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IL Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders Game Notes

April 9, 2022 - International League (IL)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release


Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (4-0) vs Syracuse Mets (0-4)

Game 5 | Road Game 5 | NBT Bank Stadium | Syracuse, NY | Saturday, April 9, 2022 | First Pitch 6:35 PM

RHP Luis Gil (No Record) vs RHP Connor Grey (No Record)

GIL: Tossed 0.1 inning in relief, allowed two earned runs on one hit in ND 9/26/21 vs Syracuse (L 5-1)

GREY: Took loss across 5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, ER, BB, 5 K in final 2021 appearance @ New Hampshire 8/24/21 (L 2-1)

LAST TIME OUT

SYRACUSE, NY (April 8, 2022) - The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders swept a double-header at the hands of the Syracuse Mets on Friday. The bats broke out as the RailRiders swatted five home runs across 15 innings of play.

In game one, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Syracuse traded runs back-and-forth. Greg Bird, making his return to the RailRiders and Yankees organization, sent a no-doubt shot to straightaway centerfield in the first inning for a 2-0 lead. The Mets answered with a lone run in the frame before SWB padded their lead in the top of the fourth. A pair of runs scored on a throwing error. The RailRiders led 4-1 out of the fourth.

The lead would not last. In the home half of the fifth, Syracuse first baseman Daniel Polka tied the game with a three-run home run, his first long ball of the year. The game was eventually forced into extras. Jose Peraza drove home the go-ahead run in the eighth, which proved to hold as the 7-6 final in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's favor.

In game two, the RailRiders' bats exploded. Their largest inning of the young season saw six runs in the second. David Freitas launched a loud solo home run to kickstart the offense. Oswaldo Cabrera would clear the bases later in the inning with a three-run triple. The inning was made complete by Ender Inciarte, who hit a two-run blast to give Scranton/Wilkes-Barre a 6-0 lead. Inciarte went on to homer a second time in the fourth after Matt Pita launched a solo shot in the inning. The RailRiders went on to defeat the Mets 10-1.

NEWS & NOTES

FIRST THINGS FIRST - The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders are looking to stay hot as they face the Syracuse Mets in game five of six tonight. Dating back to the 2021 season, the RailRiders have now won 11 of the last 14 games at NBT Bank Stadium. They won five straight at this ballpark last season from May 4 through May 9.

HISTORY? ALREADY? - According to Connor Foley of the Times-Tribune, the RailRiders are "4-0 for the first time since 2009, when Phil Hughes was the winning pitcher in the fourth game, Mark Melancon closed it out and Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash went 3 for 3 with a home run and 3 RBIs out of the No. 9 spot in the order." This marks the longest opening win streak in the RailRiders era (since 2013).

LONELY AT THE TOP - Scranton/Wilkes-Barre is the last remaining undefeated team in the International League. Entering Saturday, Worcester, Buffalo, Rochester and St. Paul find themselves 3-1 on the year. Only one other team at the Triple-A level are undefeated besides SWB. The Sacramento RiverCats of the Pacific Coast League are also 4-0, winning the first four of the season against the Sugar Land Space Cowboys thanks to a twelfth inning walkoff in Friday night's affair in Northern California.

LUIS LUIS, OH BABY - Luis Gil is set to make his 2022 debut with the RailRiders tonight. The 23 year-old appeared in 13 games last season for SWB, making 10 starts. He made five appearances, three of which starts, against Syracuse last season. The right-hander went 1-0 with a 7.04 ERA against the Mets last year (12 ER in 15.1 IP). Even so, this will be the first time he pitches at NBT Bank Stadium. Gil is Baseball America's number 4 prospect in the Yankees system. He throws a four-seam fastball, slider and a changeup.

FIFTY SHADES - Connor Grey will take the hill tonight for the Mets. The righty is making his Syracuse debut after pitching for Brooklyn (A+) and Binghamton (AA) in 2021. Grey does have Triple-A experience with the Reno Aces, pitching in nine games split in 2017 and 2019 while as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks organization (drafted in 2016). He had an 8.59 ERA in 22.0 IP. He has not pitched at the Triple-A level since August 24, 2019 when took a no decision after 2.0 IP in relief against the Salt Lake Bees.

POWER SURGE - The RailRiders have smacked nine home runs in the first four games of the season. Home runs have accounted for 16 of their 27 runs scored in this series (59.2%). As a team, they are averaging a home run every 14.4 at bats. The RailRiders are second in all of professional baseball in home runs hit, just one behind Worcester's 10 long balls. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre is second in Minor League Baseball with 25 RBIs, two behind the El Paso Chihuahuas (27) of the Pacific Coast League.

WELCOME HOME - Tim Locastro made his RailRiders debut last night in game one, batting sixth and playing right field. He went 2 for 4 with a run scored. Locastro is a Syracuse native who attended Auburn High School, located 29.5 miles southwest of NBT Bank Stadium. Locastro has played in summer collegiate ball and a 2010 high school championship game on this field. He won a title with the Maroons, defeating Liverpool High School here on June 2, 2010. He has been a member of the Blue Jays, Dodgers, Diamondbacks and now Yankees organizations across his 10 years in professional baseball.

BIRD IS THE WORD - Former RailRider Greg Bird (2015, 2017, 2018) signed a Minor League contract with the New York Yankees and was added to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre roster on Wednesday. In his first game (game one yesterday) in the Yankees organization since 2019, Bird launched a first inning two-run home run. He finished 2 for 5. Bird spent eight seasons in the Yankees organization from 2012 to 2019. The infielder has played 186 career games across four seasons with the Yankees, while tallying a .211 average with 32 home runs. Bird spent one season in 2021 in the Colorado Rockies organization (where he is a native of). He batted .267 across 112 games with the Albuquerque Isotopes in the Pacific Coast League. He did not appear in the Majors in 2021.

QUICK HITS - The RailRiders swept a double-header yesterday for the first time since July 7, 2019 (vs Rochester)... Scranton/Wilkes-Barre set a season high in total runs (10), hits (12) and runs in a single inning (6) in game two on Friday... Greg Bird's first inning home run in game one yesterday was his first in a RailRider's uniform since May 23, 2018... Ender Inciarte was the first RailRider this season to hit multiple home runs in one game on Friday... The RailRiders will make two trips to NBT Stadium this season, totaling 12 games...

AROUND THE ORG - The Yankees walked off on the Red Sox yesterday 6-5 in extras thanks to Josh Donaldson. In game two today at 4:05 PM, Nick Pivetta faces Luis Severino... Somerset defeated Reading yesterday 6-2. Josh Breaux homered in the victory. The two play today at 5:15 PM... Hudson Valley fell to Greenville 7-6 last night. Trey Sweeney hit his first home run. They play tonight at 7:05 PM... Tampa defeated Lakeland 9-6 in manager Rachel Balkovec's debut. The Tarpons hit two home runs. The two play again tonight at 6:00 PM...

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