By Tiffany Williams –
WORCESTER, Mass. — Roman Anthony started it. The bottom of the Worcester lineup finished it. And by the time the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders could stop the damage, the Worcester Red Sox had turned Thursday night at Polar Park into a 7-1 rout.
The WooSox struck for three runs in the first inning, exploded for four more with two outs in the sixth and rode another strong start from Blake Wehunt to their second victory in the first three games of the six-game series against the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate.
Worcester improved to 29-24 in the second half and 65-59 overall. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre fell to 29-22 and 66-59.
For the third consecutive night, three rehabbing Boston Red Sox players occupied the first three spots in Worcester’s lineup.
This time, they wasted no time making an impact.
Anthony, leading off and playing left field, ripped a 100 mph single to left to open the bottom of the first. Isiah Kiner-Falefa followed with a single to left on the seventh pitch of his at-bat.
Trevor Story brought Anthony home with a sacrifice fly to right.
Then Worcester kept coming.
Nate Eaton hammered a 102.2 mph RBI double down the left-field line, scoring Kiner-Falefa from first and making it 2-0. Kristian Campbell followed immediately with a 100.1 mph RBI double to right, bringing Eaton home for a 3-0 lead.
Three runs. Four consecutive productive at-bats. And the RailRiders were chasing the game almost immediately.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre answered in the second when Max Schuemann doubled home J.C. Escarra, cutting Worcester’s lead to 3-1.
That was all the RailRiders would get.
Wehunt shut them down from there.
The 6-foot-7 right-hander worked five innings, allowing four hits and one run while striking out four. Wehunt improved to 2-1 and lowered his ERA to 3.34 through seven starts since being promoted from Portland a little more than a month ago.
Then Worcester’s bullpen slammed the door.
Osvaldo Berrios delivered two hitless, scoreless innings and escaped his biggest threat by striking out Anthony Volpe with the bases loaded to end the seventh.
Seth Martinez took over in the eighth and overwhelmed the RailRiders. He struck out the side while stranding two runners, then retired Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in order in the ninth with two more strikeouts.
But before the bullpen finished it, Worcester’s offense delivered the knockout.
The WooSox scored four times with two outs in the sixth.
Brett Harris walked. Vinny Capra singled.
Then came three straight run-producing hits.
Nathan Hickey dropped an RBI single into left to score Harris. Tsung-Che Cheng drove a two-run double over Marco Luciano’s head in left, bringing home Capra and Hickey and pushing Worcester’s advantage to 6-1.
Anthony supplied the exclamation point.
Facing a 2-1 count, Anthony ripped a 104.8 mph line drive off the Worcester Wall in right for an RBI double, scoring Cheng and making it 7-1.
Anthony finished 2-for-4 with a single, double, RBI and run scored in his first game leading off for Worcester.
Kiner-Falefa went 2-for-4 with a run scored and stolen base, while Story finished 1-for-3 with the first-inning sacrifice fly.
Together, Boston’s three rehabbers helped ignite the first-inning attack.
But Worcester’s lineup did not stop there.
Capra finished with two hits. Eaton and Campbell delivered back-to-back RBI doubles in the first. Hickey and Cheng helped break the game open in the sixth.
One night after the RailRiders beat Worcester 7-1, the WooSox returned the favor by the identical score.
The series continues Friday at 6:05 p.m. at Polar Park. Right-hander John Holobetz is scheduled to start for Worcester against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre right-hander Alexander Cornielle.
Friday will also feature African Heritage Night at Polar Park. Following the game, American Authors lead singer Zac Barnett is scheduled to perform a short on-field set before the season’s penultimate UniBank Fireworks show, set to Emo and Pop Punk music.