Rochester Hands Worcester Back-To-Back Losses At Polar Park

By Laura Soukkavong –

WORCESTER — The Worcester Red Sox opened their six-game homestand against the Rochester Red Wings with back-to-back tough losses at Polar Park, falling 7-6 Tuesday night before dropping a 7-2 extra-inning decision Wednesday as Rochester continued one of the hottest stretches in the International League.

The WooSox entered the series leading the International League East division, but Rochester’s pair of victories pushed Worcester further back in the standings while extending the Red Wings’ surge to 13 wins in their last 16 games.

Tuesday’s opener featured missed opportunities throughout the night for Worcester, which stranded 11 runners on base and left the tying and go-ahead runs aboard in both the eighth and ninth innings.

After a 1 hour and 1 minute rain delay before first pitch, Worcester jumped ahead quickly in the first inning when Nate Eaton doubled off the right-center field wall and later scored on an RBI single from Anthony Seigler.

Left-hander Raymond Burgos, making his second start since signing with the organization out of the Mexican League earlier in May, retired the first seven batters he faced before Rochester tied the game in the third inning on a controversial solo home run from Trey Lipscomb. The ball appeared to strike the top of the Rob Levine Law billboard in left-center field before remaining in play, but umpires ruled it a home run after a conference.

Worcester answered immediately in the bottom half of the inning when Tsung-Che Cheng and Mikey Romero delivered back-to-back doubles to restore a 2-1 lead.

The game swung repeatedly over the middle innings. Rochester pushed ahead 3-2 in the fourth inning after collecting four hits, including two infield singles, while Seaver King recorded a two-out RBI single in his Red Wings debut. Worcester tied the game again in the bottom of the inning on Cheng’s RBI fielder’s choice before Rochester broke through in the fifth.

Yohandy Morales and Robert Hassell III delivered RBI hits during a three-run inning that chased Burgos from the game and gave Rochester a 6-3 lead. Burgos allowed six runs on seven hits over four-plus innings while striking out six.

The WooSox bullpen stabilized the game from there. Noah Song struck out three over two scoreless innings before Boston Red Sox reliever Danny Coulombe made a rehab appearance in the seventh inning. Coulombe allowed a solo home run to Morales before Seth Martinez closed the night with 2.1 scoreless innings.

Worcester mounted its biggest rally in the seventh inning when Seigler lined a two-run single and Vinny Capra added a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 7-6.

The game’s defining moment came in the eighth inning. Cheng walked and Eaton collected his third hit of the night to put two runners aboard for Kristian Campbell. Campbell drilled a 105 MPH line drive to left field that appeared destined to fall for extra bases before Rochester left fielder Christian Franklin sprawled across the grass to make a diving catch and preserve the lead.

Worcester threatened again in the ninth inning after Capra and Allan Castro singled, but Rochester escaped to secure the one-run victory.

Wednesday night brought another strong pitching performance for Worcester, this time from left-hander Jake Bennett, but the WooSox again came away empty after Rochester erupted in the 11th inning.

Bennett delivered one of the best outings of the WooSox season, striking out 11 batters over five innings while allowing just one run and no walks. His 11 strikeouts tied the WooSox franchise record for strikeouts in a game.

The only damage against Bennett came in the second inning when Rochester center fielder Andrew Pinckney launched a 448-foot solo home run off the batter’s eye in center field.

Worcester tied the game in the fifth inning when Matt Lloyd crushed a 430-foot solo homer to right-center field.

Rochester regained the lead in the sixth inning against Kyle Keller after Seaver King tripled and later scored on a sacrifice fly from Lipscomb. The WooSox bullpen again kept Worcester within striking distance as Eduardo Rivera, Tayron Guerrero and Tommy Kahnle combined to hold Rochester scoreless through the 10th inning.

Guerrero continued his dominant season by striking out three batters over two innings, including a 102.5 MPH fastball to retire Phillip Glasser in the eighth inning.

Worcester finally tied the game in the ninth inning when Vinny Capra reached on an infield single, Tsung-Che Cheng advanced to third on a Mikey Romero single, and Nate Eaton brought Cheng home with a groundout.

The WooSox left the winning run stranded in the 10th inning before Rochester exploded in the 11th. The Red Wings scored five times in the frame, highlighted by a three-run home run from Abimelec Ortiz, who had struck out four times earlier in the game.

Worcester pitchers combined for 19 strikeouts Wednesday night, setting a new season high for the club, but Rochester’s late offensive outburst sealed the extra-inning win.