The Tide Turns On Worcester Red Sox While The Yard Goats And Sea Dogs Both Get Wins

By Stephen Ur III

The Worcester Red Sox, Portland Sea Dogs and Hartford Yard Goats were all in action Sunday. The WooSox played their final game before the All-Star Break in Norfolk, VA against the Norfolk Tide. Portland was in New Jersey taking on the Somerset Patriots. The Yard Goats hosted the Harrisburg Senators.

The Red Sox dropped their final game of the first half of the season in a 1-0 low-scoring affair. The only run came from a single from Jacob Nottingham in the bottom of the sixth inning. Both teams recorded six hits each, but struck out 14 times in 32 at-bats. They also went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position. 

Meanwhile, the Seadogs and Patriots scored seven runs in the first inning alone. Somerset scored two in the top half of the inning when Jession Rosario hit a two-run home run. Christian Koss hit a three-run home run for the Seadogs in the bottom of the first to give Portland a 3-2 lead. Alex Bilenas hit a two-run home run to make the score 5-2 after the first inning. The Sea Dogs added four more runs in the bottom of the second inning, extending their lead to 9-2. After scoreless innings in the third and fourth, the Patriots scored four runs in the top of the fifth to narrow the lead to 9-6. The two teams went back and forth the rest of the way, and a three-run homer from Chad Bell gave Somerset a 11-9 lead headed into the bottom of the ninth. A double from Kole Cottam allowed the game-tying and game-winning runs to score, and the Sea Dogs came out with a 12-11 win. 

The Yard Goats and Senators played two scoreless innings before a double from Hunter Stovall allowed Isaac Collins to score the game’s first run in the bottom of the third inning. Harrisburg tied the game in the sixth and took the lead in the top of the seventh when Gilbert Lara hit his fifth home run of the season. Hartford took over the game in the bottom half of the inning, scoring six runs in the bottom of the seventh. A grand slam from Michael Togila, his 17th home run of the season, gave Hartford a 7-3 lead. That would ultimately prove to be the final score as Stephen Jones struck out the side in the top of the ninth, coming in to relieve Gavin Hollowell.