-By Darryl Harding Sr
Seeming to skip over summer this May day presents us with overcast skies and fourty-five degrees for this MiLB contest. The Worcester Redsox host the Durham Bulls in the second game of this series.
After a demonstrative victory 8-2 in the first meeting Woosox look to continue their winning ways and even up their record at five hundred. Beginning the day on the rubber for the Sox is right hander Wyatt Mills.
Smoothly firing through two scoreless innings, Mills deliberately pitched with with purpose allowing only one single before being relieved by RHP Alex Hoppe. Mills threw nineteen pitches, fifteen for strikes.
As for the Bulls, righty Mason Englert was there starter, spinning through three innings permitting only two hits with two walks and three strikeouts. Leaving the Woosox with consecutive goose eggs, Englert was spelled by RHP Paul Gervase.
Hoppe ran into some issues relinquishing four hits and four walks, giving up a two run RBI to Bulls third baseman and former Woosox, Jamie Westbrook. Now 2-0 the Sox look to correct a deficit in a tight game.
Gervase registered a runless inning but the Woosox caught a break when he was replaced by RHP Sean Hunley. With poignant at bats, Woosox managed to chalk up three runs on a 1B Nathan Hickey RBI and C Yasmani Grandal single that scored two.
Responsible for the runners, Hunley was sub out for righty Joey Gerber, who gave up the single to Grandal. Woosox reliever lefty Brendan Cellucci shut out Bulls through two followed by RHP Jose Adames.
A Woosox lead of 3-2 was not sufficient and Adames let Durhams’ DH Brock Jones blast a 98 mph sinker 429 ft over the centerfield wall tying the game 3-3. Righty Bryan Mata pitched an inning not allowing the Bulls any extra runs.
It wasn’t long before Woosox regained the lead off of Bulls RHP Evan Reifert, in the eighth. CF Trayce Thompson taking a pitch yard over left center and providing a 4-3 Woosox advantage.
With only three outs needed to secure the victory Woosox hopes were thwarted when Westbrook, no atranger to Polar Park home runs, took Woosox replacement RHP Luis Guerrero yard.
With a score of 4-4 Bulls RHP Garrett Acton squelch any Woosox game ending heroics and we headed to extra innings. RHP Wyatt Olds took the mound for the Woosox and immediately walk the first batter he faced.
MiLB rule place a runner on second base to begin additional innings. Now with two men on base, Olds confronted Bulls SS Carson Williams to dismal results. Williams caught a cutter and obliterated Woosox hopes of tallying scoreless extra innings.
7-4 would prove to be enough for the Durham Bulls to snatch an extra innings victory. “Overall we pitched very well,” said Woosox club manager Chad Tracy, “just the seventh through the tenth we couldn’t keep the ball in the ballpark. Really good game, on both sides, just a tough way to lose it.”
With Thursday’s game already called because of rain, Woosox look to bounce back into action Friday, with a scheduled doubleheader at 4:05 pm.