IL1 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

SWB Game Notes

Published on August 23, 2016 under International League (IL1)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release


ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The RailRiders clinched the regular-season series, and with it the rivalry IronRail Trophy, with a 5-3 win over the IronPigs on Monday. The RailRiders have won 10 of the clubs' 17 clashes this season with one more to play. The IronPigs have lost five of the teams' last six meetings.

MAGIC NUMBER: The RailRiders' magic number to clinch a playoff berth sits at six entering today. SWB paces Lehigh Valley by 5.0 games for the division. The top three teams in the wild-card chase all reside in the North with Lehigh Valley (76-53) leading the way followed by Rochester (72-58) and Pawtucket (67-61).

ENNS' GAME: In his first relief outing of 2016, Dietrich Enns (7-2) tossed three innings of one-run ball for the victory. Including his Double-A time this season, Enns' 14 combined wins tie him for second in the minors. The only man with more? Lehigh Valley's starter tonight, Ben Lively, who has 15 total triumphs between Double-A and Triple-A. Enns boasts a 14-4 overall record this season with a 1.65 ERA that leads all full-season minor leaguers. Enns had not worked in relief since July 18, 2015 while with Advanced-A Tampa.

R&R: Rob Refsnyder went 2-for-5 as the three-hole hitter. In 10 SWB games since his return from the bigs, he has gone 17-for-35 (.486) with five RBIs and five walks for a .524 OBP. He has hit safely 28 of his last 30 Triple-A games, slashing .407/.444/.540/.983 with nine doubles, two homers, 10 RBIs and 18 runs scored in that time. The run has shot his average up from .190 to .333.

LET'S GET HIM ON: Mason Williams reached base three times. He went 2-for-3 with a two-run double, a walk and a run scored. Since he was activated off the SWB disabled list on Aug. 13, he has hit safely in all of his seven games played, slashing .385/.429/.500/.929.

FTW!: The RailRiders' 81 wins match the total of last year's club which won the IL North at 81-63. Even with a cancelled contest that lessened the RailRiders' schedule to 143 games, the team is on pace to win 90 games. No IL club has won 90+ games since the then-SWB Red Barons won a franchise-record 91 affairs in 2002. The RailRiders boast Triple-A's best record and trail only Double-A Reading (82) for the most wins in baseball.

SHUT IT: The RailRiders' 4-0 triumph on Saturday marked their franchise-record 22nd shutout of the season. SWB owns the most shutout wins in MiLB. The old SWB single-season record for shutouts, 16, was set by the 2009 SWB Yankees. The 22 shutouts are believed to be the most in the International League since the 1975 Tidewater Tides and 2015 Rochester Red Wings notched 21 shutouts. The RailRiders (2.98) own the only sub-3.00 ERA in Triple-A.

OFF THE RAILS: In his second career start at first base, Pete Kozma robbed Andrew Knapp on a smoked groundball for the game's final out, a 3-1 putout with reliever Jonathan Holder... Holder whiffed a pair in a perfect ninth for his fifth save...The teams went a collective 5-for-24 (.208) with men in scoring position, stranding 21 total men...Each of the nine men in SWB's lineup reached base with a hit and/or a walk...Ben Gamel lifted his average to a team-best .313 with a two-hit showing that included a game-opening homer...He has hit safely in 12 straight games, going 20-for-50 for slashes of .400/.426/.540/.966 with five extra-base hits, nine RBIs and six runs scored... The RailRiders improved to 19-7 with Kyle Higashioka behind the plate...Gary Sanchez homered twice for the New York Yankees last night and became the first Bomber to bash eight homers in his first 19 career MLB games...That includes two games off the bench with one at-bat apiece for the 2015 Yankees...Sanchez left SWB leading the IL's catchers in caught-stealing efficiency at .400...He has nabbed five big leaguers in seven attempts with this year's Yankees...He caught Seattle's Shawn O'Malley at second base to end the seventh inning last night with Robinson Cano at the plate.

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International League Stories from August 23, 2016


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