WooSox’ Romy Gonzalez connects for two homers in Opening Day loss
Romy Gonzalez made his presence felt in the middle of the WooSox lineup on Friday night in the season opener against Lehigh Valley.
Gonzalez was penciled in the No. 4 hole and played first base in Chad Tracy’s first lineup of the season.
Worcester plated their first run of the season, after Eddy Alvarez singled in the fifth inning to score Mark Contreras. That 1-0 lead held until the seventh inning, when Gonzalez hit his first blast of the season, an opposite-field solo-homer.
Gonzalez’ blast came on an 0-1 count, crushing a sweeper, giving the ball an exit velocity of 106 mph and traveling 402 feet to right center field.
The WooSox took a 2-0 lead and seemed in control through the next couple of innings. In the top of the ninth, infielder David Hamilton hit a solo homer to lead off the inning, and three batters later, Gonzalez smoked his second home run of the game.
His second home run was crushed, traveling 422 feet over the right center field wall. The ball had an exit velocity of 109.1 mph, sending the ball to a similar spot as his first long ball earlier in the game.
The WooSox were not able to hold their four run lead in the ninth inning, surrendering seven runs and a walk-off grand slam to lose the season opener 7-4.
The Red Sox initially acquired Gonzalez off waivers at the end of January, following his being designated for assignment by the White Sox.
The 27-year-old has played 86 games for the White Sox since he debuted in 2021. He’s played three infield positions, primarily at second base but also at shortstop and third base. In addition, he’s played right field and left field. Gonzalez is expected to serve as Triple-A depth for the Red Sox while maintaining two options.
