Hamilton’s Big Day Helps WooSox Snap Skid

WORCESTER, MA – On a day when David Hamilton set the Red Sox Triple-A record with his 52^nd and 53^rd stolen bases of the season, the Worcester Red Sox (32-24, 71-60) snapped a five-game losing streak with a nail-biting 5-4 win over the red hot Norfolk Tides (33-24, 81-50), who had won 12 of their previous 14 games entering Sunday.

The WooSox hung on when Nick Robertson (S, 2) struck out Daz Cameron on a called third strike that was confirmed by the ABS challenge system to end the ballgame and strand the tying run at second base.

Hamilton went 2-for-3, stole two bases and drove in three of Worcester’s five runs with an RBI single in the fifth and a 429-foot two-run home run in the seventh. His 17^th blast padded Worcester’s lead to 5-2, and proved to be the game-winning swing. The big fly came off an 0-1 slider from Nick Vespi and easily cleared the Worcester wall in right-center.

Hamilton walked in the first and quickly stole second base with a head-first slide, passing Lee Graham (1983 Pawtucket Red Sox) for the most steals in a single Red Sox Triple-A season with 52. Number 53 came in the fifth inning, when he scampered his way out of a rundown after reaching with a run-scoring base hit.

Trailing 5-2 after seven, Norfolk battled back with a long Josh Lester solo home run in the eighth and a nerve-wracking rally in the ninth, sparked by a Connor Norby walk and a Heston Kjerstad single. Lewin Diaz made it 5-4 with an RBI groundout, but Robertson sealed the win by striking out Cameron, son of former Red Sox outfielder Mike Cameron.

The Tides jumped out to another early lead on Sunday with a leadoff double from Norby and a two-run bomb from Kjerstad. Brian Van Belle (W, 4-2) was phenomenal from there, holding Norfolk to just those two runs on five hits with three walks and three strikeouts in 5.1 innings.

Ronaldo Hernandez knotted things up at 2-2 in the home half of the first, bouncing a two-run double down the third base line to plate Hamilton and Stephen Scott.

Christian Koss delivered an impressive day at the plate, finishing 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and finishing the week 4-for-11 with three extra base hits.

Norfolk starter Cade Povich (L, 1-3) allowed three runs on four hits with two walks and six strikeouts in five innings.

The WooSox will head to Lawrenceville, Georgia for a six-game series against the Gwinnett Stripers (Atlanta Braves) from Tuesday – Sunday, and return home to Polar Park for the final homestand of the season September 12 - 17.