Whitlock Dominant, Winckowski Goes 2.1 in 1-0 Loss to SWB

WORCESTER, M.A. — The Worcester Red Sox (19-22) were shut out for the third time this season in a 1-0 loss to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (28-12) on Wednesday afternoon at Polar Park.

Garrett Whitlock was superb in his rehab start for the WooSox, posting the following line: 4.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K on 61 pitches (40 strikes, a 66% strike rate).

Whitlock averaged 93 miles-per-hour on his sinker, reaching 94.8, and recorded 12 total swing-and-misses, six of which came on his sweeper. The right-hander retired the first seven batters he faced, and after allowing a double to Kevin Smith in the third, set down seven of the final nine.

Josh Winckowski was next out of the bullpen, making his first appearance at Triple-A since being optioned three days ago. He inherited one runner in the fifth and walked the first batter he faced, then induced a flyout to escape the jam.

After a runless sixth, SWB pushed across a run off Winckowski on a 336-foot fly ball double off the wall in right from Kevin Smith and an 86 mile-per-hour single through the right side by Brandon Lockridge. After a strikeout of Caleb Durbin closed the seventh, Winckowski ended his afternoon allowing the one earned run on three hits and one walk, striking out two.

After Winckowski, Luis Guerrero and Ryan Zeferjahn tossed runless eighths and ninths, respectively.

Offensively, the WooSox put runners in scoring position in the first, second, fifth and ninth, but went 0-for-11 in those spots. They managed three total hits, singles from Jamie Westbrook, Niko Kavadas and Pablo Reyes. With the single, Kavadas extends his on-base streak to 21 games.

The WooSox continue the six-game series on Thursday at 6:05 p.m. against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, affiliate of the New York Yankees. On the mound, Naoyuki Uwasawa (2-1, 5.21) faces Edgar Barclay (3-2, 4.86). Television coverage is on NESN+, while radio coverage begins at 5:45 p.m. on 98.9 Nash Icon and the WooSox Radio Network.