IL1 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

SWB Game Notes

Published on August 18, 2015 under International League (IL1)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release


LAST TIME OUT: Called by the game's No. 1 prospect by a number of pundits and publications, Byron Buxton's skills were on full display at Frontier Field on Sunday. The star outfielder homered to tie the game in the fifth and delivered the walk-off winner in the 12th as the RailRiders fell to Buxton's Red Wings, 3-2.

NOT-SO-FUN FACT: The RailRiders went 0-for-11 with men in scoring position on Sunday to strand 11 men on base. They went 1-for-16 with runners at second and/or third in the back-to-back 3-2 losses to drop the series.

HOUSE OF HORRORS: SWB lost for the 14th time in 19 games at Rochester.

OUT-OF-TOWN SCOREBOARD: In a battle of the IL North's main challengers to the RailRiders' supremacy, Rochester clipped Buffalo last night, 4-3. Jose Martinez clubbed a sixth-inning homer off of former Red Barons star Randy Wolf to snap a 3-3 deadlock. That has created a second-place tie between the Red Wings and Bisons. Each club now stands 5.5 games back of the RailRiders.

A LOOK AHEAD: The RailRiders still have five games remaining against both Buffalo and Rochester. SWB boasts a winning record against the IL North's other three teams, but has losing ledgers versus the Red Wings (7-8) and Bisons (5-7).

BEST SEASON EVER: At 69-54, the RailRiders have surpassed the efforts of the first two RailRiders teams. Both the 2013 and 2014 RailRiders went 68-76 and each unit finished in fifth place in the IL North.

JUST WAIT 'TILL WE GET OUR HAYNES ON YOU: Kyle Haynes delivered another solid start for SWB. After starting his Triple-A time 0-1 through two starts with an 11.42 ERA and .419 batting average against, he has gone 1-0 in a pair of nods with a 2.45 ERA and .200 batting average against.

BREAKOUT DAY: Kyle Roller entered Sunday in an 0-for-20 slump with 13 strikeouts. As the first baseman he went 3-for-5 with the team's only extra-base hit, his second triple of the season, and a run scored. Including his Sunday exploits, the IL All-Star has hit .131/.260/.246/.506 since the break going 8-for-61 with 24K.

WHITE KNUCKLERS: Fourteen (54%) of SWB's last 26 games have been decided by one run and 19 (73%) have come down to two or less. It has gone 18-8 (.692) over the longer span and owns the IL's best one-run record at 24-16 (.600).

WALK IT OFF: The RailRiders lost for the seventh time in walk-off fashion on Sunday. Four of those losses have come since the start of July when SWB was tripped up at Lehigh Valley in 10 innings on July 1, 3-2. That day NEPA native and former RailRider Russ Canzler singled over shortstop with a drawn-in infield to plate Tyler Henson from third base to win it. That marked SWB's sixth straight loss and combined with an 8-4 Rochester win over Pawtucket, knocked the RailRiders out of first place for the first time since claiming the catbird seat on June 9.

BACK ON TRACK: After an 0-for-4 Friday snapped the IL's then-longest active hitting streak at a dozen games, Ben Gamel went 1-for-3 with a double and a walk on Saturday. He got a day of rest on Sunday. Gamel leads the IL with 12 outfield assists and co-paces all of MiLB with 14 triples, two shy of the single-season franchise record set by Shane Victorino in his 2005 IL MVP season. Gamel has multiple hits in 12 of 21, hitting .390/.452/.720/1.171 in that time. He entered today with the IL's fourth-best batting average (.301). He also ranks among the IL's best in hits (4th, 128), slugging (T-2nd, .478), extra-base hits (T-4th, 43), runs scored (T-2nd, 68) and total bases (4th, 203).

HOME SWEET HOME: The RailRiders enter tonight on a season-high-tying five-game winning streak at PNC Field. They bid for their first winning record in Moosic since they started the season 1-0 with an April 9 win over Syracuse. A win would also make for the franchise's first six-game winning streak at home since the 2013 RailRiders won seven straight at PNC Field from June 23-July 9.

OFF THE RAILS: Gary Sanchez hit third for the first time as a RailRider on Sunday...As the DH, he went 2-for-6...SWB dropped to 7-3 in extras, but still owns the IL's best winning percentage in such affairs...Nick Rumbelow stranded both of his inherited runners in the win...He left 11 of his 13 hand-me-down men on the bases as a RailRider...Aaron Judge has hit safely in six straight and eight of nine.

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International League Stories from August 18, 2015


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