WORCESTER -- The WooSox bullpen put together eight strong innings and the offense went deep four times as the WooSox won their fifth in a row, topping the Charlotte Knights, 10-2, on Friday night at Polar Park.
Connor Seabold pitched just one inning, but he wasn’t removed due to his performance or an injury; rather, the WooSox are keeping Seabold ready in case the Red Sox need him to start in Toronto on Monday.
“I just was told that he’s an option and they might need a starter and I was just told to limit him to one inning,” WooSox manager Chad Tracy said. “So for now, that’s what we know. So we’ll see what happens.”
Seabold threw 21 pitches, giving up a run on two hits, one of those being a home run to Mark Payton on the first pitch of the game. He also struck out two.
Christin Stewart homered twice, Ryan Fitzgerald added a three-run shot in the eighth, and Connor Wong hit a solo home run.
“I’m feeling good. A lot of stuff is starting to come together and this series I’m just staying on the ball a little bit better,” Stewart said. “I think facing a lot of lefties this series is helping a lot.”
Despite pitching just an inning, Seabold got a bunch of run support from his offense as the WooSox put four runs on the board in the bottom of the first. Connor Wong quickly got the run back, smacking a 453-foot home run to left, his fifth of the season.
The WooSox added a few more runs with two outs. Ryan Fitzgerald, who singled with one out, scored on a double from Ronaldo Hernandez. Jeter Downs, who reached base four times on Friday, singled to center to bring home two more runs, but he was caught in a rundown between first and second and was tagged out after the two runs came in.
Stewart added to the lead in the third with his first home run of the evening, a solo shot to left with one out. He hit his second in the seventh inning after Jaylin Davis doubled with one out. Fitzgerald put the game out of reach in the eighth with a three-run shot, his team-leading 13th of the season.
The bullpen was impressive yet again, allowing just one run over eight innings. Taylor Cole was first up and earned the win, striking out three and allowing two hits in two innings of work. Silvio Bracho turned in the same line over the fourth and fifth innings. The Knights tagged Frank German for a run on one hit in two innings, but Michael Feliz and Zack Kelly closed it out with clean innings in the final two frames.
“They’ve been amazing. We’ve run into these bullpen scenarios which a lot of times becomes challenging for teams,” Tracy said. “Everybody right now is throwing the ball extremely well, and they were up to the task again today.”
The WooSox will look to make it six in a row on Saturday at 4:05 p.m. against the Knights.
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