IL1 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

SWB Game Notes

Published on July 29, 2019 under International League (IL1)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release


SYRACUSE METS (53-53) @ SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE RAILRIDERS (60-46)

RHP Chris Mazza (3-3, 3.48) vs. RHP Brody Koerner (4-1, 3.69)

| Game No. 107 | PNC Field | Moosic, PA | July 29, 2019 | First Pitch 7:05 p.m. |

LOUISVILLE, KY (July 28, 2019) -- The Louisville Bats hadn't swept a series all season, but using a prolific home run barrage Sunday afternoon they were able to complete a three-game sweep of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders with a 7-3 win.

Offensively, the RailRiders used three unanswered runs to trim an early 4-0 deficit to 4-3 in the top of the sixth inning, but Louisville's offense was too resilient and ultimately scored three late runs to secure the win. The bright spots in the lineup for the RailRiders were Mike Ford, who logged the lone two-hit game on the day for SWB - finishing 2-for-3 with a double, run scored and walk. Trey Amburgey launched the solo home run in the sixth inning to cut the deficit to 4-3, and he went 1-for-3 with two runs scored an RBI and a walk. Additionally, Francisco Arcia was 1-for-4 with a double and a pair of RBI, driving home two runs with one swing in the top of the fourth inning.

Chance Adams got the start for SWB and did not complete five innings. He allowed four runs on five hits while striking out seven batters. He allowed two of the four home runs hit by the Bats Sunday afternoon, which accounted for all seven runs in the game. In the six-game season series against Louisville, the Bats offense exploded for 19 home runs in 52.0 IP (HR every 2.2 IP) which accounted for 28-of-38 (74%) runs scored by Louisville in 2019. Outside of the six games against Louisville, the RailRiders pitching staff is tops in the International League with only 111 HR allowed in 840.1 IP (HR every 7.2 IP).

HOW THE WEST HAS BEEN WON: With Thursday's win and sweep over the Columbus Clippers, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders assured themselves a winning record against the International League West in 2019 by improving 13-9 against the division. Despite getting swept by the Louisville Bats and going 1-5 against them this season, they finished 13-12 against the entire IL West, buoyed by a 6-1 record against the Columbus Clippers. The RailRiders are 3-3 against both the Indianapolis Indians and Toledo Mud Hens.

THE MIDAS TOUCH: For whatever reason, the Louisville Bats turned into Murderer's Row in six games against RailRiders pitching this season. In those games, the Bats have scored 38 runs (6.2/G) and connected for 19 HR (3.17 HR/G) in 52.0 IP by the RailRiders, slugging .612. In the season series, 28-of-38 (74%) runs scored by the Louisville Bats were accounted for by homers. In their 100 other games this season, the Bats have hit 118 HR (1.18 HR/G) and slugged .435. Meanwhile, the RailRiders pitching staff has been one of the best in the International League at resisting home runs, giving up just 111 HR in 840.1 IP (HE every 7.2 IP) against non-Louisville hitting, but a HR every 2.2 IP against Louisville.

MAKING MOVES: With 35 games remaining in the regular season, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders are keeping up their torrid pace... of roster moves. As the calendar gets ready to turn to August, SWB had made 227 total moves (April, 44 | May, 64 | June, 59 | July, 61) which is far ahead of last season's pace in which the RailRiders had made 207 total moves through July (April, 36 | May, 53 | June, 43 | July, 76) in a year in which they made 275 roster moves (1.99 moves/game) during the regular season. SWB is averaging 2.14 moves/game this season.

RECORD SETTERS: When Mike Ford blasted a two-run home run clear out of Huntington Park in the sixth inning Thursday afternoon, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders set the franchise record with 165 HR in the first 103 games of the season (1.60 HR/G), which far exceeds the rate for the 132 HR they hit all of last season (0.96 HR/G) and eclipsed the previous franchise record of 164 HR (1.15 HR/G) over 142 games set by the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons in 1998.

OTHER NUMBERS UNDER FIRE: With the new baseball in Triple-A, a number of other offensive records (and dubious pitching records) will be under assault as the calendar turns to August, including Slugging Percentage which is at .494 entering Monday, well ahead of the .449 mark put up in 1998 and .022 points ahead of the Gwinnett Stripers who are second in the league. The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre franchise record for runs in a season is 746, set in 1998 (5.25 per game), and this season's team is currently 5th in the International League in runs with 580, but they are on pace to break the franchise record with 5.47 per game.

A QUICK PROJECTION: Sunday featured a loss by the RailRiders (60-46, .566) and a win by the team closest to them in the IL North standings, the Buffalo Bisons (55-51, .519). Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has 34 games to go in the regular season and holds a 5.0-game lead on the Bisons for first place (the largest lead this season was +8.0 GB June 20 following Game No. 70). That means if the RailRiders were to go 17-17 (.514) the rest of the way, the Bisons would need to go 22-12 (.647) to catch them in the division. However, these two teams play four games over four days at PNC Field to wrap-up the regular season leading into Labor Day.

Check out the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders Statistics

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International League Stories from July 29, 2019


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