IL1 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

SWB Game Notes

Published on May 12, 2013 under International League (IL1)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release


GREAT LATE: For a second consecutive game, the RailRiders scored the go-ahead run in the eighth inning. This time Melky Mesa's double put the RailRiders in front, as they defeated the Gwinnett Braves on Saturday night, 4-3.

BOUNCING BACK: Mesa entered the series in an 0-for-15 funk and second in the minors with 53 strikeouts. He has gone 5-for-9 over the first two games of the set with two doubles, an RBI, a steal and a run scored last night. The prospect was a .306 hitter after his prior three-hit game on April 18. Things spiraled from there, as he hit .157 (11-for-70) with 34 strikeouts until Friday's series opener.

THOMAS THE TANK: Outfielder Thomas Neal played last night for the first time since April 24 when he suffered a hamstring injury legging out a double. He singled in his first plate appearance en route to a 1-for-3 showing with a walk and a run scored.

BEEN AWHILE: Gwinnett has lost 14 in a row. That run includes all six of the club's clashes with the RailRiders thus far. The G-Braves have been held to three runs or less in all but one of the games and outscored 77-32 during the slide. Over their last 16 games, they have plated two tallies or fewer a dozen times.

ROSTER MOVES: The Yankees announced a number of roster moves that affected the RailRiders yesterday. Neal was activated off the DL and infielder Alberto Gonzalez joined the team through a trade with the Cubs. Three players also got released in outfielder/DH Cody Johnson, right-hander Ryan Pope and shortstop Gil Velazquez. As a result, on May 11 the RailRiders' 25-man active roster includes nine men that were not on the Opening Day active roster. That does not include the rehabbing Curtis Granderson.

THE ATTORNEY GENERAL: The Yankees acquired Gonzalez from the Cubs for cash considerations or a player to be named later late on Thursday night according to multiple published reports. He is no stranger to SWB. He was the team's everyday shortstop in 2007 and played 47 games for the club in 2008. He has big league time with the Yankees, Nationals, Padres, Rangers and Cubs. He made the Cubs' Opening Day roster this season and hit .217 (5-for-23) over 11 games. He did not make an error while playing mostly second base. He was designated for assignment on April 19 and hit .303 (10-for-33) in 10 games as the starting shortstop for Triple-A Iowa. He had two hits for the I-Cubs on Thursday night at Colorado Springs and did not make a miscue in his 10 PCL games. Gonzalez was part of the Randy Johnson trade between the Yankees and Diamondbacks in 2007.

100K: Entering today, the RailRiders have drawn 96,719 fans to PNC Field this season. That means the club will likely surpass 100,000 in paid attendance this afternoon. To put that in perspective, the 2011 SWB squad did not crack 100,000 fans until June 17.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: After tomorrow night, the RailRiders will trek to Toledo to begin an eight-game road trip. It will start a spurt with 16 of 20 away from PNC Field. The lone exception will be a four-game series/homestand against a talented Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay) team.

DOES NOT COMPUTE: Apologies, but MiLB's stats portal is having issues this morning. As of publish time for these notes, the numbers were not updated. Some of the IL ranking numbers in the hitters/bullpen notes may not be accurate as a result. MiLB is aware of the issue and is attempting to fix it before game time.

Check out the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders Statistics

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International League Stories from May 12, 2013


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