IL1 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

SWB Game Notes

Published on August 18, 2018 under International League (IL1)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release


NORFOLK TIDES (64-57) vs. SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE RAILRIDERS (63-58)

Game One: RHP Jimmy Yacabonis (3-4, 4.23) vs. RHP Mike King (1-0, 1.98)

Game Two: LHP Luis Ysla (0-1, 1.80) vs. RHP Adonis Rosa (Season Triple-A Debut)

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| Game No. 122 & 123 | August 18, 2018 | PNC Field | Moosic, PA |

| First Pitch 5:05 p.m. | Pregame Show 4:35 p.m. |

LAST TIME OUT: The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders erased three separate Norfolk Tides leads on Thursday night at PNC Field, but fell 7-4 in 10 innings. Norfolk took the lead one pitch into the game when Mike Yastrzemski connected for a solo home run against Chance Adams. They expanded the lead to 2-0 on a bases-loaded walk drawn by Yastrzemski. SWB retaliated in the bottom of the second against Mountain Top, Pa. native and former RailRider Matt Wotherspoon. Gio Urshela led off with a triple and scored two batters later on a Wilkin Castillo double. Devyn Bolasky followed with an RBI single to even the score at 2-2.

The Tides regained the lead in the top of the fourth, when Garabez Rosa led off the frame with a solo home run for a 3-2 lead. In the bottom of the eighth, back-to-back one-out singles from Zack Zehner and Wilkin Castillo got a rally started against D.J. Snelten. After Bolasky grounded into a fielder's choice and Ricky Surum walked the bases were loaded. Tyler Wade fought to work a walk, forcing home Zehner and tying the game at 3-3.

Pedro Alvarez collected an RBI single in the top of the ninth against Cale Coshow to put the Tides back on top 4-3. The lead was short-lived as Tim Melville allowed a one-out single to Mike Ford in the bottom of the ninth. Urshela followed with a double up the gap in left center to plate Ford with the tying run, sending the game to extra innings. In the top of the 10th, pace of play runner Luis Sardiñas scored on a base hit from Rosa. The Tides tacked on two more on a two-run double from Breyvic Valera to take a 7-4 advantage. Melville set the RailRiders down in order in the bottom of the 10th to seal the victory.

Urshela finished 3-for-5 with a run scored, two doubles, a triple, and an RBI. He now has hits in eight of his last nine games, and is batting .324 (12-for-37) in that span. Zehner, Wade, Castillo, and Abiatal Avelino all finished with two hits each.

RAIN, RAIN...: The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders have been unable to catch a break at PNC Field this season. Not only have two games been cancelled (June 10 vs. Louisville; July 25 vs. Charlotte), but they have lost the most openings of any team in the International League this season. Seven home dates remain over the final two weeks of the season, and the RailRiders have lost seven openings over the first 63 home dates of the year. In the rest of the league, 10-of-14 teams have lost four openings or fewer, including the Indianapolis Indians, Durham Bulls and Louisville Bats who have not lost any. Last season, the RailRiders lost only three openings and they have not lost more than four in any season since 2011 when the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees also lost seven openings.

...GO AWAY: Since the calendar turned to August, the RailRiders have had nine home dates including Saturday vs. Norfolk, and 7-of-9 will feature a rain delay, postponement, cancelation or doubleheader. Dating back to mid-July, 10-of-15 home dates have featured some combination of weather-related alterations.

RACE TO THE FINISH: The Wild Card race in the International League is heating up as the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (63-58) hit the homestretch of the 2018 season. With 17G to go, SWB finds itself 2.0 GB of the Indianapolis Indians (66-57) for the Wild Card lead. It's looking like a three-team race for the final playoff spot with the Norfolk Tides (64-57) also making a playoff push, as Norfolk continue a 4G series Saturday night at PNC Field.

FORD REVVING UP: RailRiders INF Mike Ford began the 2018 season in Spring Training with the Seattle Mariners, and struggled out of the gate with SWB to start the year. He was batting .218 AVG/.299 OBP as of July 21, but has turned it around lately. In the 23G since he has hit .333 AVG (28-for-84)/.391 OBP (7 BB, HBP) to raise his season AVG to .256.

DOING THE MATH: SWB enters Saturday against the Norfolk Tides in 2nd place in the I.L. North, 10.0 games behind the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. The RailRiders have 17G left in their season, and if they were to go 15-2 (.882) to reach 78 wins, they'd need Lehigh Valley to play no better than 4-13 (.235) in order to win the division title.

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