IL1 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

SWB Game Notes

Published on July 24, 2015 under International League (IL1)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release


ABOUT LAST NIGHT: Gary Sanchez's two-out single in the ninth drove Greg Bird home for a 2-1 lead that went final as the RailRiders took down the Indianapolis Indians (Pittsburgh Pirates) on Thursday evening, 2-1.

ROAD WARRIORS: SWB finished its road trip at 5-3 including a split at Indianapolis' (57-42) Victory Field. Thanks to the RailRiders, the Indians have suffered back-to-back home losses for the first time since a three-game slip from May 30-June 1 that saw two setbacks against Toledo and one versus Buffalo.

@ELGARYSANCHEZ: Sanchez posted a 2-for-4 effort with the game-winning RBI. He has three multi-hit showings and six RBIs in his six games played at Triple-A along with an even number of walks (3) and strikeouts (3).

R&R: Rob Refsnyder went 0-for-3 last night to snap a nine-game Triple-A hitting streak. He has hit safely in 16 of 18 at Triple-A going back to June 24. Over the longer stretch, he has hit .383/.513/.567/1.079 with the IL's top OBP. His average and OPS in that window rank third and second in the circuit respectively.

BIRD IS THE WORD: Bird walked twice and scored once on an 0-for-2 night. He has reached safely in all but one of his 17 games with SWB including a hit in 14 of those affairs while slashing .308/.392/.492/.884.

COLE HEARTED: With a walk and an 0-for-3 effort, Cole Figueroa went hitless for just the second time in his last 20 Triple-A games with multiple hits in 14 of those contests. Since an 0-for-3 effort at Norfolk on May 11 dipped his average to .184, he has slashed .383/.426/.529/.935 with those numbers ranking 1st/2nd/5th/5th in the IL. On the season, he checks in among the IL's best in batting average (3rd, .322), hits (T-4th, 103) and PA:K ratio (1st, 19.83:1).

PIRELA POP: Jose Pirela went 0-for-4 yesterday but posted a breakout road trip. He has six multi-hit showing over his last nine SWB games played. He has snapped out of a 5-for-49 (.102) slide at Triple-A with hits in seven of those nine games. During his string, he has gone 16-for-38 (.421) with three doubles, four RBIs and 10 runs scored. He started in center field for the first time this season. His six career regular-season starts in center field came with SWB last August.

WHY SO SERIESOUS?: SWB improved to 6-2-1 in season-series play against the Tribe during the Yankees affiliation, going 40-30 (.571). Five of the seven meetings this season were decided by one run. At 16-12 (.571), the RailRiders trail only Norfolk (25-17, .595) for the IL's best winning percentage in one-run games.

FOR THE RECORD: The RailRiders recorded their third win of the season and second of the journey when trailing after seven innings. SWB's first such success came versus Durham on May 21 when a 1-0 deficit after seven became 3-0 in the eighth. The home half of that inning saw run-scoring contact from Ramon Flores, Refsnyder and Tyler Austin to deadlock the game. In the 10th, Ben Gamel's two-out single to deep center plated Refsnyder with the walk-off winner. On Friday in Louisville, SWB rallied from down 1-0 with the game's last four runs including three in the ninth to best the Bats, 4-1. Pirela posted the go-ahead RBI in the ninth when his single scored Figueroa.

OFF THE RAILS: The RailRiders lead the IL in batting average (.272) and OBP (.340)...SWB must win five of its eight remaining July games to avoid a losing month...Over the first eight seasons as a Yankees affiliate, SWB logged a winning July six times and the two exceptions both saw the squad finish a game under .500...Austin hit ninth for the second time in as many days...He had never hit ninth before as a pro in 414 prior games over six seasons.

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International League Stories from July 24, 2015


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