The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders dropped to the Worcester Red Sox 7-6 in the series opener Tuesday. Spencer Jones smacked his team-high 11th home run while MLB rehabber Carlos Rodón allowed five earned runs in 6.1 innings.
Worcester got on the board first off of Rodón. Nick Sogard doubled to reach and then to former RailRider Mickey Gasper rocketed a two-run home run off of an 84-mph changeup.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre cut the deficit in half in the top of the second. Back-to-back-singles from Seth Brown and Ernesto Martinez Jr. put two aboard. Payton Henry laced a line drive up the middle to make it 2-1.
In the next frame, the RailRiders capitalized on a pair of free bases. George Lombard Jr. walked and Anthony Volpe was hit by a pitch to get aboard. Jones smashed a fly ball to left-center field for his sixth homer in a week for a 4-2 score.
Nate Eaton got his home team down by just one in the bottom half. He reached on a fielding error and moved over on a passed ball. Eaton ended up scoring on a wild pitch.
The RailRiders plated two in the sixth to extend their lead. Seth Brown took a walk and Ernesto Martínez Jr. singled to put two on. Payton Henry followed it up with a run scoring double for a 6-3 advantage.
Worcester’s Kristian Campbell homered quickly to get one back.
The Red Sox loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh. Jason Delay and Nick Eaton each drove one in to tie the score 6-6. They took the lead the next inning when Campbell doubled and Allan Castro drove him home.
Rodón allowed six runs, five earned, on seven hits. The lefty walked a pair and struck out four on 83 pitches. Kyle Keller (1-1) earned his first win for the Woo Sox while former Yankee Tommy Kahnle earned the save.
The RailRiders will stick around in Worcester to take on the Red Sox for an 11 a.m. game on Wednesday. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre returns to PNC Field on Tuesday against the Syracuse Mets.