MOOSIC, PA – Hard-throwing lefty Zach Penrod shined in his return from the Injured List, but the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (55-44, 12-13) overcame three different deficits to hand the Worcester Red Sox (46-54, 11-14) an 8-5 loss on Friday night at PNC Field.
After bouncing his first two pitches to top Yankees prospect Jasson Dominguez, Penrod went into attack mode in his first start since June 6 (left shin inflammation). He struck out the side in order in the opening inning, and wound up punching out six of the first seven batters he faced, highlighted by a 98 mile-per-hour fastball that froze Brandon Lockridge in the second inning.
Penrod left the game after a two-run single from Jorbit Vivas in the third after 53 pitches (35 strikes), and finished with seven strikeouts, no walks, and three hits allowed in 2.2 innings. His changeup elicited seven swings-and-misses, while Scranton hitters whiffed on five of his sliders.
Vivas’ two-run hit gave Scranton a 2-1 lead after three innings, responding to Nick Sogard’s ice- breaking RBI single in the top of the third. The RailRiders would bounce back twice more before the end of the night.
Nick Yorke delivered a clutch two-run single with two outs in the top of the fifth to put Worcester back in front 3-2, but Augustin Ramirez responded with a game-tying single in the home half against Jason Alexander (L, 4-6).
The WooSox rallied for two runs and a 5-3 lead when Chasen Shreve walked the bases loaded in the sixth. Nick Sogard plated one with a sac fly, and Eddy Alvarez scored another on a wild pitch. This time, it was Dominguez who did the damage for the RailRiders, lining a two-run single to right field to tie the game in the bottom of the inning.
Scranton kept swinging in the seventh, taking an 8-5 lead on a two-run double from J.C. Escarra and an RBI groundout by Taylor Trammel.
The WooSox were held without a hit over the final four innings with strong relief pitching from Jack Neely (W, 1-0), Anthony Misiewicz (H, 6), and Tim Mayza (S, 1).
Ryan Zeferjahn was equal to the task for Worcester with three strikeouts over two perfect innings out of the bullpen, but Worcester’s offense was held to seven singles while all nine batters in the RailRiders lineup recorded at least one hit.
The WooSox are now 2-6 on this 10-game road trip, which continues on Saturday at 6:05 p.m. in Scranton, with pregame coverage beginning at 5:45 p.m. on 98.9 NASH Icon.
