Santos Spins Seven Scoreless, WooSox Fall 5-0 to Syracuse
September 21, 2022 – International League (IL) – Worcester Red Sox News Release
WORCESTER, M.A. – The Syracuse Mets (60-83) pushed across five late runs to win a pitcher’s duel on Wednesday night, a 5-0 victory over the Worcester Red Sox (72-70) at Polar Park.
Both starting pitchers turned in the best Triple-A outings of their season, as Worcester’s Victor Santos and Syracuse’s Jose Butto matched each other throughout the night.
Santos went seven scoreless innings, striking out eight in the longest start of his WooSox career. He allowed four baserunners, three hits and one walk. In two starts against the Mets this year, the right-hander has posted 13 runless frames with 19 strikeouts.
Butto also did not allow a run over seven innings, striking out 11 in that span. He allowed two hits: an infield single to Jarren Duran, the first batter he faced, and a single in the fourth by Enmanuel Valdez.
Both starters exited after the seventh in a 0-0 ballgame, and Worcester turned to Darwinzon Hernandez for the eighth. He got the first two outs, then walked Travis Jankowski, who promptly stole second. That put a runner in scoring position for Jake Mangum, who laced an RBI single to right to bring home Jankowski for the first run of the game. Francisco Alvarez was next, and the Mets’ top prospect ripped a ball deep to left-center-Duran nearly made a spectacular diving catch, but the ball popped out of his glove. By the time it was retrieved, Alvarez was standing on second with an RBI double and a 2-0 Syracuse lead.
That was the final pitch thrown by Hernandez, and the WooSox went to A.J. Politi for the final out of the eighth. He got it, extending a 31.1 inning stretch in which he has allowed two total earned runs.
Kole Cottam cracked a one-out double in the eighth-giving Worcester its first extra-base-hit and runner in scoring position-but Syracuse reliever Stephen Nogosek got the final two outs to end the threat.
Syracuse added the final three runs in the ninth on a wild pitch, an error and an RBI single by Michael Perez off reliever Caleb Simpson.
The WooSox continue the six-game home series on Thursday night at 6:45 p.m. against the Syracuse Mets. On the mound, Chris Murphy (3-6, 5.60) is the scheduled starter for Worcester. Radio coverage is live at 6:25 p.m. on 98.9 Nash Icon and the WooSox Radio Network, while television coverage is on NESN.
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