Worcester, MA – The Rochester Red Wings won for the fourth straight night at Polar Park, defeating the Worcester Red Sox, 12-1 in front of 6,790 fans on Friday evening. The loss, Worcester’s 9th in their last 11 games, sent the WooSox below .500 (at 23-24) for the first time since they were 1-2 on March 29. The 1st-place Red Wings (29-20) came up winners for the 15th time in their last 18 games dating back to May 2.
Rochester left little doubt in this one as they came out of the gate swinging scoring 5 times in the top of the 1st. Christian Franklin started things with a double and scored on a one out double by Yohandy Morales (3 hits, 3 runs scored). Brady House followed with an RBI single to make it 2-0. 1B Abimelec Ortiz was next and he crushed a 2-run HR that broke a television in the Harpoon Tavern above the Worcester Wall in rightfield. Andrew Pinckney went back-to-back with a solo HR over the berm in leftfield to cap the 5-run first off starter and loser Jack Anderson (0-2).
Ortiz would put the game out of reach with his second homer of the game (#6 on the season), a 3-run blast in the 6th-inning off reliever Seth Martinez to make it 9-1 Red Wings. Ortiz had 5 RBI on the night while House paced the 16-hit Rochester attack going 4-for-6 with 3 RBI.
1B Matt Lloyd had two singles and RF Braiden Ward had the other WooSox hit – an RBI single in the 5th inning to plate the only Sox run of the game. Other bright spots for the WooSox were the relief work of Wyatt Olds (4 strikeouts in 1.1 scoreless innings) and a scoreless 8th inning from Tommy Kahnle to extend his shutout streak to 11 innings over his last 11 relief appearances.
Down in the series, 4 games to none, the WooSox will look to get back on the winning track and return to the .500 mark in game five on Saturday at 4:05 pm at Polar Park. Starters for the game have yet to be announced. The game will be live on NESN+ and on NASH 98.9 FM.
Before the game, fans with a ticket are invited to attend the latest edition of the Larry Lucchino Writers Series in the DCU Club from 12:30 – 2:00 pm. The featured special guest speaker will be Ron Shelton, the famous film director and screenwriter of legendary films like Bull Durham, based in part on his playing career as a Minor League infielder in the Baltimore Orioles system (including 1970 & ’71 with the Rochester Red Wings), Cobb, Tin Cup, and White Men Can’t Jump among others. It will also be Breast Cancer Awareness Day; Bark in the Park, presented by Veterinary Urgent Care Center of Worcester; a Sunset Catch on the Field for all fans post-game; and a Scout Sleepover, presented by Convenient MD for those adventurous youngsters and their equally enthusiastic (?) parents.