IL1 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

SWB Game Notes

Published on June 30, 2014 under International League (IL1)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release


YESTERDAY: A giant baserunning gaffe gifted the RailRiders an easier-than-expected win as they defeated the IronPigs 6-5 Sunday afternoon. With two on and two out, Leandro Castro broke from first on two-strike pitch to Nate Spears. But it wasn't a full-count delivery and it was out of the zone. Cameron Perkins wisely held his ground at second, while Castro got caught in a rundown and picked off 2-3 to seal the deal. The RailRiders' 4-1 road trip led to their 40th win on the season, while the IronPigs lost for the seventh time in eight games and fell to a season-worst five games under .500. SWB has now claimed the regional rivals' last three clashes after losing six of the first seven. The RailRiders had lost nine of their prior 11 one-run games before winning twice at Lehigh Valley by one.

FA SO DE LA: In his first start in nine days, Joel De La Cruz struggled to give his team innings. He needed 38 pitches to record two outs in the third and got chased after a bases-loaded walk to former RailRider Russ Canzler. De La Cruz's longest career outing came on May 14 at Lehigh Valley when he spun seven innings and lost despite allowing just two earned runs. Sunday marked his shortest career nod at 2.2 frames. He went at least five innings in each of his first four SWB starts, posting a 1.90 ERA and .200 BAA in the process as the team went 3-1. In his last seven outings, he has gone five innings just once while logging a 5.81 ERA and .336 BAA as the team has gone 2-5.

CURSES, ZOILED AGAIN: Zoilo Almonte posted his second four-RBI performance of the season and the team's fifth. He raised his team-leading total of home runs to 11 and his squad-best RBI sum to 41 with his two-hit day. He went 7-for-22 (.318) on the road trip and in the finale delivered his first multi-RBI effort since June 13 at Columbus. He had three RBIs in 14-game span between them.

WHAT ABOUT BOB?: After starting his Triple-A tenure 2-for-16, Rob Refsnyder has gone 21-for-46 (.457/.597/.804/1.401) with nine extra-base hits (three home runs), nine RBIs, 15 walks and 15 runs scored in 15 games. His efforts yesterday saw him go 2-for-3 with a double, two walks and two runs scored. Refsnyder boast's IL's best June marks in average (.371), on-base percentage (.500) and OPS (1.129). The June OBP leads all of Triple-A.

JUST-US LEAGUE: The RailRiders lead the loop in batting average (.270) and slugging (.406)...However, SWB has the IL's lowest walk total (247, 3.0/game) and just a .335 OBP...Lehigh Valley ranks second-worst with its .243 contact clip and last with its .363 slugging percentage...Lehigh Valley ranks 10th in the 14-team league with its 4.20 ERA while SWB stands 11th at 4.37...The RailRiders own the IL's second-worst fielding percentage (.976) while the IronPigs boast its second-best rate (.982).

IRONRAIL TROPHY: On June 13 of last year, the RailRiders and IronPigs announced the creation of the "IronRail Trophy". The 16-game series between the RailRiders and IronPigs decides the annual winner. The stakes have the losing team's GM singing in a fat lady costume on the winner's video board after home wins in the series and the heavy hardware itself. The trophy is held by the previous year's winning team. The 2013 series was an 8-8 draw, but per the rules, the winner of the last game won the tiebreaker. By taking a 3-2 contest on Aug. 31 in Allentown, the RailRiders claimed the prize. SWB owns a 60-46 lead in the all-time series dating back to Lehigh Valley's inaugural 2008 season. Lehigh Valley has only won a season series against SWB once, and did so by the slimmest of margins when it went 9-7 in 2010. The RailRiders trail this year's set, 6-4.

STOP, THIEVES!: The Chiefs went 4-for-4 in stolen base tries in Thursday's doubleheader. The RailRiders have allowed their opponents to successfully swipe a bag in each of their last 22 tries. The RailRiders have nabbed just 21 of 107 (.196) would-be base stealers. No IL team has had more stolen base attempts or successes against it than SWB which has the circuit's worst caught-stealing efficiency. Lehigh Valley leads the league with its .406 caught-stealing efficiency.

Check out the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders Statistics

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