IL1 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

SWB Game Notes

Published on June 15, 2013 under International League (IL1)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release


LAST NIGHT: The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre offense ran into Lehigh Valley Ethan Martin's best outing of the season. Martin, the No. 2 prospect in the Phillies system, worked seven innings, and allowed just one run. He also struck out six, and conceded only four hits. The lone RailRider run came off the bat of Josh Bell, who homered in the fifth inning off of Martin. Dellin Betances came in relief and pitched scoreless frames in the sixth and seventh. The only base-runner to reach against Betances came off an error.

ANOTHER TRIPLE-A DEBUT: One night after catching prospect J.R. Murphy made his Triple-A debut, right-hander Jose Ramirez made his first start above the Double-A level. Ramirez, the fourth best right-handed pitching prospect in the Yankees system according to Baseball America, surrendered two runs over four innings, but did strike out five batters. He worked out of trouble all night, after he issued four walks and allowed three hits.

NEAL THE REAL DEAL: Thomas Neal did just about all he could do against Triple-A pitching, and earned a promotion to New York before last night's game. Neal hit .339 (57-168) with 12 doubles, 24 RBIs, and had an on-base percentage of .426 upon his call-up. He currently ranks fourth in on-base percentage in the International League, and is tied for fourth in the batting title race. He started in right and batted sixth last night for the Yankees in Los Angeles, and singled off of Angels starter C.J. Wilson. He finished his night 1-2 with a walk before being lifted for Ichiro Suzuki.

BOOTCHECK IS BACK IN THE BIGS: It was a homecoming of sorts at Angel Stadium of Anaheim last night. Not just for Neal, who is a southern California native, but also for Chris Bootcheck. Bootcheck was originally drafted by the Angels in the first round in 2000, and pitched for the Angels in parts of five big league seasons. He was called up prior to last night's game, and entered the game in relief of Andy Pettitte in the eighth. He allowed one run on two hits, walked two, and struck out one batter.

YANKEES ROSTER MOVES: The Yankees had to do some roster shuffling last night to get Bootcheck and Neal on the active roster, as well as the 40-man roster. The Yankees placed Kevin Youkilis on the 15-day disabled list, and optioned Adam Warren to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Warren tossed six innings in relief on Thursday when the Yankees and Athletics went 18 innings. New York also announced that Eduardo Nunez had been transferred to the 60-day disabled list, and Cesar Cabral had been outrighted to Double-A Trenton.

ROAD SLIDE: The RailRiders have now dropped five road games in a row, with their last road win coming on June 1 in Durham. The RailRiders began the season as a very successful road team, but have lost 15 out of their last 19 road games since sweeping winning all eight games in a roadie to Charlotte and Gwinnett that spanned from April 27-May 5.

POWER FROM THE LEFT SIDE: After his home run last night, Josh Bell has now hit all three of his homers as a RailRider from the left side. It's a very similar story for Zoilo Almonte, who has hit all six of his round trippers as a left-handed batter. As a team, the RailRiders have only hit six home runs of left-handed pitching, but have hit 43 off right-handed hurlers. The batting average takes quite a dip as well, as the squad is hitting .253 (397-1572) off righties, but just .226 (120-530) off lefties. While all off his power has come from the left side, Bell has had modest success as a right-handed batter as well, as he's hitting .265 (9-34) against left-handers.

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International League Stories from June 15, 2013


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