IL1 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

SWB Game Notes

Published on August 3, 2019 under International League (IL1)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release


LEHIGH VALLEY IRONPIGS (52-57) @ SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE RAILRIDERS (63-48)

LHP JoJo Romero (2-2, 8.45) vs. RHP Brody Koerner (4-1, 3.76)

| Game No. 112 | PNC Field | Moosic, PA | August 3, 2019 | First Pitch 6:35 p.m. |

MOOSIC, PA (August 2-3, 2019) -- The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders used a three-run fifth inning and a five-run sixth inning to rally from an early four-run deficit and top the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, 9-6, Friday night at PNC Field.

After the 'Pigs scored a run in the top of the sixth to open up a 6-4 lead, the RailRiders answered with five runs in the bottom half to jump ahead 9-6. The first run of the frame came home with the bases loaded when Mandy Alvarez scored on a wild pitch to cut the deficit to a run. Runners remained at second and third for Clint Frazier, who hit a three-run home run to put SWB ahead for good. Two batters later Mike Ford singled and Thairo Estrada doubled to plate the final run of the night as Scranton/Wilkes-Barre sent nine men to the plate.

The RailRiders used a pair of arms just called up from High-A Tampa on a night where the game entered a 95-minute delay in the top of the third inning. Lehigh Valley scored four runs (three earned runs) off starting pitcher Janson Junk in 2.1 innings before he handed the ball off to his travel partner Daniel Bies. Junk only faced two batters in the top of the third, but with a runner on second and one out, the game was delayed by rain and lightning for one hour and 35 minutes. When play resumed, Daniel Bies came in to pitch and allowed a run to score on a Jose Pirela RBI double. The Gonzaga product- also making his Triple-A debut- tossed three innings and allowed two runs before handing the ball off to David Sosebee in the sixth inning.

WADE RETURNS: Tyler Wade officially went to the New York Yankees July 28 - August 2, and has reported back the RailRiders lineup prior to Saturday's game against the IronPigs. In the only game in which he appeared for the Yankees, he came off the bench for an injured Luke Voit. He cracked a solo homer off Yoan Lopez in the 8th inning a 4-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, which was the first home run of the season in 21G/51 AB with the Yankees and just the second of his MLB career.

FORD FIESTA: With a couple more shots over the last week, Mike Ford has extended his team lead in home runs to 23 and in RBI to 60. A season ago, the RailRiders had Ford lead the team in RBI with 52, and is looking to eclipse the 70-RBI mark over the last month of the season. The last time a RailRiders batter had more than 70 RBI in a season was seven years ago when Brandon Laird drove in 77 runs, and the year before Jorge Vazquez eclipsed the 80-RBI mark by driving in 93 runs.

A QUICK PROJECTION: Friday featured a win by the RailRiders (63-48, .568) and a loss by the team closest to them in the IL North standings, the Buffalo Bisons (57-54, .514). Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has 29 games to go in the regular season and holds a 6.0-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 15-14 (.517) the rest of the way, the Bisons would need to go 21-8 (.724) 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.

MAKING MOVES: With 29 games remaining in the regular season, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders are keeping up their torrid pace... of roster moves. As the calendar turns to August, SWB had made 232 total moves (April, 44 | May, 64 | June, 59 | July, 66) 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 has now made 242 and is averaging 2.16 moves/game this season and is on pace for 303 roster moves through the end of the year.

RECORD SETTERS: When Mike Ford blasted a two-run home run clear out of Huntington Park in the sixth inning last 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.

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International League Stories from August 3, 2019


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