Downs Homers In Third Straight, WooSox Fall 5-3

WORCESTER, M.A. — Despite a late big swing, the Worcester Red Sox (43-39) dropped their third in a row to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (39-43), a 5-3 loss on Friday night in front of 7,675 at Polar Park.

SWB took an early lead on an Estevan Florial solo homer in the third to put the road team up 1-0, a scoreline that held until the fifth inning.

Garrett Whitlock took the mound for the WooSox in the fifth on a rehab assignment, making his first appearance since June 7 (right hip inflammation). The right-hander allowed four singles in the frame: a blooper, a line drive, a broken bat one-hopper and a hard single with the infield in. The runs came on RBI knocks from Oswald Peraza and Josh Breaux, but Whitlock closed the inning with a pair of strikeouts, both on sliders.

He added a scoreless sixth, giving up two more singles, but struck out Estevan Florial on a 95 mile-per-hour fastball to close the frame. Whitlock finished the outing with the following line: 2.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K on 34 pitches (26 strikes).

Kiké Hernández made a rehab start for Worcester, going 0-4 with two strikeouts as the designated hitter. In the first, Hernández ripped a line drive off the pitcher’s glove and was thrown out at first after the deflection.

The RailRiders added to their run total in the seventh on a two-run home run from Jake Bauers, a 470 foot blast to right-center off Durbin Feltman.

Homers in back-to-back days for Jeter Downs 🔥 pic.twitter.com/CMGL1zANE8

— Worcester Red Sox (@WooSox) July 9, 2022

With the WooSox down to their final out, Jeter Downs smacked a three-run home run to the berm in left, his third homer in as many games. Since returning from his MLB debut on June 22, Downs now has five homers, eight extra-base-hits and 11 RBI. Downs now has 16 home runs, giving him sole possession of the team lead, ahead of Christin Stewart.

Despite the loss, Worcester got scoreless relief outings from Eduard Bazardo and James Norwood. Bazardo lowers his season ERA to 2.18 and has now posted eight consecutive runless appearances.

The WooSox continue the six-game series Saturday at 4:05 p.m. against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, affiliate of the New York Yankees. Tomorrow is PawSox Heritage Day at the ballpark, and the team will wear Pawtucket Red Sox jerseys and hats. On the mound, Brian Keller (2-3, 4.09) faces Jhony Brito (3-1, 2.31). Radio coverage is live at 3:45 p.m. on 98.9 Nash Icon and the WooSox Radio Network, while television coverage is on NESN.