Crook’s Inside-The-Parker, Sogard’s Slam Highlight WooSox Win

JACKSONVILLE, FL – Highlighted by a Nick Sogard grand slam and a Narciso Crook inside-the-park home run (the first in WooSox history), the Worcester Red Sox (9-4, 48-40) opened up an 8-1 lead and hung on for an 8-5 win over the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (8-6, 40-48) on Saturday night at 121 Financial Ballpark. The WooSox have won five straight games and 16 of their last 22.

Sogard’s slam set the tone in the opening frame, but Crook had the moment of the night in the top of the ninth. With Worcester leading 6-1, Wilyer Abreu drew a leadoff walk and stole second base. Two batters later, Crook blasted a 2-2 slider from Dylan Bice to the base of the right-center field wall. It careened off the bottom of the fence and spun back towards center field, which was unoccupied as Xavier Edwards had raced to gap in hopes of catching the ball off Crook’s bat. Crook sprinted around second, found a new gear as he hit third, and dove head first into home plate just ahead of the relay throw.

It was the first Red Sox Triple-A inside-the-park home run since Kyle Wren of the PawSox pulled it off on July 22, 2018.

Crook’s hustle homer extended the lead to 8-1, which turned out to be pivotal as Jacksonville rallied for four runs in the bottom of the ninth on three walks, one hit batter, two singles, an error, and three wild pitches. Brendan Nail (S, 3) came in and recorded the final two outs with the bases loaded, striking out Jacob Amaya and inducing an flyout from Edwards to end a heart-stopping 8-5 game.

The WooSox experienced some highs and lows in the top of the first inning as well. Devin Smeltzer (L, 4-5) retired the first two batters he faced before Enmanuel Valdez ripped a line drive off the right field wall. Valdez had extra bases in mind, but pulled up at first base with an apparent leg injury. He was able to walk off the field but was removed from the game. Worcester responded with a five-run rally.

Bobby Dalbec walked, Abreu singled home pinch runner Stephen Scott from second, and Ronaldo Hernandez loaded the bases with an infield single – a high chopper just beyond the pitcher’s mound. Batting right-handed, the switch-hitting Nick Sogard worked the count to 2-2, then launched a fastball the other way, sending Peyton Burdick back to the short fence in right. Burdick climbed the wall, extended his glove over the yellow stripe, but could not contain Sogard’s power as the ball sailed into the third row of the bleachers to give Worcester a 5-0 lead.

It was the second-straight WooSox game with a grand slam, including a bases-loaded blast by Valdez in the third inning on Friday night.

In his second appearance for Worcester since being signed as a free agent, starter Dinelson Lamet (_dee-NELSON Luh-MET) _held Jacksonville to one run on two hits in three innings with three strikeouts and no walks. The lone run scored on a homer by CJ Hinojosa with one out in the third inning.

Oddanier Mosqueda came on in the fourth, and worked out of a major jam after loading the bases with two outs on a pair of walks and a hit batter. He fell behind Charles LeBlanc 2-0 with the bases juiced, but battled back with three straight foul balls and put LeBlanc away with a nasty curveball for strike three.

Theo Denlinger (W, 2-0) kept the score 5-1 with two perfect innings of relief, retiring all six batters he faced and recording back-to-back strikeouts to end the sixth. Andres Nunez followed with a 1-2-3 seventh, and Cam Booser struck out two in a flawless eighth.

Worcester added a run in the top of the eighth when David Hamilton worked a leadoff walk, stole two bases, and scored on a groundout by Stephen Scott to make it 6-1.

Sunday’s series finale is scheduled to start at 3:05 p.m., with pregame coverage on the 98.9 NASH Icon WooSox Radio Network beginning at 2:45 p.m. The WooSox will travel to Scranton for a six-game series against the RailRiders next Tuesday through Sunday before returning home to start a six-game homestand at Polar Park on Tuesday, July 25.