IL1 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

SWB Game Notes

Published on April 12, 2019 under International League (IL1)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release


BUFFALO BISONS (2-5) @ SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE RAILRIDERS (4-4)

RHP Ryan Tepera (MLB Rehab) vs. RHP David Hale (1-0, 1.59)

| Game No. 9 | PNC Field | Moosic, PA | April 12, 2019 | First Pitch 6:35 p.m. |

MOOSIC, PA (April 11, 2019) - It's not often you get the chance to win a game after watching a seven-run lead slip away, but the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders walked off with a 9-8 win over the Buffalo Bisons before a sellout crowd of 10,000 fans on Opening Night at PNC Field.

The game was tied 8-8 entering the bottom of the 10th inning, with Billy Burns at second base as the pace-of-play runner to begin the inning. The first batter struck out in the inning, but with pinch-hitter Mandy Alvarez at-bat, Derek Law threw a wild pitch to the backstop to allow Burns to advance to third base with one out. The next pitch, Alvarez laced a liner off the glove of Law and as it trickled on the grass behind the mound, Burns raced home for the game-winning run.

The RailRiders raced out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning, nearly knocking Buffalo starting pitcher Shawn Morimando out of the game after a 38-pitch frame. Instead, he returned for the second inning and eventually pitched into the third where he saw his team fall behind 8-1. Some of the offensive highlights on the evening to propel the offense for SWB were Trey Amburgey (2-for-6, 2 R), Mike Ford (2-for-3, 2 2B, 2 RBI, R, 2 BB) Ryan McBroom (2-for-5, 2B, R) and Gosuke Katoh (2-for-4, HR, R, 3 RBI, BB).

The win went to Cale Coshow who came out of the bullpen and tossed 2.0 innings of scoreless, hitless ball while striking out four batters. A caught stealing began the top of the 10th inning and he posted an effortless final two outs in the inning to set up the Alvarez heroics in the bottom of the inning. It was the first extra-inning game of the year for either team, and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre is now 15-16 in Home Openers since the franchise began play in 1989.

HOME OPENERS: The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders returned from a season-opening roadtrip to play in front of a sellout crowd of 10,000 fans at PNC Field Thursday night in the 2019 Home Opener. The RailRiders came away with a thrilling walk-off win and are now 15-16 in Home Openers since the franchise began in 1989. Walk-off wins in the first game of the season at PNC Field is becoming a trend, as last season's opener was arguably the most thrilling win of the regular season for SW. They trailed 5-1 entering the 9th inning and walked off with a 6-5 win when INF Abiatal Avelino cracked a walk-off three-run homer off former RailRider RHP Christopher Smith.

THE FUTURE IS SOON: The Toronto Blue Jays have a number of top prospects ready to make an impact in the big leagues, led by the No. 1 prospect in all of baseball, Vladimir Guererro Jr. The third-baseman injured his oblique during spring training and began the year with 4G on an MiLB rehab assignment with the High-A Dunedin Blue Jays (4-for-15 (.267 AVG), 2B, RBI, BB) and joined Buffalo Thursday for his season-debut in Triple-A. Other top-30 prospects in the Blue Jays system according to Baseball America that populate the Buffalo Bisons roster include INF Bo Bichette (No. 2), RHP Sean Reid-Foley (No. 8), INF Cavan Biggio (No. 9), OF Anthony Alford (No. 11), RHP David Paulino (No. 23) and C Reese McGuire (No. 28).

GETTING IT DONE EARLY: The Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders enter Friday's game having scored in the first inning in 6 of their last 7 games, to the tune of 14 total runs. In each of those six games in which they scored they have had an extra-base hit, meaning that all told, RailRiders hitters are 17-for-36 with 6 2B, HR, 5 BB for a slash line of .472/.537/.722.

TRUCKING AT THE TOP: INF Mike Ford has gotten out to an incredibly hot start to the 2019 season, picking up a hit in all 7G in which he has played, including 5 multi-hit performances. He ranks Top-10 in the International League in: AVG (.448, 2nd), HR (4, T-1st), RBI (11, 1st), OBP (.515, 6th), SLG (.966, 1st), OPS (1.481, 1st), H (13, 3rd), XBH (7, 1st) and Total Bases (28, 1st).

RUNNING LIKE CRAZY: Last season's version of the RailRiders recorded 49 SB on 79 tries (62.0%) which was 11 fewer SB than any other team in the league (Lehigh Valley & Gwinnett: 60 SB), and by percentage was the second worst in the league (Louisville, 60.0%). That said, last April was a strong month for SWB on the base paths, going 14-for-15 in SB but only 35-for-64 (54.6%) over the final 115G of the season (1 SB every 3.3G from May 1st onward). The 2019 RailRiders are off to a torrid start, having gone a perfect 11-for-11 SB over the first 7G of the year. Leading the way is OF Billy Burns who is 4-for-4 SB which ties him with Toledo's Danny Woodrow for the IL lead.

Check out the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders Statistics

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International League Stories from April 12, 2019


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