Photo Credit: Tiffany Williams
By Darryl Harding Sr-
Fluffy white clouds fill the sky on a beautiful afternoon for MiLB baseball. Worcester Redsox host the final game of their homestand, before the All-Star break, facing the Rochester Red Wings, AAA-affiliate of the Washington Nationals.
Hurling from the hill for the Woosox is RHP Brad Keller, who begins his 20th start with 44 strikeouts this season. Throwing four seam fastballs between 92-95 mph, Keller breezed through four innings allowing no hits and leaving the Red Wings scoreless.
Left handed starter DJ Herz begins the contest for Rochester, his ERA at 3.75 after 36 innings pitched. Quickly retiring three batters in the 1st, Herz reluctantly brought the Woosox bats to life in the 2nd.
RF Bobby Dalbec put the barrel on an 80 mph changeup for his 9th double of the year. A walk to 1B Mickey “Mustache” Gasper following a pass ball that advanced Dalbec to 3rd, set up runners at the corners as DH Matthew Lugo (batting .268) stepped to the plate.
A 92 mph fastball from Herz was sent to left field scoring Dalbec and Gasper from first base. Keller had 4 Ks, throwing 34 strikes out of 54 total pitches, He was nearly perfect, minus two permitted walks.
Herz was replaced, after one out in the 4th, by left hander Garvin Alston. Although successfully meandering through the 4th, Alston issued two walks and a single to 3B Nick Sogard loading up the bases in the 5th.
Cashing in, 2B Enmanuel Valdez grounded into a force out but manage to grab the RBI, scoring CF Mark Contreras. SS Chase Meidroth also crossed the plate off of a Gasper single, increasing the Woosox lead to 4-0.
The Red Wings got their first hit in the 6th inning after RHP Bryan Mata flung a scoreless 5th and RHP Luis Guerrero, although giving up the single to C Drew Millas, thwarted Rochester posting a goose egg in the 6th and 7th. Ty Tice, right handed reliever, took the mound in the 7th for the Red Wings and made quick work of the Sox, immediately striking out Sogard and Valdez. A Dalbec single left him stranded when Gasper grounded out.
Desperately trying to spark some offense, the Red Wings ineffectively came to the plate against RHP Trey Wingenter, who came in relief in the 8th. Wingenter’s 96 mph four seamer took down Rochester batters in order.
Tice’s prosperity from the rubber waned in the 8th inning when LF Eddy Alvarez took a 95 mph fastball and planted 406 ft., out of the park. Now 5-0, Woosox brought in RHP Ryan Zeferjahn, who finished the game with a fastball reaching nearly 101 mph.
With one more hit granted, but no scoring Woosox mustered a two hit shutout. “The guys threw the ball well, they attacked the zone constantly,” remarked bench coach Jose Flores, “when you do that as a pitcher, you have a really good chance of getting batters out and that’s exactly what we did today.”
Creeping ever closer, Woosox are only 3.5 games out of first place. After the All-star break Worcesters’ club travels to PA to battle the Ironpigs.
Flores projected further Woosox achievements, “hopefully we’ll come back… keep it going and catch a rhythm to finish the season strong.”