IL1 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

SWB Game Notes

Published on June 9, 2013 under International League (IL1)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release


SERIES OPENER: The Buffalo Bisons entered last night's contest with losses in three of four and eight of 12. While the host RailRiders bolted out to a 3-0 lead, the Bisons bombed seven doubles among their 15 hits en route to a 10-4 triumph.

UP AND DOWN: Starter Brett Marshall (2-5) has had an up-and-down season. That see-saw nature was seen within the confines of his most recent start last night. He retired 10 of the first 11 he faced with four strikeouts and six groundouts. But one of his two big bugaboos this season, the walk, opened the door. The full-count free pass to defending IL MVP Mauro Gomez with one out in the fourth started a run where five of six Bisons reached base including three straight two-out run-scoring doubles by Jim Negrych, Ricardo Nanita and Mike McCoy. Marshall's first three starts saw him go 0-2 with a 9.69 ERA. He then posted a dominant three-start run with a 2-1 record and 0.98 ERA. But since making his MLB debut on May 15, he has made four SWB starts and has gone 0-3 with a 12.71 ERA. In 17 innings over that time, the IL has hit .363 against him with eight home runs.

ALL GOOD THINGS: Ronnier Mustelier went 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts last night, stalling his hit streak at nine and his on-base run at 17 in a row. He was robbed on a falling-fast liner to center in the third when Anthony Gose made a headfirst diving glove. Mustelier entered play on May 14 as a .167 hitter with two RBIs and two extra-base hits. He then hit safely in 20 of 22 before last night, connecting at a .361 (35-for-97) clip with three homers, 19 RBIs and an OPS of .902.

CHANGE IT UP: Manager Dave Miley made some major changes to his lineup last night. Walter Ibarra led off for the first time all season, including his time at Double-A Trenton. Ibarra was mostly the nine-hole hitter for the Thunder. Melky Mesa hit third for the first time as a RailRider while Josh Bell batted in the clean-up spot for the first time as a RailRider. Mustelier, who had been in the three or four-spot in every game since May 23, instead hit sixth for the first time all year. And Thomas Neal, who struggled to a 4-for-25 (.160) showing in his six-game stint as the leadoff man, returned to the seventh slot.

ADD IT UP: Addison Maruszak extended his season-long hitting streak to 11 games with his seventh-inning single on Friday night at Syracuse. During his string of success, he has hit .368 (14-for-38) with four doubles, one triple, one homer, seven RBIs and nine runs scored. He has lifted his season-long contact clip from .194 on May 17 to .245. Before the streak, he had not owned an average that good since May 7. Should he connect in his next contest, Maruszak would tie Zoilo Almonte's 12-game run from April 25-May 7 for the team's best hit streak of 2013. It is tied for the second-longest active streak in the IL. Jackie Bradley, Jr., who was optioned back to Pawtucket yesterday when SWB alumnus Shane Victorino was activated off the DL, returned to the IL with a 12-gamer intact. Gwinnett's Tyler Pastornicky also owns an 11-game string.

OFF THE RAILS: Zoilo Almonte hit into his league-worst 12th groundball double play of the season last night...That total ties him with Maikel Franco of Clearwater (Adv.-A/PHI) for the second-most in MiLB, just one less than Raul Fortunato (Low-A/PIT)...He also was the only man in the top three of the lineup to notch a hit as the trio combined to go 1-for-11 with four strikeouts...Melky Mesa was part of that triumvirate...He struck out twice and walked once as he went 0-for-3...He has struck out a league-worst 92 times (3rd in MiLB) and is on pace to strike out 221 times on the season...That would shatter the franchise record of 166 set by Jorge Vazquez in 2011...Vazquez finished as the IL's runner-up to the strikeout king that year, Ryan Strieby (171/TOL)...However, Vazquez also led the IL with 32 homers and fell one RBI short of Stefan Gartrell's league-leading total (94/GWN)...Buffalo's Mike McCoy matched his season-long doubles total last night (3).

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International League Stories from June 9, 2013


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