Bello Ks 10 in Triple-A Debut, WooSox Win Second Straight Over SWB

WORCESTER, M.A. — Brayan Bello’s first Triple-A start helped push the Worcester Red Sox (17-21) to a second straight win over the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (13-24), a 5-2 victory on Wednesday night at Polar Park.

Bello set the tone with the first batter of the game, delivering a three-pitch strikeout against SWB leadoff man Estevan Florial for his first WooSox strikeout. By night’s end, Bello would tally 10 strikeouts over six innings of two run ball with one walk, tossing 68% strikes in the process (94 strikes on 94 pitches).

For those who missed it ⬇️ https://t.co/ylGYNTOgnu pic.twitter.com/l2UaARKLYK

— Worcester Red Sox (@WooSox) May 18, 2022

The right-hander became the sixth International League pitcher to reach double-digit strikeouts in a game this season—Worcester owns two of those six (Connor Seabold, 5/15 vs. Rochester).

Estevan Florial’s solo home run in the third put the RailRiders on top, but for the second straight night, the WooSox offense had an answer.

In the bottom of the inning, Jarren Duran came to the plate and launched a game-tying shot to right, a 378-foot shot that settled on the berm. After a double last night, Duran now has 12 Triple-A extra-base-hits and three home runs.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre regained the lead in the fourth on an RBI double by Philip Evans, plating Greg Bird.

The 2-1 score held until the bottom of the sixth, when Connor Wong came to the plate with runners on first and second and one out. He worked a 2-2 count, then pushed a single up the middle, scoring Rob Refsnyder for the tying run. After a pitching change and strikeout, Yolmer Sanchez cracked a go-ahead two-run double to right center to make it 4-2 Worcester.

Ryan Fitzgerald added an insurance run in the seventh with a 375-foot homer over the Worcester Wall. The swing ups Fitzgerald's slash line to .312/.379/.632 over 35 games.

Philips Valdez and Zack Kelly combined for a scoreless eighth, Kaleb Ort grabbed his fifth save with a runless ninth. The save moves Ort in to second place in the International League in saves, a category he led the league in last season.

The WooSox continue the series at Polar Park on Thursday at 6:45 p.m. against the Scranton-Wilkes Barre RailRiders, affiliate of the New York Yankees. On the mound, Kutter Crawford makes his first Triple-A start of the season against Hayden Wesneski. Television coverage is on NESN+, while radio coverage is live at 6:25 p.m. on 98.9 Nash Icon and the WooSox Radio Network.