Three Red Sox Rehabbers Headline WooSox Lineup as Worcester Tries to Stop Late-Season Slide

By Tiffany Williams –

WORCESTER, Mass. — Polar Park is turning into Rehab Central.

And Thursday night, the first three hitters in Worcester’s lineup will once again belong to Boston.

Roman Anthony.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa.

Trevor Story.

Three Boston Red Sox players on rehab assignments will occupy the top three spots in the Worcester Red Sox lineup when the WooSox face the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, at 6:05 p.m.

Anthony will lead off and play left field.

Kiner-Falefa will bat second and play third base.

Story will serve as the designated hitter and bat third.

But beyond the Major League names at the top of the lineup, Worcester has a much more immediate problem.

The WooSox need wins.

Worcester enters Thursday at 28-24 in the second half and 64-59 overall after dropping 11 of its last 15 games since August 9.

The WooSox haven’t won consecutive games in more than two weeks.

And Wednesday night wasn’t close.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre pounded out 13 hits and handed Worcester a 7-1 loss, evening the six-game series at one victory apiece.

Now Worcester gets another shot.

Right-hander Blake Wehunt takes the mound for the WooSox carrying a 1-1 record and 3.65 ERA.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre counters with right-hander Adam Kloffenstein, who enters 3-9 with a 5.23 ERA.

The matchup comes with an unmistakable Yankees-Red Sox backdrop.

Worcester and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre have been Triple-A rivals dating to 1989, when the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons battled the Pawtucket Red Sox.

This week’s series comes just as the Major League rivalry is preparing for another major collision.

Boston, currently the No. 2 American League wild card, is preparing to face the New York Yankees, the No. 1 wild card, in a four-game weekend series at Yankee Stadium beginning Friday night.

But first, the focus in Worcester is on three Boston players trying to get themselves ready.

Anthony has gone 2-for-8 with a walk, single, home run and three RBIs through two games with Worcester since beginning his rehab assignment Tuesday.

He has played both games in left field.

Story’s rehab assignment has been longer and considerably tougher at the plate.

The veteran infielder is 4-for-29 through eight rehab games with two RBIs and two runs scored.

Kiner-Falefa is 2-for-18 through six rehab games with a double, six walks, one RBI and two runs scored.

All three were in Worcester’s lineup Wednesday.

None could ignite the offense.

Kiner-Falefa, rehabbing from left forearm inflammation, went 0-for-2 with two walks and an RBI while serving as the designated hitter.

Anthony, working his way back from a ligament tear in his right ring finger, went 0-for-4 in left field.

Story, returning from sports hernia surgery, also went 0-for-4 while playing shortstop.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre wasted little time making the night miserable for Worcester.

The RailRiders exploded for four runs in the second inning behind consecutive home runs.

With two outs, Oswaldo Cabrera walked and Tyler Hardman singled before Kennedy Corona blasted a three-run homer onto the berm in left field.

Then came Anthony Volpe.

The former Yankees shortstop, playing second base Wednesday, launched a solo homer into the third row of the Worcester Wall.

Just like that, it was 4-0.

The punishment continued in the third.

Cabrera and Hardman each delivered RBI singles, extending the lead to 6-0 and ending WooSox starter Gage Ziehl’s night.

Ziehl allowed nine hits and six runs in only three innings and fell to 1-3.

Worcester’s only run came from one of the fastest players in the International League.

Braiden Ward singled to begin the third, stole second and advanced to third when the catcher’s throw sailed into center field.

Kiner-Falefa brought him home with an RBI groundout.

That stolen base was Ward’s league-leading 54th of the season.

Now he’s chasing Worcester history.

Ward sits only three stolen bases away from matching the WooSox and modern-day Red Sox Triple-A single-season record of 57, established by David Hamilton in 2023.

The Worcester bullpen kept Wednesday from becoming even uglier.

Noah Song threw three scoreless innings with four strikeouts.

Tyler Samaniego needed just four pitches for a perfect seventh.

Devin Sweet followed with a perfect eighth and struck out two.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre finally broke through against the bullpen with another run in the ninth, completing the 7-1 final.

Thursday gives Worcester another chance to answer.

And the WooSox are running out of nights to do it.

Only 22 games remain in the regular season.

Just 10 will be played at Polar Park.

After this week’s series against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Worcester has only one home series remaining — six games against the Durham Bulls from September 15-20 during Fan Appreciation Week and Weekend.

Worcester has been significantly better at Polar Park, carrying a 35-28 home record compared with 29-31 on the road.

The WooSox are also trying to secure a sixth winning season in their sixth year in Worcester.

There are offensive reasons for optimism beyond the Boston rehab assignments.

Franklin Arias enters Thursday riding a six-game hitting streak, going 7-for-19 during that stretch with three doubles and four RBIs.

Arias has hit safely in 19 of his last 23 games, batting .326 with six doubles, four home runs and 23 RBIs over that stretch.

Allan Castro has hit safely in 12 of his last 15 games.

Romy Gonzalez has hits in 10 of his last 13.

Mikey Romero has hit three home runs and driven in 12 runs over his last 13 games.

And Ward continues creating havoc whenever he reaches base.

But none of those individual numbers change the larger reality.

Worcester has lost 11 of 15.

It hasn’t won two straight since August 12 and 13 against Buffalo.