After Overcoming Adversity All Year, the WooSox Are Pushing for the Playoffs

Winners of 16 of their last 20 games, Worcester is playing some of their best baseball at exactly the right time. Since traveling to Syracuse at the end of June, the WooSox have gone 24-10, vaulting themselves up the standings and into the conversation of being the potential second-half winners of the International League.

In Triple-A, the season has been broken into two halves since 2022. In the International League, the team that has the best record between the two divisions at the end of each half secures a playoff spot. The Memphis Cardinals were this season’s first-half champions, securing home field for a best-of-three series to determine the league champion; the winner of that gets to play in Las Vegas against the Pacific Coast League’s champion to determine a Triple-A champion.

Following a 2-1 win on August 12, the team sits just half a game back of Indianapolis for first place. The WooSox have put themselves into a situation where they have a shot to compete for their first championship since they moved to Worcester and the playoff format changed. To say that the thought of a playoff race isn’t on the team’s mind would be wrong.

“I’m not gonna say I’m not thinking about it, cause I’d be lying if I wasn’t,” acting manager Iggy Suarez admitted to the media back when the team was two games back of first. “You look at the standings and kind of see where you are. You don’t scoreboard watch too much, you look where you are after games. But you can’t help to check.

“We’re not talking about it around here. It’s like, we just gotta do what we do and whatever happens, happens. That’s all we can do."

This isn’t the first time Suarez has been involved in a playoff chase. When he was a player back in 2006 with the Portland Sea Dogs, he was called up from the Wilmington Blue Rocks to help the team as they were competing for the Double-A championship. The team would go on to capture the franchise’s first Eastern League Championship that season.

It wouldn’t be the only time Suarez was involved in a playoff race, as he was the manager of the Greenville Drive when they swept the South Atlantic Championship Series in 2023 with a roster that had a few guys who are now in Worcester.

“It’s a cool time to be in. I’ve been fortunate enough as a player to do it, 2006 in Portland. I’ve done it as a manager, we won in ’23 [in Greenville]. The players know. Let’s keep playing our game and what we do.”

Worcester’s season has been defined by not just one player carrying the team, but thanks in part to everyone stepping up at different times. Early in the season, they lost key players such as Payton Tolle, Jake Bennett, Mickey Gasper and Nick Sogard to the parent club. Despite that, the team hovered around .500 thanks to the contributions of guys like Allan Castro, Anthony Seigler, Raymond Burgos and Vinny Capra.

Even when Seigler was promoted to Boston and the team lost a key offensive piece, others stepped up as Tyler McDonough and Max Ferguson were brought up from Portland and contributed immediately.

Now in the second half, that playstyle has evolved. Since traveling to Syracuse at the end of June, the offense has been rolling. In the month of July, the team had 10 position players with an OPS over .700. Castro just missed that with an OPS of .690. Eight players had at least nine RBIs for the month and Brett Harris and Capra were tied for the team lead with 14.

On the pitching side, the bullpen has stepped up all season. Without more than one available starting pitcher until late July, the team was constantly throwing bullpen games, sometimes four times a week as they navigated a lack of arms. Innings have been tough to cover, but the bullpen led by Angel Bastardo, Wyatt Olds, Seth Martinez, Eduardo Rivera and recently traded reliever Tyler Uberstine held down the fort in the month of July. Then, reinforcements from Double-A came in the form of Blake Wehunt, John Holobetz and Gage Ziehl.

“When I got the text from Dan [Delucia] and it’s not all TBDs, when you see actual names, I was like is it for real. It’s a breath of fresh air. I bet the bullpen is pumping their fist in the ‘pen, give them a little bit of rest,” Suarez joked when the topic of the new starters was approached. The heavy reliance on the bullpen hasn’t gone unnoticed; following the August 12 game against Buffalo, Worcester has deployed 31 bullpen games. Overall, their record has been 19-12 across those games, a sign of how dominant their bullpen has been.

“Before, we were asking a lot out of them and I think they understand the situation. They’ve stepped up. It’s not an easy thing to do, especially doing it as many times as we’ve done this year. I think it’s a mindset they’ve grown accustomed to and they’ve been getting better at. I’ve never seen this many like we’ve had this year, but again it’s a testament to how they prepare and are able to give us good outings.”

For most of the season, the team would have four, sometimes five pitchers available each night. The plan was to navigate outs rather than plan innings. Most pitchers would deliver two innings a night, and some such as Noah Song and Hobie Harris have been able to provide length and give three innings. The hope was that the team would make it through each game with the four arms. If not, it was likely a position player such as Juan Montero or Nathan Hickey who would take the mound.

“It’s a breath of fresh air. There’s still some hiccups that can happen here and there, but to be able to have starters that can give us three or four innings in the beginning of the game to go into the bullpen as opposed to going into the bullpen first and then Hickey’s coming in the seventh.”

And now with everything starting to click for Worcester, the potential the team always had is now being shown. The players who kept the season alive are still thriving, but now with assistance from the next wave of incoming prospects. The roster has mostly stayed the same, but the latest additions that have been optioned from Boston and promoted from Portland has allowed the team to flourish.

Each time it seemed they were out of a game during the second half, the team has fought back in and managed to win. Against Jacksonville on July 22 the team was trailing 7-0 and then 10-4 in a seven-inning game before eventually walking them off 13-12.

“There’s an energy in the dugout knowing that if we’re within striking distance we’ll have a chance even if we’re behind. I think any kind of lead, we don’t panic. It’s just a matter of just giving ourselves good at-bats. Again, you feel the energy whether it’s in the dugout with our bats or coming from the bullpen and our pitchers on the mound. Once you have that energy and that mentality there’s no doubt we’ll be in it,” Suarez explained about the team’s recent hot streak.

Worcester has never had a losing season since moving from Pawtucket, but this season has a different feel to it. The team has been a cohesive unit all year despite the roster being in a constant state of change. Led by players such as Arias, Campbell, Castro and Capra on the field, Worcester is now riding high and aiming for a trip to Las Vegas.

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