WooSox Bats Stymied on Independence Day, Lose to Mets 9-1
WORCESTER, MA –– Following their prolific offensive road trip, the Worcester Red Sox (5-4)/(40-44) were held to just one run on four hits in their 9-1 loss to the Syracuse Mets (6-4)/(52-32) on Independence Day in front of a sellout crowd of 9,467 fans. It was the WooSox first game
WORCESTER, MA –– Following their prolific offensive road trip, the Worcester Red Sox (5-4)/(40-44) were held to just one run on four hits in their 9-1 loss to the Syracuse Mets (6-4)/(52-32) on Independence Day in front of a sellout crowd of 9,467 fans. It was the WooSox first game at Polar Park in the second half of the 2024 season and continued their six-game home and home series with the Mets.
The beginning of Thursday’s ballgame looked to have the making of a pitcher’s duel––with both starters firing three scoreless frames and limited action on the basepaths. For the WooSox, Richard Fitts allowed two hits over his first three innings of work while the Mets’ Joey Lucchesi held Worcester’s bats to one hit.
In the fourth inning, the Mets offense broke through. With two on and two out, former WooSox Yolmer Sanchez blasted a three-run homer to right that gave the Mets a 3-0 lead. Despite looking sharp through his first three innings, Fitts’ 33-pitch fourth would spell the end for the right-hander. The Alabama native finished with a final line of 4 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K.
To start the fifth, Chase Shugart relieved Fitts on the mound looking to continue his recent stretch of dominance. In his last four outings, the right-hander had struck out 19 in 11.1 scoreless innings while holding opponents to a .447 OPS in the month of June. However, with momentum on their side and the heart of the order due up, the Mets continued to add.
Rylan Bannon led off the fifth with a double and scored on Luke Ritter’s RBI triple that fell just out of the reach of Mark Contreras in center. Pablo Reyes followed with a sacrifice fly to give Syracuse a five-run advantage. The WooSox got a run back in the bottom of the frame after Matthew Lugo scored on Mickey Gasper’s infield hit and fielding error by Mets first baseman Mike Brosseau. At the end of five, Worcester trailed, 5-1.
With Worcester hoping for a shutdown inning, Shugart could not deliver. After Sanchez began the sixth with a double, Bannon hit his 15th home run of the year that just snuck over the wall in left to put the Mets up six. The following inning, Syracuse added two more on Ritter’s 18th long ball and Sanchez’s sacrifice fly. As the game entered the bottom of the seventh, the Mets held a 9-1 lead.
Over their eight-game road trip, the WooSox averaged 8.25 runs per game, scoring at least 15 runs in two separate games. It was a much different game for the WooSox bats on Thursday, who struggled to get anything going all night.
The top three bats in Worcester’s order––Chase Meidroth, Nick Sogard, and Nick Yorke––went a combined 0-for-12 on Independence Day. It was the first time that Meidroth and Sogard were kept off base in the same game this year.
After tossing seven innings of one-run ball, Lucchesi was relieved by Cole Sulser, who fired two perfect innings to end the game. In their first game back at Polar Park following their extended road trip, the WooSox lost to the Mets by a final score of 9-1. Lucchesi (W, 5-4) picked up the win while Fitts (L, 5-3) was handed his third loss of the season.
The WooSox and Mets will continue their six-game home and home series at 6:45 p.m. on Friday night at Polar Park. Grant Gambrell (3-6, 4.72) will get the start on the mound for Worcester opposite Blade Tidwell (0-2, 5.12) for Syracuse. The game will be broadcasted live on NESN+ and radio coverage begins at 6:25 p.m. on 98.9 Nash Icon and the WooSox Radio Network.