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RailRiders vs. PawSox - Game Notes - July 1, 2013

July 1, 2013 - International League (IL1) - Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release


HELLO MR. WILSON: Despite coughing up three separate leads, the RailRiders snapped a late deadlock on an RBI double by Bobby Wilson in a three-run eighth inning and held on for a 9-6 defeat of the PawSox on Sunday afternoon.

THREE FOR ALL: Yesterday's victory gave SWB its first three-game winning streak since taking all eight of its games on the Charlotte/Gwinnett road trip from April 29-May 5. It also handed Pawtucket its first three-game losing streak of the season. The PawSox had not lost three in a row since Aug. 16-18, 2012. Two of those three losses came against the then-SWB Yankees. Pawtucket has not lost four in a row since a nine-game slide from June 18-26, 2012.

MILLER TIME: Right-hander Jim Miller bolted down the win with a perfect ninth. He struck out the heart of Pawtucket's order for his team-leading fourth save in as many tries. Miller's season began with two tough outings against Pawtucket. Including his season-opening loss thanks to a Jeremy Hazelbaker grand slam in extras, he allowed nine runs and three homers over two innings in those contests. Since then, he has posted a 2.55 ERA and 55 strikeouts over 35.1 IP (14K/9 IP). Coincidentally enough, the final out he recorded yesterday to secure the win came on a swinging strikeout against Hazelbaker.

I HAVE THE POWER!: Brent Lillibridge and Randy Ruiz each homered in a key three-run third that turned a two-run game into a nightcap rout on Friday. The RailRiders also rode homers to victory in the evening portion of their more traditional twinbill on Wednesday when Ruiz, Fernando Martinez, Dan Johnson and Casey Stevenson all went yard. Add in the four homers from each of the first two games of this series in Pawtucket and the RailRiders have slammed 14 home runs in their last five games after amassing just 60 in their first 78 contests.

THAT'S A START: The RailRiders' power surge was felt at the start of yesterday's affair when Corey Patterson connected on the club's second leadoff homer of the season. The only other game-starting blast came from Corban Joseph against Syracuse's Yunesky Maya on April 20.

BACK-TO-BACK, & BELLY-TO-BELLY: In the fourth inning, Josh Bell and Addison Maruszak began the frame with consecutive big flies. The squad's only other pair of back-to-back jacks also came against Syracuse. Those June 4 shots were off of Jeff Mandel courtesy of Melky Mesa and Maruszak.

JUNE RECAP: Sunday's win helped the RailRiders conclude June at .500 with a 15-15 record. Improved offense was a big part of the team's first non-losing month of the campaign. The RailRiders hit a league-best .285 and by far led the field with 38 home runs. The next-highest total belonged to Indianapolis (31). In fact, the IL's other 13 teams averaged 24 home runs on the month.

THE BOYS OF SUMMER: On the month of June, Maruszak hit .337 and paced the team in hits with 32 and runs scored with 17. Johnson's 30 hits ranked second, and his 18 RBIs led the way. Ruiz blasted a team-high five homers despite only playing in 16 games on the month.

GETTING DEFENSIVE: Only Lehigh Valley (10) made fewer errors in June than the RailRiders (15) in the IL. Entering today, the RailRiders lead all of Triple-A in fielding percentage (.983). In full-season MiLB, no team has fewer total errors and only Double-A Chattanooga (Dodgers/Southern League) has a better fielding percentage by eight and a half 10-thousandths of a percentage point (.983193 to .983108).

ROSTER MOVES: The Yankees made multiple changes to the RailRiders roster yesterday, activating Bell and Adonis Garcia from the DL. In corresponding moves, Cody Grice and Stevenson were sent to Double-A Trenton.


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