IL1 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

SWB Game Notes

Published on July 28, 2018 under International League (IL1)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release


GWINNETT STRIPERS (48-56) vs. SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE RAILRIDERS (54-47)

RHP Lucas Sims (4-2, 2.15) vs. LHP Justus Sheffield (3-3, 2.44)

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| Game No. 102 | Saturday July 28, 2018 | PNC Field | Moosic, PA |

| First Pitch 6:35 p.m. | Pregame Show 6:05 p.m. |

LAST TIME OUT: Led by five RBI from Abiatal Avelino, the Scranton-Wilkes/Barre RailRiders pounded out 13 hits and defeated the Gwinnett Stripers 9-3 on Friday night at PNC Field. The RailRiders have now won four of their last five games at home.

Gwinnett took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth when Danny Santana drove an Erik Swanson pitch over the wall in right for a solo home run. The long ball was the only blemish against Swanson's ledger on the night. The right-hander allowed just one run on two hits, walking one and striking out seven.

The RailRiders struck back in the bottom of the fifth with a two out rally against Wes Parsons. Following a Tyler Austin single, Mike Ford doubled to plate the first Scranton/Wilkes-Barre run. Abiatal Avelino added a single to right to chase Ford home and hand the RailRiders a 2-1 advantage.

The see-saw continued in the bottom of the seventh as the teams traded leads and carried a 3-3 tie late into the game. Tyler Austin led the inning off by slamming a 421-foot solo home run off Fernando Salas to lead off the frame and put the RailRiders back on top 4-3. It was Austin's fifth round-tripper with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this season. SWB provided insurance in the bottom of the eighth inning when Mike Ford drew a bases-loaded walk against Miguel Socolovich to score Diaz. Abiatal Avelino erased all doubt with a line drive grand slam to break the game open and extend the gap to 9-3. The grand slam was the second of the season for the RailRiders.

SHUFFLING THE DECK: The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders continue to have a flurry of roster moves as the calendar moves closer to the trade deadline. The RailRiders made nine more roster moves Friday and have announced 19 since Wednesday morning between a pair of trades at the MLB-level and an injury for Aaron Judge Thursday night against the Royals. Overall, it has been 66 moves made in the month of July and 197 roster moves announced over the first 101 games of the season.

DOING THE MATH: The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders enter Friday's series-opener against the Gwinnett Stripers in 2nd place in the I.L. North, 7.5 games behind the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. The RailRiders have 37 games left in their season, and if they were to go 26-11 (.703) down the stretch to reach 80 wins, they'd need Lehigh Valley to play no better than 18-20 (.474) in order to win the division title. Lehigh Valley is 62-40 entering Saturday and has a .608 win percentage on the season.

GETTING IN POSITION: The RailRiders were 7-5 on April 17, marking the last day they would be on the inside of the playoff cut in the International League for quite a while. It wasn't until July 18 in Toledo that SWB found itself back in the playoff picture (Game No. 94), spanning 82 games and being as many as 6 games under .500 along the way (27-33). Coming into Friday, the RailRiders are 0.5 games out of a Wild Card spot behind the Norfolk Tides.

ROLLING THROUGH THE BREAK: Over the last 42G the RailRiders have own a 27-15 (.643) record to bring them up to 2nd place in the International League North standings. The RailRiders are 8-0-5 in their last 13 series and won 6-of-7 games leading into the All-Star Break and have won 6-of-11 games since. They still have not lost a series since dropping 2-out-of-3 games June 5-7 against the Durham Bulls at PNC Field.

SLINGING IT: The RailRiders had gotten a strong performance out of its bullpen over the last month+ prior to Thursday's doubleheader. In the doubleheader the bullpen allowed 8R/8ER over 12.0 IP (6.00 ERA), where over the previous 31G since June 17 leading into the doubleheader, the bullpen arms had combined for 107.0 IP, 56 H (4.7 H/9) and 25R/19ER (1.60 ERA). Over the last 8G specifically before the DH, the bullpen had thrown 26.2 IP, 4R/3ER (0.74 ERA), 8 H (8-for-84, .095 BAA) with 34 K.

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International League Stories from July 28, 2018


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