8.29 vs. SWB

Trevor Story doubled to the left-centerfield wall in the 3<sup>rd</sup> inning and lined out to the warning track in the 5<sup>th</sup> inning during Worcester’s 9-1 loss to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Saturday at Polar Park.Ashley Green

Worcester, MA – The Worcester Red Sox late-season struggles continued on Saturday when they fell to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, 9-1 in front of another sell-out crowd of 9,310 enjoying an otherwise perfect day at Polar Park. The WooSox (29-26, 65-61) are 5-13 since August 9 after going 15-2 between July 22 – August 8.

The RailRiders lead the 6-game series between the Red Sox and Yankee Triple-A affiliates, 3 games to 2 with the finale tomorrow (Sunday) at 1:05 pm to conclude Worcester’s penultimate homestand of the season.

For the fourth time in the five games of the series, the top three batters in the WooSox lineup were the acclaimed rehab trio of Roman Anthony, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and Trevor Story. Anthony (0-for-2 with a walk) led-off and played leftfield for 6-innings, Kiner-Falefa (2-for-4 with a run scored) batted second and played second for 8-innings, and Story (1-for-3 with a double) hit third as the shortstop for 6-innings.

Worcester scored their only run of the game in the 1^st inning (easily their best inning all season). Kiner-Falefa ripped a one-out single and 3B Mikey Romero brought him home with a 2-out RBI single. From that point, six different Scranton/WB pitchers held the WooSox scoreless on just three more hits.

The RailRiders responded quickly and took a 2-1 lead in the 2^nd inning on a 2-run HR by catcher J.C. Escarra.

WooSox spot starter Michael Sansone, up from Double-A Portland earlier in the day for the 7^th different time this season, did a fine job until there were two outs in the 5^th inning. Needing just that final out to finish a solid outing, Sansone yielded an RBI double to Jason Dominguez (2 hits, 2 RBI) and then a 3-run HR to Marco Luciano (3 hits, 3 RBI) that made it 6-1 Scranton/WB. Sansone’s final line – 5 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO as he fell to 2-5 with the WooSox.

The RailRiders tacked on single runs in the 7^th, 8^th, and 9^th innings to make the final, 9-1. WooSox catcher/first baseman Nathan Hickey did make his 13^th relief appearance of the season and struck out RailRiders DH Dominguez.

Sunday’s series and homestand finale at 1:05 pm at Polar Park will feature WooSox righty Jedixson Paez (0-1, 2.92) vs. Scranton/WB lefty Kyle Carr (0-1, 4.30). The game is live on NESN+ and can be heard on NASH 98.9 FM and the rest of the WooSox Radio Network.

It will be a fun day for kids at the ballpark as Bluey & Bingo from the popular children’s show “Bluey” will be at Polar Park to greet fans, and after the game, kids (and fans of all ages) can Run the Bases.