WooSox Beat Rochester 10-6 Behind Two Homers From Chavis

WORCESTER, M.A. — The Worcester Red Sox (29-14) scored in six of nine offensive innings to beat the Rochester Red Wings (15-28) 10-6 at Frontier Field on Tuesday night.

In a 4-4 game in the fifth, Michael Chavis came to the plate with one out and no one on. Rochester had rallied with four runs in the previous half inning to tie the game, erasing a WooSox lead spurred by Chavis’ first long ball of the night. The 25-year-old worked a 2-2 count, then crushed a pitch over the left field wall to put Worcester on top 5-4, a lead that held to give the team its twelfth win in 13 games.

so nice, @MichaelChavis11 did it twice pic.twitter.com/kQYqbmkgfU

— Worcester Red Sox (@WooSox) June 23, 2021

Worcester’s offense made the trip from Polar Park to Rochester, plating a run in each of the first three frames on the way to a 4-0 lead. A pair of first inning RBI singles from Franchy Cordero and Jeter Downs opened the scoring, and Jarren Duran made it 3-0 WooSox on a sac-fly that scored Chris Herrmann in the second. Chavis went deep for the first time in the third, a solo shot off Red Wings' starter Sean Nolin.

But Rochester answered in the bottom of the fourth, beginning with a Jake Noll two-run single to cut the deficit to 4-2. After a strikeout, Tres Barrera singled to the left side to score two more, a swing that chased Worcester starter Daniel Gossett from the game.

Chavis' fifth inning blast, his second of the game, gave him his sixth homer in 13 days, and it began a four-run frame. A single and a hit-by-pitch put two on for Jonathan Arauz, who smacked a 1-1 offering over the right field wall to break the game open. Arauz’ three-run homer marked his fourth of the year and made it 8-4.

The Red Wings got two back in the bottom of the inning against reliever Zac Grotz, an inning that began with four straight hits—two ultimately came home on a Carter Kieboom double. Leading 8-6, the WooSox tacked on two insurance runs: an RBI double from Chris Herrmann in the seventh and a Marcus Wilson sac-fly.

Altogether, the road team delivered 16 hits, tying a season best. Eight of nine starters recorded at least one hit, while five put up multi-hit nights—led by four from Jeter Downs.

Kevin McCarthy, Phillips Valdez and Brandon Brennan combined for three key innings of scoreless relief to seal the victory, Worcester’s eleventh straight road win.

The WooSox continue the six-game series Wednesday in Rochester at 1:05 p.m. Radio coverage starts live from Frontier Field at 12:45 p.m. on 98.9 Nash Icon and the WooSox Radio Network. Worcester’s Tanner Houck (0-1, 4.50), who returned from injury to toss three scoreless innings last week, faces Rogelio Armenteros (0-4, 5.64).