Muñoz’ Three-Hit Night, Homer Leads WooSox to 7-5 Win

ALLENTOWN, P.A. — For the second straight night power, timely hitting and solid defense led the Worcester Red Sox (37-29) to a win over the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (28-40), this time a 7-5 victory on Thursday night at Coca-Cola Park in front of 7,015 fans.

The WooSox led 6-5 in the bottom of the seventh when Lehigh Valley put runners on second and third. Iron Pigs’ newcomer Jorge Bonifacio came to the plate against Worcester reliever Seth Blair, worked the count to 3-0, then blooped the fourth pitch of the at-bat down the left field line. Left-fielder Michael Gettys sprinted in, overran the ball but reached back to make a lead-saving, diving catch. That grab kept the game at 6-5, an advantage that held for the road team’s second straight win.

Three swings into the game the WooSox were in control against Lehigh starter David Parkinson (0-7). Yairo Muñoz crushed the second pitch of the night deep to center for a double and scored seconds later on an RBI single from Connor Wong. The next batter, Chris Herrmann, grounded a ball to the right side that was misplayed for an error and allowed Wong to score to make it 2-0.

Josh Ockimey began the top of the second the way Muñoz started the first: ripping a double to lead off the inning. Muñoz stepped in two batters later and cracked the first pitch up the middle for an RBI single to extend the lead to 3-0.

Much like Wednesday night, Lehigh Valley answered an early Worcester lead. After a Bonifacio double and Ruben Tejada single, Charlie Tilson brought them both home with a two-run double against new WooSox starter Matthew Kent (1-0). Kent then retired MLB-rehabbing Alec Bohm on a comebacker to strand two and start a trend for WooSox pitching in tight spots for the remainder of the night.

With the lead cut to one, the WooSox scored in three of the next four innings. Another double, this time from Jonathan Arauz, put a runner in scoring position in the fourth. After Arauz got to third, Chad De La Guerra delivered an RBI for the second straight night on a sac-fly.

In the fifth, Chris Herrmann crushed a solo home run over the right field wall to make it 6-4. That long ball marked Herrmann’s sixth of the season and by the end of the night, the team had five in two games.

Once again, the IronPigs responded to a three-run deficit. This time, Bonifacio set up a rally with a triple, and then a two-run shot by Daniel Brito in his first ever Triple-A game took the WooSox lead down to 5-4.

In the top of the seventh Worcester pushed across a run in the same fashion it had all night. Muñoz got on to lead off the inning—an error on a ground ball—and then got to third on a wild pitch and a fly out. He scored thanks to a Herrmann sac-fly. Lehigh Valley came right back, plating one on an error by De La Guerra in the bottom of the frame before the Gettys catch preserved the 6-5 lead.

Muñoz came up with another big swing in the eighth, working the count to 3-2 before he hooked a pitch over the left field wall (5). The swing made it a three-hit night for Muñoz, who also made his first start of the season in center. He now owns a 15-game hitting streak that has lasted the entire month of July.

You guessed it! Muñoz adds insurance with a big swing 💥

WooSox 7
Pigs 5

Ort in from the ‘pen as we start the B9 pic.twitter.com/tCcAz4pIYd

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

Kaleb Ort entered in the ninth with the WooSox up 7-5 and delivered a 1-2-3 frame to finish the victory. The right-hander grabbed his tenth save of the season, the second-most in Triple-A East and his first since July 4.

The WooSox continue the series Friday at 7:05 p.m. at Coca-Cola Park versus the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Radio coverage starts live at 6:45 p.m. on 98.9 Nash Icon and the WooSox Radio Network. Connor Seabold makes his first start of the season for Worcester.