SWB Game Notes

August 8, 2018 - International League (IL) - Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release

SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE RAILRIDERS (59-53) vs. NORFOLK TIDES (59-53)

RHP Erik Swanson (1-2, 5.14) vs. LHP Josh Rogers (7-9, 3.75)

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| First Pitch 7:05 p.m. | Pregame Show 6:35 p.m. |

LAST TIME OUT: The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders held off the Norfolk Tides 10-8 at Harbor Park on Tuesday night. Seven different RailRiders had at least two hits as Scranton/Wilkes-Barre took the series opener and moved into a tie for the Wild Card lead.

Ronald Torreyes put Scranton/Wilkes-Barre ahead 2-0 in the top of the first. With Tyler Wade and Mike Ford on the bases, Torreyes doubled to the left field corner off Norfolk starter Jimmy Yacabonis. The Tides tied the game in the bottom of the first when Pedro Alvarez hit a two-run home run off Luis Cessa.

The RailRiders took the lead back in the top of the second. Gio Urshela scored on a fielder's choice for a 3-2 edges, but the Tides would even the score in the bottom of the third on a RBI single by Alvarez.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre broke the game open with three runs in the fourth and two in the fifth. In the fourth, the RailRiders sent eight to the plate with Devyn Bolasky singling in Urshela to put Scranton/Wilkes-Barre ahead 4-3. Ryan McBroom singled home Wade and Abiatal Avelino crossed on a passed ball for a 6-3 lead. In the fifth, Francisco Diaz tripled in Urshela from first after a walk and scored on a sac fly by Wade for an 8-3 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre advantage.

RIPTIDE: 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 Tuesday's series opener against the Norfolk Tides, the RailRiders were 1.0 GB for the Wild Card spot of the Norfolk Tides with 27 games to go in 2018. Seven-of-13G for the RailRiders starting Tuesday were head-to-head against Norfolk and will go a long way in determining who the final playoff spot goes to in the International League. The RailRiders took the first of those seven games, 10-8 Tuesday night.

WADE WELCOMED BACK: Tyler Wade was recalled to the big leagues July 27 following Game Two of a suspended doubleheader against the Charlotte Knights. He is a welcome addition back to the lineup for the RailRiders, as Wade had been hitting the ball well before bouncing back-and-forth to the Yankees. Over his most recent 32G with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before the series against Buffalo, Wade wa batting .308 (40-for-130) with 10 2B, 3B, 2 HR and 22 R. He joins a roster that is currently without a true CF and could take over some of the responsibilities there with Shane Robinson having been added to the Yankees roster July 27. Wade's first series back with SWB saw him go 2-for-11 vs. Buffalo.

SHUFFLING THE DECK: The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders continue to have a flurry of roster moves as the calendar moves past the trade deadline. Over the past 14 days (Since June 25),the RailRiders have announced 49 roster moves. Overall, 76 moves were made by the RailRiders in the month of July and the team is up to a total of 226 roster moves as they wake up for Tuesday's series opener against Norfolk.

DOING THE MATH: The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders enter Wednesday against the Norfolk Tides in 2nd place in the I.L. North, 10.0 games behind the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. The RailRiders have 26 games left in their season, and if they were to go 21-5 (.808) down the stretch to reach 80 wins, they'd need Lehigh Valley to play no better than 10-16 (.385) in order to win the division title. Lehigh Valley is 70-44 entering Wednesday and has a .614 win percentage on the season.

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