-By Darryl Harding Sr
Somehow it seems spring and fall have swapped places rendering overcast skies and 57° to begin this MiLB baseball contest. The Worcester Redsox welcome the Durham Bulls to this final game of the homestand series.
Woosox begin the day with right-hander Cooper Criswell commanding the stripe. With 31 strikeouts registered, Criswell begin the day with a 1.99 ERA, tossing a sinker averaging in the low nineties.
Criswell’s outing consisted of 33 pitches thrown, two thirds in the strike zone. Permitting only two hits, Criswell completed two scoreless innings before being relieved by RHP Brian Van Belle.
Van Belle played copy cat on the mound, gaining statistics similar to the Woosox starter. Also finishing two innings, Van Belle allowed only a one base knock, leaving the Bulls unsuccessful and unproductive.
Bulls starter southpaw Joe Rock kicked off the game and hurled through one out recorded in the sixth. Throwing 99 pitches, 67 in the zone, Rock manage to keep the Woosox scoreless in four of his five innings, all except for the second.
In the second Rock got rocked, giving up three consecutive singles and immediately loading the bases. An RBI sacrifice fly by Worcesters catcher Seby Zavala allow the Woosox to draw first blood.
Rock, pitching with a one run disadvantage, instantly walk the next Woosox batter, reloading the bags. Setting up perfectly, to catalog a crooked number on the scoreboard, DH Roman Anthony knocked a two RBI single, successfully bringing the two runners across the plate that were in scoring position.
These three runs would represent the totality of Woosox offensive production.
Bulls right handed reliever Sean Hunley would spell Rock and breezed through the final eight outs without allowing a run.
Fortunately for the Sox, the bullpen was effective, efficient and authoritative. With each pitcher recording two innings, Van Belle, RHP Alex Hoppe and RHP Bryan Mata commanded the hill.
Bulls registered a single run against Mata, with a RBI double from DH Bob Seymour. Woosox righty Nick Burdi came in and closed effortlessly and squashed any hopes of a Durham comeback.
“Knowing it’s gonna be a lot of two, two, two all the way, you’re going to use a lot of guys,” Woosox manager Chad Tracy commented on the bullpens’ expertise. “In a close game everyone is going to have to have it. If you have one guy that comes out and doesn’t have it, it could cost you the game.”
3-1, the final tally marked a victory for Worcester that finished the series at three games apiece. Woosox travel to Pennsylvania for the next series hosted by Scranton RailRiders.