IL Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

SWB RailRiders Game Notes - August 17, 2021

Published on August 17, 2021 under International League (IL)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release


Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (51-34) at Worcester Red Sox (46-42)

G1 (Res.): RHP Corey Kluber (MLB Rehab) vs. RHP John Schreiber (1-2, 3.40 ERA)

G2: LHP Josh Maciejewski (0-2, 9.00 ERA) vs. RHP Raynel Espinal (8-4, 4.31 ERA)

| Games 86 & 87 | Road Games 40 & 41 | Polar Park | Worcester, MA | August 17, 2021 | First Pitch 4:35 p.m. |

NOW WHERE WERE WE?: The RailRiders kick off their series with the Red Sox Tuesday evening with a quasi-doubleheader, finishing off a twice-suspended game from July 17 before playing the regularly-scheduled nine-inning contest after. The suspended game resumes with the game deadlocked at 0-0 heading into the top of the sixth inning. RailRiders first baseman Brandon Wagner is set to lead off the resumption. Each team has recorded two hits in the game, with Marcus Walden and Raynel Espinal pitching for Worcester and Luis Gil, Brian Keller and Braden Bristo all having pitched for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

WELCOME BACK: As the Yankees have returned home from their road trip to Kansas City and Chicago and have had three players return from the COVID-19 list, the RailRiders once again welcome back catcher Rob Brantly, and RHPs Stephen Ridings and Brooks Kriske. Meanwhile Luis Gil was selected off the RailRiders roster by the Yankees as the "27th man" for their doubleheader with Boston today.

STARTING SLOW: The RailRiders sport a 3.99 ERA as a team through 85 games this season, but starting pitching has been a weak spot for the team. Starters have pitched to the tune of a 12-20 record and a 5.32 ERA, while the bullpen is 39-14 with a 2.98 ERA. SWB starters have lasted an average of just over 3.2 innings per start this season, and have sported a 5.66 RA/9 (both earned and unearned runs allowed per game on an ERA scale). Meanwhile the RailRiders have the second-best bullpen ERA among full-season minor league clubs, trailing Buffalo (2.92).

SUPER GREG: RailRiders OF Greg Allen has been on a tear in eight games since being returned to the team from the Yankees. The switch-hitter is batting .450 (9-for-20) with 3 R, 2 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 5 K, and 2 HBP. Overall, Allen is riding a seven-game hitting streak which has raised his season batting line from .263/.402/.343 to .307/.432/.441, a 128-point jump in his OPS.

MIND THE CLOCK: Last week's series with with Lehigh Valley has featured three pitch clock violations -- one against RailRiders pitcher Josh Maciejewski for taking too long to deliver a pitch, one against Iron Pigs outfielder Matt Vierling for taking too long to step in the box on Wednesday, and a third against SWB pitcher Kevin Gadea for taking too long to come set with a runner on base on Saturday. In 84 games, the RailRiders have seen only 12 pitch clock violations against themselves or their opponents this year, after 31 were called in the 2019 season. These are the first pace of play violations called in a RailRiders game since June 22, when both Luis Gil and Lehigh Valley's Mauricio Llovera were cited for taking too long to come set with a runner on base.

BEEN A LONG TIME: With a loss to Lehigh Valley last Wednesday and Buffalo's 5-0 win over Rochester, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders wake up Thursday morning in second place in Triple-A East Northeast for the first time since the beginning of play on May 7. That day, the RailRiders beat the Syracuse Mets 7-3 to move into a tie for first in Triple-A East Northeast, and would at least share the throne until the end of play on August 11. During SWB's 97-day reign atop the division, the average price of a gallon of gas jumped from $2.89 to $3.17, "Save Your Tears" by The Weeknd and Ariana Grande was de-throned as the No. 1 song, and Hoy Park's entire RailRiders career happened.

ROUGH PATCH: With Sunday's loss to Lehigh Valley, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders completed their 12-game homestand with a 4-8 record. In their last 18 games, SWB is 6-12, by far the worst stretch of the season. There have been two three-game losing skids for SWB in this span, only the second and third times this year that the RailRiders have dropped three in a row, respectively. Through 85 completed games, the RailRiders have not dropped four straight games. In 2019, SWB had three four-game losing streaks and one six-game losing streak. There was also one stretch where the team lost 11-of-12 games played from 8/6-17.

FALLING BEHIND: The RailRiders have made a habit of notching comeback wins this season, but the flip side is that is predicated on the team falling behind in many games this season. Through 85 games this season, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has allowed the first run in 47 games, notching a 23-24 record in those contests. The RailRiders have been out-scored 95-79 (-16) in the first two innings of games this season, a shocking number considering the team is +94 in run differential this season, the third-best mark in Triple-A East (Durham, +177; Buffalo, +112). Most of the damage has been done in the middle innings, with SWB sporting an impressive +68 run differential in innings four through six.

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