Kavadas & Sogard Homer, WooSox Win Final Home Game of Season at Polar Park
WORCESTER, M.A. — The Worcester Red Sox (38-30, 77-66) won their final game of the season at Polar Park in decisive fashion, an 11-5 win over the Syracuse Mets (25-42, 58-83) in front of 9,508 on Sunday afternoon. The WooSox close their season with a home record of 43-33, finishing
WORCESTER, M.A. — The Worcester Red Sox (38-30, 77-66) won their final game of the season at Polar Park in decisive fashion, an 11-5 win over the Syracuse Mets (25-42, 58-83) in front of 9,508 on Sunday afternoon.
The WooSox close their season with a home record of 43-33, finishing above .500 at Polar Park for the second straight season under Chad Tracy.
Worcester entered the bottom of the fourth trailing 4-0, but would celebrate their final game at Polar Park by scoring 11 times over the next four innings. With the bases loaded in the fourth, Niko Kavadas smacked a two-run single to put the home team on the board, the beginning of a big afternoon for the 24-year-old.
In the fifth, the WooSox brought 10 men to the plate, starting with a leadoff walk by David Hamilton. He promptly stole second, his International League-leading 57th of the season, then scored the third Worcester run of the day on a Nick Sogard single.
After another hit, Ronaldo Hernandez cracked a game-tying run-scoring double down the left field line. Corey Rosier followed with an RBI infield single to give Worcester its first lead of the day, and a few batters later, Christian Koss ripped a ball at 110-miles-per-hour off the glove of the third baseman, plating Hernandez to make it 6-4.
Despite a Michael Perez homer in the sixth for Syracuse, the WooSox would score four times for the second straight frame in the bottom of the inning. Hernandez made it a multi-hit, multi-RBI afternoon with a single, and two batters later, Kavadas stepped up with two on.
He worked a 1-1 count, then smashed a gamebreaking three-run home run. Kavadas now has seven Triple-A home runs, four of which came in the month of September.
In the seventh, Sogard lined a solo home run over the left field wall, adding to his career high in home runs (7) and extra-base-hits (28). His long ball marked the 105th WooSox home run of the season at Polar Park, adding to the Red Sox Triple-A single-season record for home runs (213).
On the mound, Shane Drohan recorded just two outs and allowed three runs before the WooSox went to the bullpen—Oddanier Mosqueda was the first of seven Worcester relievers, tossing 1.1 scoreless innings.
Zack Kelly appeared on rehab for the second straight day, working an 11-pitch scoreless inning with one strikeout.
In his first game action since May 9, Bryan Mata posted the following line: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K on 24 pitches (14 strikes). Justin Hagenman followed and earned the win, tossing a team-high 2.1 innings on the day and allowing one run. Luis Guerrero, Joe Jacques and A.J. Politi worked runless seventh, eighth and ninths, respectively.
The WooSox conclude their season with a six-game road series starting Tuesday at 6:45 p.m. against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. On the mound, Kyle Barraclough (8-1, 3.60) is the scheduled starter for Worcester. Radio coverage is live at 6:25 p.m. on 100.1 FM The Pike, 98.9 Nash Icon and the WooSox Radio Network.
The total attendance for the season at Polar Park was 519,651, while a ballpark record 545,231 tickets were sold.