March 30, 2024 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Gonzalez homers twice as Worcester blows four-run Opening Day lead
3/30 Cup of Coffee: Triple-A Opening Day was on Friday, one week before the rest of the full-season affiliates. Worcester was in Pennsylvania to face Lehigh Valley and held an advantage until the bottom of the ninth, but the game unraveled quickly.
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Worcester had a 4-0 lead headed into the bottom of the ninth, but Lehigh Valley made it interesting as Joe Jacques entered the game. Four singles and two walks later and three runs were in for the IronPigs, with Andrew Politi responsible for putting out the fire, as the bases were still loaded and there were no outs. He walked the first hitter that he faced, then Rodolfo Castro hit a walk-off grand slam to cap off an eight-run frame.
Grant Gambrell (four innings), Jorge Benitez (1 2/3 innings), Luis Guerrero (1 1/3 innings) and Brennan Bernardino (one inning) combined to throw a three-hit shutout until the final inning. Gambrell, who struck out seven, gave up all three knocks and Guerrero didn't allow a baserunner.
Eddy Alvarez opened the scoring in the fifth with a single, while Romy Gonzalez (pictured) homered twice and David Hamilton also went yard. The output opened up the four-run lead that wasn't quite big enough, as those four accounted for all of Worcester's hits.
Player of the Day: It's hard to argue with two home runs. The Red Sox claimed Romy Gonzalez off waivers in January from the White Sox. He hasn't hit for much power in the past two years, but he did go deep 24 times between Double-A and Triple-A in 2021, partially due to a fringe-average hit tool. Gonzalez was at first base on Friday night but can play all over the field, which is a big part of his value. For now, he's got half of his team's hits and RBI on the season.
Photo credit: Romy Gonzalez by Kelly O'Connor