IL1 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

RailRiders vs. Red Wings - Game Notes - June 20, 2013

June 20, 2013 - International League (IL1)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release


THE GRICE IS RIGHT: Earlier this month, Cody Grice was a .196 hitter for High-A Tampa. On Wednesday night in Rochester, he reached rare air for the Triple-A RailRiders. Grice became the second RailRider to homer twice in a game and the first to both hit a grand slam and drive in six runs in a 10-7 defeat of the Red Wings at Frontier Field. The RailRiders went yard a season-best four times on the night, while the Red Wings, who started the season 2-11, once again fell short of reaching the .500 mark for the first time in 2013.

WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT?: Grice had five RBIs in 21 games with Advanced-A Tampa earlier this season and had two home runs on his three-year pro career before his Wednesday exploits.

BIG LEAGUE FEEL: The only other RailRider to homer twice in a game was Thomas Neal on May 31 at Durham. The RailRiders' best single-game RBI showing by a player had been four, recorded twice by Bobby Wilson and once by Zoilo Almonte. Neal and Almonte are both now in the big leagues with the Yankees while Wilson spent most of last season in the show with the Angels.

JUMP FOR ZOI: Almonte made his Major League debut with the Yankees in the nightcap of yesterday's doubleheader split against the Dodgers. He came on as a pinch hitter for his former SWB teammate, catcher Austin Romine, and grounded out in the ninth. Almonte had no Triple-A experience before entering this season as a 23-year-old.

AIN'T IT GRAND?: Grice delivered the franchise's first grand slam since Cole Garner belted one off of Gwinnett's Brent Leach on July 21, 2012. Garner has a grand slam among his six homers with his current club, Triple-A Nashville (Milwaukee Brewers), this season.

TAG TEAM AT THE TOP: Walter Ibarra and J.R. Murphy combined to go 5-for-10 with a double and two homers at the top of the RailRiders' lineup. Each man connected on his second Triple-A home run, both solo shots.

ALL GOOD THINGS: Addison Maruszak went 0-for-4 with a walk as his nine-game hit streak ended. He had hit in 20 of his prior 21, connecting at .329 (24-for-73) rate in that time with eight of his team-high 16 doubles. He also started in left field for the first time as a RailRider. He has now started at first, second, third, short and in both corner outfield spots this season.

SOLID START: Former Rochester star Randy Ruiz enjoyed another multi-hit night with a pair of singles. In four games since joining the RailRiders, Ruiz is 7-for-15 (.467) as a RailRider.

PINSTRIPE PIPELINE: Per the Yankees' PR department, the big bombers entered today having used 41 players on the 2013 season after using 45 in all of last year. Eighteen of those players have made their first-ever appearance as a Yankee, with six players, all former RailRiders, making their Major League debuts (INF David Adams, OF Zoilo Almonte, RHP Preston Claiborne, INF Corban Joseph, RHP Brett Marshall and LHP Vidal Nuno). The Yankees entered the day as one of five MLB teams to use at least 40 players already in 2013 (also Toronto-46, Miami-42, Los Angeles-NL-40 and Seattle-40).

FUN FACT: The RailRiders' six-run first inning was their most explosive of 2013.

JUST BEING MILEY: SWB's Dave Miley has been named manager of the IL All-Star team for the 2013 Dolan Auto Group Triple-A All-Star Game. The 26th-annual Triple-A All-Star Game will take place at Aces Ballpark in Reno, Nev. on Wednesday, July 17 at 9:05 p.m. EST and will be broadcasted live on MLB Network. Miley will participate in his third Triple-A All-Star Game (Louisville, 2002; SWB, 2008) as manager, matching Rick Sweet for the most appearances as a skipper in the event's history.

Check out the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders Statistics



International League Stories from June 20, 2013


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