SWB Game Notes - July 30, 2026
IL Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

SWB Game Notes - July 30, 2026

Published on July 30, 2026 under International League (IL)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release


Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (18-9, 55-46) @ Iowa Cubs (13-16, 43-58)

July 30, 2026 | Game 102 | Road Game 53 | PNC Field | First Pitch 7:38 P.M.

RH Alexander Cornielle (1-2, 4.62) vs LH Jordan Wicks (0-8, 7.41)

Cornielle (7/25 vs SYR): 2.2 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 2 HR, 4 BB, 2 SO, 78 P (47 S) [Mets, 8-1]

Wicks (7/25-1 @ GWN): 1.2 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 1 SO, 59 P (36 S) [Stripers, 8-0]

LAST TIME OUT

DES MOINES, IA (July 29, 2026) - The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders beat the Iowa Cubs 4-3 at Principal Park on Wednesday afternoon. The RailRiders built an early lead and held off a late Cubs comeback effort to win their second straight in the series and third straight overall.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre took a 2-0 lead in the first. George Lombard Jr. walked, and J.C. Escarra was hit by a Jaxon Wiggins pitch. With two down and both runners in scoring position, a Yanquiel Fernández single gave the RailRiders the early edge.

Marco Luciano singled in Lombard Jr. in the third to extend the lead to 3-0.

Brendan Beck held the Cubs in check over the first four innings, striking out six. Iowa tallied its first run on a balk in the fifth to break up the shutout bid. Brad Hanner closed the door on the I-Cubs threat in the fifth and followed with a scoreless sixth.

Luciano's solo home run in the seventh extended the lead. It was Luciano's eighth with the RailRiders since joining the roster in May.

After Eric Reyzelman went three-up, three-down in the seventh and eighth, the Cubs plated two runs on three straight doubles off Yovanny Cruz to cut the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre lead to one at 4-3. With the tying run at second, Cruz struck out pinch hitter Owen Ayers and Brett Bateman to seal the win.

Hanner (5-2) earned the win in relief of Beck, Reyzelman notched his first hold, and Cruz garnered his fourth save of the season. Wiggins (0-2) allowed the first three runs on five hits over 3.2 innings.

NEWS AND NOTES

IN THE LEAGUE - Scranton/Wilkes-Barre is now alone in second place in the International League. The RailRiders are one game behind the Durham Bulls. Iowa is towards the bottom of the back, seven games back. SWB is 7-3 in its last ten contests and nine games above .500, their best record of the season.

THE MAGIC OF MARCO - Marco Luciano has become a force at the plate for Manager Shelley Duncan who has batted him in the top of the order since his promotion to Triple-A on May 8. Yesterday he went 2-for-4 with a homer and two runs batted in. In 48 games, the righty is batting .292 with 52 hits including ten doubles and eight homers. The 24-year-old has played mainly second base with one appearance at shortstop. The Yankees claimed Luciano off of waivers from Baltimore in January, designated him for assignment, and outrighted him to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

COMPLETE OPPOSITE SIDES - SWB has the best pitching earned run average in the International League. In 101 games, the arms hold a 4.17 ERA allowing 401 earned runs. The RailRiders have let up 98 home runs, second least in the IL. Meanwhile, Iowa has the worst ERA with a 6.11 in 101 games. The Cubs have allowed a league-high 602 earned runs. In addition, the home team has allowed the most homers with 150 let up.

SAVE SITUATION - In both games of this series, the RailRiders have taken an early advantage into the ninth inning. They have been close situations, both garnering a save from SWB. Kervin Castro and Yovanny Cruz each earned their fourth respectively.

FREE PASSES - The RailRiders earned just one walk in the game yesterday. It happened to be a leadoff base on balls to George Lombard Jr. that he utilized a challenge to overturn a strike into a ball. The only other free pass the RailRiders received was when J.C. Escarra was hit by a pitch the very next batter.

BRAD'S BEEN BOMB - Reliever Bradley Hanner has one of the best earned run averages on the season out of the RailRiders bullpen. He tossed another inning and a third scoreless, stranding two runners on the basepaths. Hanner has only allowed 19 walks to 55 strikeouts in 46.0 frames. The 27-year-old was originally drafted by Minnesota in the 21st round in 2019 but signed as a free agent with New York on December 16.

STRIKEOUT SUCCESS - The RailRiders pitching staff struck out 15 batters in the game on Wednesday. This tied a nine-inning high that SWB has matched three times this season. The most strikeouts the team has recorded in a contest was 19 back in a 13-inning contest.

CORNIELLE'S CONTROL - RIghty Alexander Cornielle is set to make his seventh start for SWB this summer. Cornielle got tagged for five runs on six hits in his last appearance. It was the most runs allowed in a start by him this season. He also let up two homers and four walks, which both match a game-high from earlier this summer.

Check out the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders Statistics

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International League Stories from July 30, 2026


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