Worcester Red Sox power past Bulls 7-4 in series opener

The Worcester Red Sox hit three homers to power past the Durham Bulls 7-4 in the series opener at Polar Park on Tuesday night.

Rob Refsnyder, Dalton Guthrie and Chase Meidroth each slugged homers as the WooSox (6-9) claimed the first game of the six-game set.

Durham (6-10) nosed ahead in the first inning on a single by Dominic Smith, scoring Kameron Misner after his leadoff double. But Worcester tied the game in the last of the first on a home run by former Bulls outfielder Rob Refsnyder, who was in the lineup on a major league rehab for the Boston Red Sox.

In the second, Durham starter Mason Montgomery (L, 0-4) allowed a single and walk with one out, but surrendered a two-out, three-run homer to Dalton Guthrie to make it 4-1.

Trailing 5-1 in the fifth, Alex Jackson clubbed a three-run shot against Naoyuki Uwasawa (W, 1-1) to pull the Bulls to 5-4. Uwasawa, an 11-year veteran of Japan’s major leagues, was signed by the Tampa Bay Rays in the off-season and spent all of spring training with the Rays, but was traded to Boston at the start of the regular season. Uwasawa earned the win, permitting four runs across five innings.

Durham’s offense was shackled the rest of the way by dominant relief appearances by Cam Booser and Zack Kelly, who combined for 10 strikeouts in their four innings. The Bulls fanned 15 times in the game.

Montgomery suffered the loss, allowing five runs and two homers in his four innings.

The series continues Wednesday afternoon at 3:05 PMET with Jacob Lopez (2-1, 7.59) opposing Worcester’s Richard Fitts (0-0, 2.89).

Tickets for Durham’s next home game on Tuesday, April 23rd against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and all 2024 Durham Bulls home contests are available and can be purchased online at DurhamBulls.com.