IL Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

RailRiders Keep Worcester Reeling with 14-2 Win

August 20, 2021 - International League (IL)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release


WORCESTER, Mass. - The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders flirted with throwing a no-hitter for the second straight night and had a monstrous showing from the offense as they defeated the Worcester Red Sox 14-2 on Friday night at Polar Park.

After Sean Boyle threw a no-hitter in game two of Thursday night's doubleheader, JP Sears started Friday's game by throwing 6.0 hitless innings. The left-hander allowed only one baserunner in his night, coming on a fourth-inning walk to Franchy Cordero. Sears (1-0) finished the night by retiring the final seven batters he faced.

Nick Nelson threw a 1-2-3 inning in the seventh, with a phenomenal leaping catch made by Cristian Perez to preserve the no-hit bid. However, with one out in the eighth inning, Chad De La Guerra picked up a single against Greg Weissert to end the no-hitter. The WooSox rallied for a pair of runs against Weissert after their first hit, but that was all they could muster as Brooks Kriske closed out the win with a 1-2-3 ninth.

In total, the RailRiders pitching staff strung together 16.0 consecutive innings of hitless baseball against the Red Sox stretching across three games. The RailRiders fell five outs shy of joining the 2014 Lynchburg Hillcats for the distinction of being just the second known minor league team to throw no-hitters in two consecutive games in two straight days.

Not to be out-done, the RailRiders offense was rolling throughout the game. Armando Alvarez brought the first run of the game with an RBI single in the bottom of the second, touching off a four-run inning that set the tone against Kutter Crawford (1-3).

Jonathan Davis launched a three-run home run over the Worcester Wall in right in the fourth to extend the lead to 7-0. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre rallied for four runs against Brandon Brennan to break the game open, and added two runs in the seventh and another in the eighth to extend a 14-0 advantage.

SWB was led at the plate by Cristian Perez and Estevan Florial, each of whom picked up three hits in five at-bats. Rob Brantly was 1-for-4 with a run scored, a double, three RBIs and stole a base for the first time since 2017.

POSTGAME NOTES: The RailRiders have won back-to-back games for the first time since July 28 and 29th at Syracuse... Every player in the SWB starting lineup recorded a hit in the game, and eight of the nine batters had at least one RBI... The RailRiders held the WooSox to only two hits, the fifth game this year in which SWB has limited its opponents to two-or-fewer hits (two no-hitters, one one-hitter, two two-hitters).

The RailRiders continue their series with the Red Sox on Saturday evening at Polar Park. First pitch is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. RHP Deivi Garcia (2-5, 7.08) gets the start for SWB, while Worcester answers with RHP Connor Seabold (0-3, 4.81). Coverage on the RailRiders Baseball Network begins at 3:45 p.m.

SWB returns home to PNC Field on August 31 to begin a series with the Buffalo Bisons. For tickets and more information, call (570) 969-BALL or slide to www.swbrailriders.com/tickets.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders Record:

55-36

Check out the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders Statistics



International League Stories from August 20, 2021


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