Due to Easter, Worcester and Portland were the only two clubs to play baseball on Sunday, and the former had a double-header to play that ended up being quite the long afternoon due to some extra baseball. The result was satisfying, though. Let’s get into it.
Worcester, Game 1: W, 4-2 (F/7) (BOX SCORE)
With Payton Tolle on the mound and delivering six innings of four hit, two-run, seven strike-out ball, the WooSox’ defense cruised to an early win. Except, the offense didn’t chip in early at all. It took them until the seventh and final frame
to put one run on the board, but, luckily, with two outs remaining on the game, the WooSox started putting together a winning sequence. Nathan Hickey technically bunted (it was a soft grounder) to advance Tsung-Tse Cheng to third, Braiden Ward walked to load em up, Sogard drew a walk to bring the first run in, Romero scored two more and pulled Worcester ahead with a single, and Kristian Campbell sealed it with a single of his own. Noah Song slammed the door in the seventh, and there you have it. The WooSox went from just a nine percent chance of winning to start the seventh to a ninety-two percent chance. That’s the way baseball works sometimes
Worcester, Game 2: W, 11-9 (F/10) (BOX SCORE)
Worcester or rather, St. Paul, home of the Saints, (Twins AAA) was treated to a great afternoon of baseball. The WooSox had a bullpen game out of the gate after Tolle’s masterclass, and the scoreboard necessitated offense accordingly. Each of Worcester’s first four pitchers allowed a home run, but Mickey Gasper brought some fireworks of his own (or Easter Eggs, maybe?) facing his old club, hitting two home runs in his first two at-bats for five RBIs. Kristian Campbell added one of his own in his quest to get over the Mendoza Line to start 2026.
In the top of the second, it looked like the Sox were cruising to a 7-1 victory, but the bullpen subsequently bullpenned and we got some extra baseball. The teams traded jabs in the ninth with Gasper coming in clutch again, and then Sogard played hero with his only hit of the afternoon to score what would be the final run, with Reidis Sena executing a third inning of dependable relief.
Portland: W, 1-0 (BOX SCORE)
Have I mentioned baseball being silly yet today? The Sea Dogs took an 18-2 shellacking in Somerset, NJ facing the Patriots (Yankees AAA) earlier this week. But just one run was needed on Sunday, as Joe Holobetz, Isaac Coffey and Erik Rivera pitched shutout ball. The Sea Dogs stranded ten guys and were 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position, but when your pitching staff performs like that, all you need is one. Funny enough, that particular hit was inconsequential; the run was instead scored on a sacrifice grounder by Ronald Rosario to score Tyler McDonough, who reached on a walk. The most important play of the game was a routine grounder. As Saturday’s version of this same ball club will tell you, that’s the way she goes.
Have a fantastic Monday!
