SWB Game Notes - July 9, 2026
IL Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

SWB Game Notes - July 9, 2026

Published on July 9, 2026 under International League (IL)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release


Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (9-4, 46-41) vs Buffalo Bisons (7-7, 42-47)

July 9, 2026 | Game 88 | Away Game 47 | Sahlen Field | First Pitch 6:35 P.M.

#2 RH Elmer Rodríguez (4-3, 2.93) vs #30 RH Grant Rogers (2-7, 5.35)

Rodríguez (7/2 vs NOR): 6.1 IP, 8 H, 4 R, HR, 2 BB, 6 SO, 93 P (60 S) [RailRiders, 7-3]

Rogers (7/3 @ STP): 5.0 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 2 HR, 1 HB, 1 BB, 5 SO, 85 P (59 S) [Saints, 4-3]

LAST TIME OUT

BUFFALO, NY (July 8, 2026) - The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders beat the Buffalo Bisons 5-1 on Wednesday evening at Sahlen Field. Alexander Cornielle struck out seven over 5.2 one-hit innings, and Tyler Hardman's eighth RailRiders home run paced Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to its fifth straight win.

The RailRiders built a 4-0 lead in the top of the first off MLB rehabber Max Scherzer. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre loaded the bases on singles by J.C. Escarra, Marco Luciano and Yanquiel Fernández. After Oswaldo Cabrera's sac fly staked SWB to a 1-0 lead, Hardman's 426-foot home run to left-center, his third homer of the series, extended the advantage to four runs.

Duke Ellis led off the second with a single, stole second, and advanced to third on a throwing error. An Escarra sac fly brought home Ellis for a 5-0 lead.

Cornielle (1-1) made the advantage stick, pitching beyond the fourth for the first time this season while allowing just a third-inning single and three walks.

Rafael Montero and Chris Kean followed Cornielle with a scoreless inning each. Yovanny Cruz allowed an unearned run on a sac fly in the bottom of the ninth.

Scherzer (0-2) surrendered all five runs, four earned, on six hits with five strikeouts. CJ Van Eyk pitched five scoreless behind Scherzer for the Bisons.

NEWS AND NOTES

BEST IN THE LEAGUE- After the first two games of the week against Buffalo, the RailRiders lead the International League in both hitting and pitching categories. The team has the best batting average of .360, the most hits (27), and runs (23). They are second in home runs, smacking seven so far. On the pitching side, the arms have the lowest earned run average at 1.50. They have surrendered the least earned runs (4) and unearned runs (3).

HARDMAN'S HAPPY- Tyler Hardman launched a home run off of Max Scherzer yesterday, marking his second consecutive game with a long ball. Hardman is hitting .500 in the series with three homers and seven runs batted in. The righty is off to a hot start in July, hitting .364 in six games. The 27-year-old was a fifth-round pick by New York back in 2021 out of the University of Oklahoma.

AGAINST SCHERZER- Scranton/Wilkes-Barre scored five runs off of big-league veteran Max Scherzer. The team plated four in the first thanks to a home run from Tyler Hardman and a sacrifice fly from Oswaldo Cabrera. They tacked one more on in the second after Duke Ellis ran rampant on the base paths and scored on an Escarra sac fly. Scherzer finished with the loss allowing six hits in four frames. He did record five strikeouts on 72 pitches.

IN THE IL- The RailRiders are in second place in the International League thanks to a great start in the second half. The team boasts a 9-4 record after winning their last four contests. They are one game behind the leading Durham Bulls and a half of a game in front of the Toledo Mud Hens. They did have to cancel a game against Norfolk that will not be made up.

WELCOME CHRIS KEAN- Chris Kean tossed one scoreless frame in his RailRiders debut last night. He did walk two but struck out a pair. He inherited a runner and stranded him aboard to help close Rafael Montero's line. With Somerset, he held a 3.34 ERA in 35 innings with just five walks compared to 43 total strikeouts before his call-up. Kean, 24, was signed by the Yankees in 2023 out of the University of Louisiana-Monroe.

DUKE'S DASHING- With another swipe last night, Duke Ellis now has 36 steals on the season. He has the second most in the International League behind just Worcester's Braiden Ward who has a pair more. Ellis also has recorded the most steals in the Yankees' entire minor league system in 61 games. The lefty was claimed by New York off of waivers from Seattle back in 2024 and has spent parts of three seasons with the RailRiders. Ellis is verging on the RailRiders single season and team-career stolen base records. The single season record is held by Tommy Barrett who had 44 in 1989. Nick Punto holds the career Scranton/Wilkes-Barre high with 82 swipes in parts of three seasons from 2001-2003.

Check out the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders Statistics

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International League Stories from July 9, 2026


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