IL1 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

SWB Game Notes

Published on July 11, 2015 under International League (IL1)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release


ABOUT LAST NIGHT: They trailed once all night. But it came at the worst possible time. The RailRiders saw former RailRider and New York Yankee Melky Mesa belt a two-out, two-run homer off Nick Rumbelow (2-2) that just cleared both the wall and Ramon Flores' leap in left-center field as the Buffalo Bisons walked it off at Coca-Cola Field on Friday night, 5-4.

WALK IT OFF: The RailRiders suffered their fifth walk-off loss of the season and second this month. Three of them have come on home runs. Cedric Hunter hit a two-out, two-run homer off Rumbelow on April 27 at Gwinnett. Matt Davidson followed a Neftali Soto game-tying solo shot with a game-winning blast off Tyler Webb on April 30 at Charlotte.

WRONG WAY!: While Buffalo has won seven of 10, the RailRiders have dropped 12 of their last 16. The slide began with a 15-2 loss to the Louisville Bats on June 25 that saw a number of franchise records tied. The team has been outscored by a slim 63-58 combined margin since the lopsided loss to Louisville.

ARE YOU TOO GOOD FOR YOUR HOME?!: After going 2-5 last homestand, the RailRiders stand eight games below .500 at PNC Field (21-29) and 12 games over on the road (26-14). The team has hit .281 on the road compared to a .262 mark at home. On the road, SWB has scored 211 runs in 40 games (5.3/game). At home, the squad has plated 182 runs in 50 games (3.6/game). The pitching has performed worse on the road (3.70 ERA) than at home (3.44 ERA). No IL team has a better road winning percentage than the RailRiders (.650), who had won 17 of 20 away from Moosic before dropping four of their last six.

SECOND (BASE) LIFE: Rob Refsnyder has gone 20-for-49 (.408) over his last 15 games and owns a seven-game hitting streak. His 16 walks in that time rank tie for tops in the IL while his season-long .387 OBP ranks third. He has homered twice in his last four games played, both pull jobs hit with authority. His error total has also dropped dramatically month by month: April (7E in 20GP), May (4E in 24GP), June (2E in 27GP), July (0E in 10GP). He owns a .290 batting average, his best contact clip since he was at the same mark after play on May 30.

UP & DOWN: All-Star first baseman/DH Kyle Roller leads the team in homers (12), RBIs (48) and shares the lead in walks (44) with Refsnyder, but finds himself in a 10-for-58 (.172) funk over his last 15 games played with 16 strikeouts and just two extra-base hits (.190 SLG).

LET'S GETS SERIESOUS: The Bisons lead the season set with the RailRiders 6-4. The road team has won eight of the 10 meetings thus far. SWB lost four of its last five at Coca-Cola Field in 2014, but swept the Bisons in Buffalo from June 8-10 this season.

THE NEW GUY: Vicente Conde went 0-for-3 in his Triple-A debut. A ninth-round pick in 2014 out of Vanderbilt, the infielder has played at all four full-season levels of the minors this year: Charleston (A, 38G); Tampa (A+, 17G); Trenton (AA, 6G) and SWB. After hitting .286 at Charleston with a .373 OBP, he has gone 7-for-75 (.093) with 31 strikeouts. He has played first, second, third and shortstop.

OFF THE RAILS: Conde became the 57th different player to see game action as a RailRider this season (24 position players, 33 pitchers)...Greg Bird went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI...He has hit safely in six straight...Former Bison Esmil Rogers was in line for a win and his first SWB decision after 5.2 innings of one -run ball...He allowed three hits, all singles, and struck out a season-best six...Rumbelow suffered his fifth blown save, but his first since May 15 at Durham...His last save came on June 9 at Buffalo...The RailRiders lost for the third time when leading after eight innings...Only two IL teams have lost more such affairs: Buffalo and Lehigh Valley with five each...Buffalo held SWB hitless after Dan Fiorito's leadoff double in the fifth...The Bisons have not had a winning record since they were 26-25 after a June 1 win at Indy...Buffalo's Matt Hague reached safely in all four of his plate appearances...His .432 OBP ranks third in all of full-season MiLB and best among all players above Advanced-A.

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International League Stories from July 11, 2015


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