Worcester, MA – The Worcester Red Sox rode a pair of grand slam homeruns to a doubleheader sweep of the Rochester Red Wings on Wednesday at Polar Park. The WooSox won the opener, 5-4 thanks to a Tyler McDonough grand slam and then rolled to a 10-2 victory in the nightcap keyed by a grand slam from Brett Harris. The WooSox have won 7 of their last 9 games and evened their second half record at 7-7 while going back over the .500 mark overall on the season at 43-42.
The old adage “a grand slam beats three solo homeruns” rang true in game one when McDonough’s 2-out, grand slam in the bottom of the 6th (and next to last) inning overcame a 4-1 deficit (largely on the strength of three solo Rochester homers) giving Worcester a dramatic, 5-4 come-from-behind victory.
Worcester trailed, 4-1 entering the 6th inning of a scheduled 7-inning opener of a doubleheader (from Tuesday’s rainout) when they put together their winning rally. Jason Delay & Allan Castro singled and Kristian Campbell walked to load the bases when McDonough stepped up with 2 outs. The 5’9”, 170 lbs. switch-hitter, batting from the left side, blasted his game winning slam that landed near the Mistah Wistah bobblehead high atop the Worcester Wall.
For McDonough, who was promoted from Double-A Portland on June 4, it was his 6th homer in 22 games with Worcester, and for the WooSox it was their 4th grand slam of the year (and their first since April 12). It would not be their last of the night, however.
Hayden Mullins, a 25-year-old lefty, made his Triple-A debut as the WooSox starter in Game 1. Mullins, who was 3-1 with a 5.85 ERA in 12 games (11 starts) for the Sea Dogs, went 3 innings allowing 4 hits and 1 run on a HR by Rochester DH Yohandy Morales, who blasted two solo HR in the game (#’s 19 & 20). Mullins walked 4 and struck out 3.
The win went to Devin Sweet (2-4) while Wyatt Olds continued his tremendous stretch by recording the last out for his 3rd save. Olds has now given up just 1 earned run in his last 16 innings covering 15 relief appearances. CF Braiden Ward had 2 hits, 1 RBI and 2 stolen bases adding to his league-leading total of 38 SB on the season while Allan Castro also had 2 hits, scored a run and stole a base.
The nightcap began with a bang thanks to newcomer Brett Harris who was acquired from the Athletics on July 1 and was appearing in his first games at Polar Park on Wednesday. With Vinny Capra (single), Mickey Gasper (walk), and Kristian Campbell (single) aboard, Harris drilled Worcester’s second grand slam in as many innings staking the Sox to a 4-0 lead after one inning. Harris, who plays all infield positions, was hitting .336 with 5 HR & 37 RBI in 37 games for Triple-A Las Vegas at the time of his trade to the Red Sox.
The WooSox put the game away by batting around in the 3rd inning scoring 5 times to make it 9-1. Gasper began the frame with a long HR (#8) off the CF batter’s eye (428 feet), Max Ferguson had an RBI single, Ward walked with the bases loaded, and Capra (2 hits) capped the uprising with a 2-run single. Ferguson, who had 2 hits in game two, would add a solo HR (#3) in the 5th inning. Campbell was 2-for-3 with a walk, stolen base, and two runs scored.
The Sox used four pitchers in the 7-inning game getting two solid innings each from Seth Martinez, winner Angel Bastardo (4-1), and Eduardo Rivera (2 perfect innings with 3 SO), before Sam McWilliams made his Polar Park debut with a 1-2-3, 7th inning with two punchouts.
The WooSox, who have now swept each of their three doubleheaders this season, and Red Wings will play game three of their 6-game set on Thursday at 6:45 pm.
It will be another Deuces Wild at Polar Park when, during every Thursday Summer evening home game, fans can purchase $2 Hot Dogs (Coney Island and Hebrew Nationals), $2 12-ounce drafts of Coors Light and Masshole Light Lager, and $2 bottles of Polar water (the beverage deals run for seven days). It will also be a Meet & Greet with former Red Sox great Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd in the Sherwood’s Diner during the game, and a Fitchburg Town Takeover.
The game will be televised live on NESN and air on NASH 98.9 FM and the rest of the WooSox Radio Network.