieces fit together perfectly to fully commemorate the theft committed by Matheny.

Wednesday was the fourth rehab outing for the seven-time All-Star, as he started two games at the rookie ball level and one game for Double-A Portland. In those three starts, Sale tossed 7.2 innings allowing 2 runs with 14 strikeouts. Sale didn't have his best command on Wednesday, allowing three hits and walking five. With these struggles, Sale only allowed 1 run while striking out five over his 3.2 innings of work. The silver lining from the outing was that Sale looked like his old self in terms of "stuff," touching 97 mph with his fastball and showing great movement with his slider. This was Sale's lone appearance in Worcester as he continues to progress towards making his return to a major league mound. Sale is on track to make his 2022 debut on Tuesday in Tampa Bay against the division rival Rays.

Also on Wednesday, the Red Sox called up their top pitching prospect and Triple-A standout, Brayan Bello. Bello, 23, has dazzled in his limited time in Worcester, going 6-2 with a 2.81 ERA, while striking out 72 in only 51.1 innings of work. Bello joined a rare club, becoming just the 21st pitcher in Red Sox history to pitch for the big league club during or before their age 23 season. Among those on the list are Red Sox greats Jon Lester and Clay Bucholz. One of Bello's mind-boggling stats is that his strikeout percentage in Triple-A sits at 34% while his ground ball percentage sits at 64%. Bello shined in Double-A as well, posting a 1.60 ERA over 6 starts to begin his 2022 campaign. He punched out 42 over 33.2 innings for the Sea Dogs while holding his opponents to a .138 batting average. Bello had a bumpy debut, tossing 4 innings, allowing 4 runs and striking out 2. The good news for the right-hander is he is slated to stay up with the big-league club and make his second career start on Monday, also against the Tampa Bay Rays.

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