By Tiffany Williams –
New England baseball belonged to the Worcester Red Sox on Sunday, but the New Hampshire Fisher Cats and Portland Sea Dogs made plenty of noise of their own as the Triple-A and Double-A races continued to tighten. Worcester completed a dominant 5-of-6 series victory in Norfolk behind another strong pitching performance and the speed of Braiden Ward. New Hampshire blanked Hartford behind six shutout innings from Jackson Wentworth, while Portland erupted for 12 runs to earn a split of its six-game series against Harrisburg before another sold-out crowd.
The Worcester Red Sox keep stacking wins.
The WooSox closed out an impressive week in Virginia by defeating the Norfolk Tides 4-1 Sunday afternoon at Harbor Park, winning their fifth straight game and taking five of six from the Baltimore Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate.
Worcester improved to 56-47 overall and 20-12 in the second half while moving nine games over .500 for the first time since Sept. 21, 2024.
The WooSox have now scored first in 10 consecutive games.
Unlike the first five games of the series, Worcester waited until the third inning to strike first.
Braiden Ward was hit by a pitch, stole second base and later scored when Mikey Romero lined a two-out RBI single to left-center field.
Norfolk answered in the bottom half of the inning when Fernando Peguero delivered an RBI single to even the score.
The tie did not last.
Worcester regained control in the fifth inning.
Braiden Ward delivered another key hit, driving home Vinny Capra and Tsung-Che Cheng with a single. Cheng later crossed the plate on an error as the WooSox extended the lead to 4-1.
Ward continued adding to one of the best base-stealing seasons in professional baseball.
After stealing three more bases Sunday, Ward finished the series with seven stolen bases and now owns 50 steals this season, the most in the International League. He also became the sixth player in Minor League Baseball this season to reach the 50-steal mark.
Raymond Burgos continued his recent turnaround on the mound.
The left-hander earned his third victory after allowing one run over five innings. Over his last three starts, Burgos has surrendered only three earned runs across 14.2 innings.
Eduardo Rivera, Seth Martinez and Tyler Uberstine finished the job out of the bullpen, combining to retire 12 of the final 14 Norfolk batters.
After an off day Monday, Worcester returns home Tuesday night to begin a six-game series against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs at Polar Park.
In Hartford, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats snapped the Yard Goats’ momentum with a complete performance.
Jackson Wentworth turned in his third quality start of the season, firing six shutout innings as New Hampshire defeated Hartford 6-0 at Dunkin’ Park.
It marked the third consecutive outstanding outing by a Fisher Cats starting pitcher following Austin Cates’ 10-strikeout performance Friday and Danny Thompson Jr.’s quality start Saturday.
Wentworth earned his fifth victory of the season while recording his second scoreless six-inning start of the year.
For the first time this season, New Hampshire starters produced back-to-back quality starts.
Relievers TJ Brock, Aaron Munson and Yondrei Rojas handled the final three innings to complete the shutout.
Aaron Munson also extended his scoreless streak to six consecutive appearances.
Victor Arias powered the offense.
The center fielder finished 2-for-4 while driving in four of New Hampshire’s six runs.
After delivering an RBI single in the opening inning, Arias broke the game open in the third.
Following a Mathieu Vallee double and Carter Cunningham reaching on a dropped third strike, Arias crushed a three-run home run over the right-field fence and completely out of Dunkin’ Park for a 4-0 advantage.
The Fisher Cats added two more runs in the eighth inning.
Arjun Nimmala singled before Arias drew a walk, setting up Dub Gleed, who ripped a two-run double to stretch the lead to 6-0.
Mathieu Vallee recorded his first three-hit game at the Double-A level, while Dub Gleed added two RBIs during another productive week.
New Hampshire returns home Tuesday to begin a six-game series against the Portland Sea Dogs.
Portland heads into that matchup carrying plenty of momentum.
The Sea Dogs rolled past the Harrisburg Senators 12-2 Sunday afternoon before their 16th sellout crowd of the season, earning a split of the six-game series.
Every Portland starter reached base safely.
Seven players collected hits.
The Sea Dogs finished 5-for-11 with runners in scoring position, stole four bases and stranded only four runners.
Ronald Rosario continued his outstanding week by going 2-for-5 with a home run, his 11th of the season, while scoring twice and driving in three runs.
Tyler McDonough also posted his third multi-hit game of the week, finishing 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
Yoeilin Cespedes made an immediate impact in his Double-A debut with a two-run single.
Gage Ziehl delivered six strong innings on the mound.
The right-hander allowed one run while striking out eight to improve to 6-3.
Neither team scored until the fourth inning.
Portland erupted with four two-out runs after Ronald Rosario singled and three consecutive walks loaded the bases.
Max Ferguson forced in the first run with a walk before Matt Fraizer cleared the bases with a three-run double off the Maine Monster beyond the left-field wall.
Harrisburg cut the deficit to 4-1 in the sixth, but Portland answered with its biggest inning of the season.
The Sea Dogs exploded for eight runs in the bottom of the sixth.
Eight consecutive batters reached base before Ronald Rosario capped the rally with a three-run home run.
Branden Boissiere added a solo home run for Harrisburg in the eighth, but the outcome had long been decided.
Portland now heads to Manchester for its final regular-season series against New Hampshire looking to build on Sunday’s offensive explosion.
Three teams.
Three convincing performances.
And as August begins, New England’s minor league baseball clubs continue providing meaningful baseball with playoff races, individual milestones and hot streaks all unfolding at the same time.