Three Homer Night Pushes WooSox Past IronPigs, 5-1

WORCESTER, M.A. — For the second straight night, a go-ahead home run pushed the Worcester Red Sox (26-14) to a win over the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (19-21), this time a 5-1 win on Friday night at Polar Park.

In a 1-1 game, Jarren Duran came to the plate in the bottom of the fifth with a man on base. He saw one pitch fly wide of the zone, then blasted the next over the right centerfield wall, a two-run job to put the WooSox on top 3-1 and a lead that held for the home team’s ninth win in its last 10 games.

Duran’s swing was all the offense Worcester starter Stephen Gonsalves needed, as the left-hander notched his third win of the season, tossing six innings of one-run ball and striking out seven. Over his last three appearances, Gonsalves has allowed just one earned run in his 16 innings of work—three games the WooSox have won.

All six runs in the game came on long balls, a homerfest that began in the second inning. Batting against Lehigh Valley starter Matt Moore, Yairo Muñoz hit a liner that snuck over the wall in left center. Muñoz stopped at second to celebrate a double, then realized the ball had cleared the 399-foot sign for his third homer of the year.

The 1-0 lead held until the fifth, when Ryan Cordell lifted a 2-2 pitch for a homer to center against Gonsalves, one of just four hits allowed by the 26-year-old.

Duran’s third long ball in six games gave Worcester a two-run edge in the bottom of the frame, and three innings later, Michael Chavis joined the home run party with a two-run moonshot to left. That marked the second Triple-A homer of the season for Chavis and capped off the WooSox victory.

Kevin McCarthy and Marcus Walden combined for three innings of scoreless relief to close out the win.

The WooSox continue the six-game series Saturday at Polar Park against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs at 4:05 p.m. Tickets are available for each game of the homestand at WooSox.com or by calling 508-500-8888. Television coverage is live on NESN, and radio coverage starts at 3:45 p.m. on 98.9 Nash Icon and the WooSox Radio Network. Kyle Hart (2-3, 5.92) gets the start for Worcester.