Ramos Clubs Walkoff Homer, WooSox Win Third Straight

WORCESTER, M.A. — Roberto Ramos gave the Worcester Red Sox (18-21) a walkoff winner on Thursday night, blasting a two-run shot in the bottom of the ninth to beat the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (13-25) by a final score of 3-2 at Polar Park.

The WooSox led 1-0 entering the top of the ninth, but the RailRiders rallied on a game-tying RBI single from Miguel Andujar and a wild pitch that plated the go-ahead run, all with two outs. That brought Worcester to the plate in the bottom of the frame, needing at least one run to extend the ballgame. Ronaldo Hernandez got it started, working a walk on a 3-2 count against SWB reliever Greg Weissert.

Ramos strode to the plate and smashed the first pitch he saw to the berm in left, a 388-foot home run that gave the WooSox their third straight victory and their first walkoff win of the season. The 27-year-old now has eight hits on the year, four of which are long balls.

A great night for Robertos everywhere 🚀 #Wepa pic.twitter.com/sOxy6kaZyu

— Los Wepas de Worcester (@WooSox) May 20, 2022

Hours earlier, Worcester got another brilliant starting pitching performance, this time from Kutter Crawford. Working in his first Triple-A action of the season, Crawford spun four hitless innings and struck out two, allowing a single baserunner on a hit-by-pitch in the third.

Over the last four games, WooSox starting pitching has the following line: 0.82 ERA (2 ER in 22 IP), 32 K, 3 BB.

In the fifth, the home team finally scratched a run across versus SWB starter Hayden Wesneski. First, Yolmer Sanchez led the frame off with a triple, a liner to right that was misplayed by the right fielder. Jarren Duran was next, and with the infield drawn in, he smoked a grounder off the glove of the second baseman that skipped in to center—by the time it was retrieved, Sanchez was home with the game’s first run and Duran was standing on second with an RBI double.

The Worcester bullpen took it from there, as Silvino Bracho, Michael Feliz and Durbin Feltman preserved the 1-0 lead until the ninth, when the RailRiders rallied for two off Zack Kelly.

Ramos’ ninth-inning swing gave the WooSox a win in their 19th game decided by two runs or fewer, improving the team’s record to 8-11 in those games (and 2-0 this week).

The WooSox continue the series at Polar Park on Friday at 6:45 p.m. against the Scranton-Wilkes Barre RailRiders, affiliate of the New York Yankees. On the mound, Thomas Pannone faces Deivi Garcia. Television coverage is on NESN+ tape delay, while radio coverage is live at 6:25 p.m. on 98.9 Nash Icon and the WooSox Radio Network.