By Tiffany Williams –
The Worcester Red Sox and Durham Bulls will play game five of their six-game series tonight at 6:35 p.m. at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The series is tied at two games apiece, with total runs also deadlocked at 14-14. Worcester won the first two games by 5-2 and 5-3 before Durham ended its eight-game losing streak with back-to-back wins, 4-1 and 5-3, to even the series.
Worcester (25-30, 66-63 overall) will send right-hander Tyler Uberstine (3-3, 3.73 ERA) to the mound against Durham’s Forrest Whitely (3-2, 1.82 ERA). The WooSox are 14-12 in August and need just one more win to secure a winning month. The team has outscored opponents 127-121 this month while hitters have batted .254 with 28 home runs and pitchers have posted a 4.30 ERA with 25 homers allowed.
Infielder Kristian Campbell’s six-game hitting streak was snapped Thursday, though he remains productive overall, batting .311 over his last 35 games with six home runs and 20 RBIs. Mikey Romero has hit in eight straight games (.313, 10-for-32), while Nathan Hickey has reached base safely in six of his last eight contests. Catcher Seby Zavala has been a consistent contributor, hitting .280 with three home runs and 17 walks in his last 17 games.
On the pitching side, relievers Bryan Mata and Chris Murphy have been reliable. Mata has allowed just three earned runs over 18.1 innings across his last 12 appearances, striking out 20, while Murphy has thrown nine scoreless innings in five outings since his option from Boston on August 13.
Tonight also carries historical significance for WooSox manager Chad Tracy, who is one win shy of 300 victories with Worcester. Tracy, 40, has posted winning seasons in each of his first three years as manager and currently holds a 66-63 record this season. A win tonight would make him the fifth manager in modern Red Sox Triple-A history to reach the 300-win mark, joining the likes of Joe Morgan, Buddy Bailey, Ron Johnson, and Kevin Boles.
With the series tied and momentum swinging back and forth, tonight’s matchup promises to be a pivotal clash in the final stretch of the WooSox season.