IL Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

RailRiders' Pitching Handles Lehigh Valley

May 16, 2021 - International League (IL)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release


MOOSIC, Pa. - Led by a season-high 15 strikeouts from a dominating pitching staff, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders defeated the Lehigh Valley IronPigs 3-1 on Sunday afternoon at PNC Field.

Deivi Garcia got the start for the RailRiders and was terrific for the second straight outing against the IronPigs. The right-hander allowed just one unearned run on two hits in 5.0 innings, walking one and striking out nine.

In two starts this week against Lehigh Valley, Garcia did not allow an earned run in 10.0 innings, recording 16 strikeouts, two walks and allowed only five hits.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre got on the board in the bottom of the fourth when Chris Gittens connected for a leadoff home run. It was Gittens' team-leading fourth long ball of the year, and his second in as many days. He finished the game 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI while extending his on-base streak to 11 games to start the season.

After the IronPigs tied the game in the top of the fifth, the RailRiders re-captured the lead in the bottom of the sixth. The team loaded the bases with no outs against David Paulino, and a walk and a hit batter brought in two runs as SWB took a 3-1 advantage.

Brooks Kriske (1-0) worked around a hit and a walk in the sixth to keep Lehigh Valley off the scoreboard. Nestor Cortes turned in 3.0 scoreless innings to close out the victory and record his first save of the season.

The RailRiders bullpen has thrown 9.0 scoreless innings over the last two games, and has allowed only three runs in its last 30 innings since Sunday, May 9. Cortes has turned in 8.2 scoreless innings across three appearances to start his season.

POSTGAME NOTES: The game took 2 hours and 26 minutes to play, making it the fastest game of the year for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre... Gittens became the third RailRider this season to homer in back-to-back games, joining Miguel Andujar (5/5 & 5/6) and Derek Dietrich (5/8 & 5/9), who both accomplished the feat at Syracuse... SWB pitchers turned in a staff ERA of 2.00 in the six-game series with Lehigh Valley.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has a day off on Monday before beginning a six-game series at the Rochester Red Wings on Tuesday. RHP Brody Koerner (0-0, 1.17) takes the mound for the RailRiders, while LHP Ben Braymer (0-1, 9.39) climbs the hill for the Red Wings. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m., with coverage on the RailRiders Baseball Network beginning at 6:45 p.m.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre returns home to PNC Field on Tuesday, May 25 with a date against the Buffalo Bisons. For tickets and more information, call (570) 969-BALL or slide to www.swbrailriders.com/tickets.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders Record:

9-3

Check out the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders Statistics



International League Stories from May 16, 2021


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