tommy cassell, worcester telegram & gazette
·4 min read
WORCESTER — What’s that round thing in the sky?
Is it a bird? Is it a plane?
No, it’s the sun. Making its long-awaited emergence in Worcester.
Fresh off a series in Syracuse, the Worcester Red Sox returnhome — along with the sunshine — for a six-game homestand that begins Tuesday with the Durham Bulls.
Following a hectic first week at Polar Park earlier this month, that included theirhome opener, the death of chairman Larry Lucchino and a snowstorm, the WooSox are excited to be back in the Canal District.
With a sense of normalcy — and hopefully some sun rays.
“It’s a great place to play,” WooSox infielder/outfielder Nick Sogard recently said. “If you have to be in Triple-A, this is definitely the place to be.”
Worcester’s second homestand of the season takes place during school vacation week.
Some of the highlights at Polar Park include a Jackie Robinson Day celebration(Tuesday),postgame player autograph session and screening of ‘Bull Durham’ on videoboards (Wednesday), teacher appreciation day and“Throwback Thursdays” with former Red Sox outfielder Jonny Gomes (Thursday),appearance by Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley, “WooU College Night” and fireworks (Friday), Unibank Women in Sports Day (Saturday) and a kids run the bases promotion following Sunday’s series finale.
'It didn't feel real': A no-hitter and solar eclipse? It was an historic day for high school baseball at Polar Park
The WooSox second homestand features games with unique start times of 3:05 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday and then usual start times of 4:05 p.m. Saturday and 1:05 p.m. Sunday.The games on Tuesday and Friday begin at 6:05 p.m.
“We recognize that April weeknights can be school nights and cool nights,” WooSox president Dr. Charles Steinberg said.“So we are trying to schedule our games when more children can enjoy sunny, springtime baseball. Playing weekday games at 3:05 p.m. also allows Worcester’s thousands of front-line heroes who work the (7 p.m. to 7 a.m.) shifts to enjoy some baseball in the sunshine.We want to ensure that everyone can partake (in) WooSox baseball.”
After splitting a doubleheader with the Syracuse Mets on Sunday, the WooSox (5-9) look to move closer to .500 while playing in their home ballpark.
It’s already been a busy season for player movement with the Triple-A club, as the WooSox have sent five players to Boston in two weeks since the season started inDavid Hamilton (infielder), Romy Gonzalez (infielder), Brennan Bernardino (pitcher), Bobby Dalbec (infielder/outfielder) and Cooper Criswell (pitcher).
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Vaughn Grissom, who has been on the Red Sox injured list since March 25 after suffering a left hamstring strain in spring training, began a 20-day injury rehab assignment with the WooSox Friday night and went 0-for-3 as the designated hitter. Grissom, 23, was acquired from Atlantain December in exchange for pitcherChris Sale. He has played in 64 career major league games with the Braves (2022-23), batting .287 with five home runsand a .746 OPS while making 41 starts at second base and 19 at shortstop.
“I’m just trying to be the best player I can be for the rest of the team and just trying to learn my role and just play that role and give ourselves the best shot to win,” Grissom told the T&G in January.
Rob Refsnyder, who has been on Boston’s injured list since March 25 after suffering a left pinky toe fracture during spring training, began his 20-day injury rehab assignment with the WooSox last Wednesday and went 0-for-3 as the designated hitter.
On Friday, Refsnyder played right field and went 2 for 3 with a double and a run scored. Refsnyder is in his third season in the Red Sox organization after signing with the Red Sox as a minor league free agent in December of 2021.
He spent all of last year with Boston batting .248 in 89 games with a home run and 28 RBI.
“We have a lot of new faces but a lot of old faces, too,” Sogard said a few weeks ago. “It’s a good group, the new guys are all great, and it should be a solid year.”
“For fans coming to the ballpark, on any given day we could have a different lineup,” WooSox manager Chad Tracy said. “We’re very versatile.”
—Contact Tommy Cassell at tcassell@telegram.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @tommycassell44.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester Red Sox open up second homestand of season at Polar Park
