By Tiffany Williams –
The WooSox gave fans a little bit of everything on Sunday at Polar Park — late-inning fireworks in Game 1, and a frustrating shutout in Game 2 — as they split their doubleheader with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.
After a rain delay of just over an hour, Worcester clawed back from a 3-0 hole in the opener and walked it off in extra innings, 6-5, thanks to Seby Zavala’s clutch two-run single with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the eighth. The RailRiders returned the favor in the nightcap, blanking the WooSox 5-0 to take the series, 4-2.
Game 1 turned into a slugfest. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre built an early lead on Spencer Jones’ RBI knock and Duke Ellis’ two-run shot, but Nathan Hickey answered in style. The Worcester DH hammered homers in back-to-back innings — a solo blast in the second and a two-run missile in the third — to give the WooSox a 4-3 edge. Hickey’s bat has been scorching of late, with seven RBIs in his last four games.
The RailRiders evened things at 4-4 on Jeimer Candelario’s solo shot, then pushed ahead in the eighth. But Worcester’s final rally was vintage Polar Park chaos. Birthday boy Corey Rosier got plunked to load the bases, and Zavala sent the home crowd into delirium with his game-winning rope to left.
The nightcap never offered the same drama. Spot starter Isaac Coffey, pressed into duty after Connelly Early was scratched in case Boston comes calling, gave up four runs in the first two innings. That was all Scranton/Wilkes-Barre needed. Andrew Velazquez’s two-run homer and Jones’ RBI double fueled the early burst, and Worcester never recovered. The WooSox managed just four singles — two apiece from Kristian Campbell and Abraham Toro — in the loss.
The split was enough to keep Worcester (69-68) above .500, avoiding their first dip below the mark since July 20, but the RailRiders (80-54) flexed their first-place muscle, leaving town with four wins.
Now comes the final road trip of the year, a six-game set in Syracuse beginning Tuesday night. RHP Jose De Leon (0-7, 7.46 ERA) takes the ball for Worcester, still hunting for his first win of the season, while the Mets have yet to name a starter. The WooSox will then close the curtain at Polar Park with a Fan Appreciation Week series against Rochester from Sept. 16-21.