WooSox Drop Finale, Split First Ever Series With Durham

WORCESTER, M.A. — The Durham Bulls (57-48) grabbed a series split against the Worcester Red Sox (54-51) in the series finale on a steamy Sunday afternoon, a 9-3 final score in front of 7,280 at Polar Park.

The WooSox plated two runs in the first inning, all without the benefit of a hit. A pair of hit batsmen put runners on first and second with no one out. After a pitch, Franchy Cordero broke from second to third—the step drew a throw from the catcher that sailed into center. Centerfielder Josh Lowe fumbled the ball, allowing Cordero and Abraham Almonte to score on the two-error play.

From there, Durham scored runs in the second, sixth, seventh and eighth. Tristan Grey smashed a homer off the batter’s eye in center, his International League-leading 25th of the season.

Worcester led 2-1 entering the sixth, but René Pinto changed that quickly. The Durham catcher smashed a two-run home run to the berm in left, a go-ahead shot off Caleb Simpson, who eventually took the loss.

The Bulls would never trail again, plating four in the seventh on a Vidal Brujan RBI single, a sac-fly by Josh Lowe and a two-run single from Grant Witherspoon. All nine Durham batters came to the plate in the frame. Josh Lowe cracked a two-run double in the eighth to extend the lead to 9-2.

With a runner in scoring position in the bottom of the eighth, Triston Casas ripped an opposite field double to left-center, making it 9-3. After a 4-for-24 start in his return from the injured list, Casas now has hits in eight of nine games and has doubled in four straight games.

The WooSox are off Monday and begin a six-game road series against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, affiliate of the New York Yankees, on Tuesday night at 6:35 p.m. Radio coverage is live at 6:15 p.m. on 100.1 FM The Pike, 98.9 Nash Icon and the WooSox Radio Network.