WooSox Battle for 11 Innings in 9-7 Loss to Scranton

MOOSIC, PA – Oswald Peraza’s two-run home run in the bottom of the 11th inning powered the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (56-44, 13-13) past the Worcester Red Sox (46-55, 11-15) 9-7 in a back-and-forth battle on Saturday night at PNC Field.

After a scoreless 10th inning, Nick Sogard came up clutch with a go-ahead two-out single in the top of the 11th, lining an 0-2 Victor Gonzalez slider over the shortstop’s head to plate automatic runner Nathan Hickey and give Worcester a 7-6 advantage. Scranton’s first two batters quickly answered in the home half against Joely Rodriguez (L, 0-2)(BS,1) with a game-tying single from Jorbit Vivas and Peraza’s walk-off blast over the wall in left.

Thanks in large part to Richard Fitts (5 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 2 K) and Chase Meidroth (4-for-5, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, 3 R) the WooSox led 4-0 after two innings, and 6-4 after seven, but couldn’t hold off another late charge from the RailRiders offense.

It was Meidroth’s 10th game of the season with at least three hits, and his second with four or more. He also had a five-hit night in Scranton on June 30. Meidroth’s solo home run – a low liner to left off former WooSox reliever Oddanier Mosqueda in the fourth inning – was his second long ball in the last seven games after hitting just three in his first 80.

The game swung in the eighth inning, when the RailRiders forced extras with a two-run rally to knot things up at 6-6. Luis Guerrero (BS, 2) was one strike away from a scoreless frame, but with runners at first and second, Brandon Lockridge lined a 1-2 slider to right field for the biggest of his four hits on the night. Kevin Smith scored from second to make it 6-5, and while Josh VanMeter raced from first to third, Bobby Dalbec’s throw sailed high off the glove of Nick Sogard and clanged into the Scranton dugout, which allowed VanMeter to advance home with the tying run. Neither team would score again until the 11th inning.

Lucas Luetge (H, 4) and Trey Wingenter each delivered two scoreless relief innings for Worcester, but the RailRiders pieced together eight different relievers in a bullpen game and held the WooSox to one earned run over the final seven innings.

The WooSox are now 2-7 on this 10-game road trip, which concludes on Sunday at 12:05 p.m. in Scranton, with pregame coverage beginning at 11:45 a.m. on 98.9 NASH Icon.