Ballou on Baseball - June 22, 2026

WORCESTER - No matter what colors of paint baseball executives use to create a portrait of “run prevention” as the way to win, the picture does not look good.

Ubiquitous observer Rob Bradford has his “Baseball Isn’t Boring” campaign, but the run prevention side of the game sure is. The NBA created the 24-second clock to abolish basket prevention. The occasional 10-7 NFL game might be good as a touch of nostalgia, especially if the field goal is a dropkick, but a steady diet of that kind of outcome would have fans tuning into the Grit Network on Sunday afternoons.

The WooSox commence the second half of the 2026 season on the way to transitioning from run prevention to run production, it seems, and it is about time. Their 12-3 victory in Lehigh Valley Sunday marked the end of a 35-game streak between games in which they scored in double figures.

That was the second-longest such streak in team history. The WooSox went 47 similar games from July 9 to Sept. 1 of 2021.

Worcester’s first-half offensive performance bottomed out on June 3 in a 12-0 loss at Buffalo. The WooSox had three hits. Their team batting average dropped to .239.

Since then they are 140 for 514, a nice .272 clip. Much more fun to watch, or even listen to on the radio.

Some of the resurgence might be weather related. Some of it might be the result of something that Chad Tracy observed before being promoted to Boston, that as the season progresses the best Triple-A pitchers find their way to the major leagues.

It does not matter. For whatever reason, lately the opposition has not done a good job of preventing runs when the WooSox are up. That makes the summer worth looking forward to even more.

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TRIPLE-A TRIVIA

1. What pitcher holds the WooSox record for hitting the most batters in a season?

2. Which WooSox team holds the franchise record for the longest streak allowing the exact same number of runs?

Answers below.

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Worcester’s first opponent of official summer is Toledo at Polar. The Mud Hens have dominated the series through the years and are 19-11 versus the WooSox all-time. That includes an 11-7 mark at Polar Park where the next six games are scheduled to be played. Toledo went 34-40 in the season’s first half. The summer schedule is in effect at Polar Park with the weekday night games having a 6:45 start. … Nathan Hickey’s next home run will move him into sole possession of second place on the WooSox’ all-time list with 35. He and Ronaldo Hernandez both have 34. Bobby Dalbec is the leader with 58. Hickey is already the team leader in homers by a left handed batter with those 34. He is also the franchise leader in home runs hit with somebody on base, 19. Dalbec hit just 16 with somebody on base, Hernandez 18.

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CATCHING UP WITH…

Catcher Seby Zavala, who batted .165 but had eight home runs for the WooSox last season, started 2026 with Oklahoma City of the PCL but is now with Jalisco in the Mexican League.

Abraham Toro is playing for the Royals’ Triple-A team in Omaha after being in the World Baseball Classic with his native Canada. Toro is hitting .244 with 8 home runs and 35 RBIs for the Storm Chasers and hit for the cycle this past Sunday in Omaha’s, 15-12 win at St Paul.

Big righty reliever Sal Romano is in his second season with the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League. The Connecticut native is 1-0 with a 4.61 ERA.

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TRIVIA ANSWERS

1. Right-hander Seth Blair hit 12 batters in just 23 2/3 innings in 2021. Blair pitched in 17 games and had a 3-1 record with a 3.80 earned run average.

2. The 2024 Worcester Red Sox gave up nine runs in four straight games from May 24 through May 28 during a homestand versus Norfolk and Charlotte. The WooSox lost 9-5, 9-5, 9-8 and 9-4.

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Wyatt Olds has authored a remarkable turnaround to his WooSox career. Olds has lowered his earned run average in each of his last 10 appearances, all in relief. He was charged with four earned runs and took the loss in one inning of work on May 20 in a 7-2 decision versus Rochester. Olds has surrendered one unearned run, no earned runs, since them. Through May 20 his career line here included being charged with76 earned runs in 99 innings for a 6.98 ERA. … Tyler McDonough has provided a charge to the Worcester offense since his recall from Portland. He has nine career home runs, tied with Yolmer Sanchez for third all-time among WooSox switch hitters. Only one of those home runs has come at Polar Park, though, and none against southpaw pitching.

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Sunday marked merely the 11th time ever Worcester has hit more than one triple in the same game. Too bad manager Iggy Suarez can’t give a triple sign, like a bunt sign. The WooSox are 9-2 in those games. Before Sunday, which was June 21, the last time Worcester had done that was June 22, 2025. Both triples at Lehigh Valley were hit by catchers, Jason Delay and Matt Thaiss, although Thaiss was the DH that day. That had never happened before in a WooSox game. … Braiden Ward continues what seems like an inevitable shattering of David Eckstein’s Sox Triple-A record for most HBP in a season, 20. Ward is up to 16. The rest of the roster has combined for 19. … What would Cy Young say about this, or even Luis Tiant? Through 71 games WooSox starters have a 9-18 record and none of them have gone longer than six innings. Many of those losses were in games the starter never had a chance to get a win because he did not go five innings. The rule about wins are awarded needs to be changed. … Regarding starting pitching, the 88 pitches Brayan Bello threw at Lehigh Valley Friday night are the most by a WooSox pitcher this season. Bello is 6-4 with a nice 3.36 ERA at Worcester through the years. His best performance in a WooSox uniform was on June 21, 2022 when he threw seven shutout innings in a 5-0 victory over Charlotte. Point of reference, all things considered — those seven innings came in relief, however, of opener Josh Taylor.