-By Darryl Harding Sr
Another bright beautiful day for MiLB baseball as the Worcester Red Sox host the Scranton RailRiders in this match of the shortened homestand. In a tribute to ASL (American Sign Language) Worcester sports ASL uniforms with Woosox spelled out on the jerseys in sign language.
Donning the mound for the Sox is right handed slinger Cooper Criswell who entered the game with fifty nine strikeouts overall and four wins. Criswell’s outing was marred almost immediately when the second RailRiders to the plate put the Woosox at a 1-0 deficit.
RailRiders DH Jose Rojas caught a first pitch sinker and sent it over right center. Woosox woes continued as Scranton managed to score in seven out of nine innings, while the Woosox bats seemed dormant and unable to string any hits together.
Criswell completed 4.2 innings throwing eighty-five pitches but unfortunately was responsible for six earned runs. Woosox were scoreless beginning the seventh inning with only one hit recorded.
On the other hand the RailRiders continued their offensive prowess. RHP Bryan Mata relieved Criswell for 1.1 innings and was the only Woosox pitcher to get off the mound without an earned run.
RailRiders chalked up two more in the seventh inning off of Woosox right handed reliever Austin Adams. Now 8-0 in the bottom of the seventh, Worcester finally struck back.
Woosox RF Trayce Thompson blasted a two run homer on a line, making the score 8-2. Holding Scranton to a rare goose egg in the eighth inning, Woosox rallied another run.
Although scoring only one in the eighth and a spectacular catch by RailRiders RF Everson Pereira kept the Woosox at bay. Woosox Defensive Coach Iggy Suarez reflected on Pereira catch, “[if] that ball falls… that momentum swings a little bit, the scores a little bit closer and changes… the dynamic of how the game goes.”
Standing in for Chad Tracy, who’s on vacation, Woosox fans hoped for Suarez to get his first win at the helm. The 8-3 Scranton lead ballooned to 11-3 when RailRider 1B T.J. Rumfield hit a three run homer off of Worcester RHP Wyatt Olds.
11-3 the final Woosox look to bounce back Saturday at 405pm giving Coach Suarez another chance to get his first win as skipper.