Matheny Homers in Eighth, WooSox Take Series Over IronPigs

WORCESTER, M.A. — Tate Matheny’s two-run eighth inning blast gave the Worcester Red Sox (64-49) a 3-1 victory over the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (50-62) on Sunday afternoon, clinching a WooSox series victory for the third straight week.

Matheny stepped to the plate following a Jeremy Rivera double in the bottom the eighth, saw one pitch from reliever Jakob Hernandez and then crushed the next deep to center for a go-ahead home run. The ball travelled 481 feet, landing over the berm to the left of the batter’s eye for Matheny’s fifth Triple-A long ball of the season.

4️⃣8️⃣1️⃣ ft!!! 💪💪💪 pic.twitter.com/SQD7d69L1D

— Worcester Red Sox (@WooSox) September 12, 2021

Rivera got the scoring started with a solo home run over the right-centerfield wall in the third inning. The shortstop had zero four-baggers entering yesterday, and his swing today marked his second in two days to put the home team up 1-0.

Worcester starter Daniel Gossett was strong, allowing one run over six innings along with five strikeouts. Lehigh Valley's run came in the fifth on a walk, stolen base and wild pitch to bring home Cornelius Randolph.

Matt Barnes pitched the seventh in his first Major League rehab assignment appearance, off the COVID-19 injured list, tossing a scoreless inning with one strikeout and one hit batsman in a 12-pitch frame.

Martín Pérez followed with a runless eighth, a 16-pitch inning with one hit and one strikeout. Pérez got the win after Matheny’s two-run shot in the bottom of the eighth.

With the victory, Worcester has now won 16 times in its last 19 games.

The WooSox are off Monday and begin a six-game series Tuesday at 6:35 p.m. against the Syracuse Mets at Polar Park. Radio coverage starts live at 6:20 p.m. on 100 FM The Pike and the WooSox Radio Network. Worcester’s Raynel Espinal (10-4, 3.41) is the scheduled starter.