Niko Kavadas belts 2 homers in WooSox sellout win on Friday night
In front of a sellout crowd at Polar Park, WooSox designated hitter Niko Kavadas crushed two homers in the team’s 6-2 victory over the Columbus Clippers on Friday night.
After a one-hour and forty-five-minute rain delay, the two teams finally took the field at 8:30 p.m. Kavadas’ bat would provide some thunder, connecting for a solo blast in the home half of the third inning. The slugger drilled a ball off the foul pole in right field, giving Worcester a quick 1-0 lead.
One inning later, Kavadas crushed his second home run of the game, a two-run shot deposited onto Summit St., giving the WooSox a 5-0 lead.
Entering the game on Friday night, Kavadas was hitting .412 (7-for-17) with eight RBI in his last five games. His multi-homer game was the first time he had homered since June 7, when he hit two homers versus the Rochester RedWings.
Kavada's power is impressive, and his advanced statistics at the plate are eye-popping. He's posted a .392 BABIP and a 155 wRC+; it’s not enough yet to earn the 25-year-old a promotion to the Red Sox.
He’s mashed right-handed pitching this season, hitting .278 in 144 at-bats and having a .590 slugging percentage. His sample size against left-handed pitching is smaller, hitting .261 in 46 at-bats.
The WooSox and Clippers will play in game five of their six-game set at 4:05 p.m. on Saturday afternoon at Polar Park. Worcester will send Richard Fitts (4-2, 4.20 ERA) to the mound opposite Joey Castillo (0-0, 2.16 ERA) for Columbus.
