
SWB RailRiders Game Notes - July 1, 2021
July 1, 2021 - International League (IL)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (33-13) vs. Worcester Red Sox (29-20)
Game 1: RHP Deivi García (1-3, 8.80 ERA) vs. RHP Kevin McCarthy (1-1, 5.40 ERA)
Game 2: TBA vs. RHP Raynel Espinal (6-1, 3.60 ERA)
| Games 47 & 48 | Road Games 26 & 27 | Polar Park | Worcester, MA | June 30, 2021 | First Pitch 4:05 p.m. |
THEY'RE THE BEST, AROUND: With a 33-13 (.717) start to the season, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre begins play Wednesday night with the best record in baseball. The club set the RailRiders era (2013 - Present) record for best start through 40 games (29-11), shattering the previous best of 23-17 in 2017 and has already set a new mark for best 50-game start to the season. The RailRiders are on pace for an 86-34 season, and roughly projects to a 100-40 season in a normal 140-game schedule. The RailRiders finished a franchise best 91-52 (.636) in 2016, when SWB captured its first and only Triple-A National Championship. SWB's .717 winning percentage is the best of any team in the majors or minors, with Charleston (33-15, .688) ranking second.
ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS: In Tuesday's 9-7 win over Worcester, the RailRiders tied a franchise record by stealing seven bases in the game. It tied a mark set by the SWB Yankees on June 6, 2008 against the Norfolk Tides. Andrew Velazquez accomplished the rare feat of stealing three bases in one inning, while Estevan Florial (2), Hoy Park and Ryan LaMarre (1 each) all stole bags against the Red Sox. In the 2008 contest against Norfolk, Bernie Castro, Brett Gardner and Cody Ransom all stole two bases, while Alberto Gonzalez swiped one.
WOO HOO: This week the RailRiders start their first series of the season against the Worcester Red Sox, kicking off a season series comprised of 24 games in a span of 54 days. SWB travels to Polar Park for 18 contests, with the WooSox heading to PNC Field only once. Worcester is tied with Syracuse for the second-most frequent opponent of the RailRiders this season after the club's 36 games with Lehigh Valley.
HERE'S THE DIETZ: When play began on June 6, SWB infielder Derek Dietrich was hitting only .119/.316/.237, and had endured an 0-for-27 skid to end the month of May. However, beginning with a 1-for-2 performance against Lehigh Valley that night, Dietrich has been on a tear at the plate in his last 16 games, batting .340/.539/.596 (16-for-47) with 11 R, 3 2B, 3 HR, and 16 RBIs. The run of success at the bat has improved his season batting line to .217/.415/.396, a 259-point leap in OPS. Dietrich ranks 4th among qualified Triple-A East hitters in OBP.
ALL ABOARD THE TREY TRAIN: RailRiders outfielder Trey Amburgey made RailRiders history Thursday night, reaching base safely three times to extend his on-base streak to 33 games. In doing so, he passed Brandon Drury, who had a 32-game on-base streak in the 2018 season for the longest such streak in the RailRiders era (2013 - Present). Here is a look inside the numbers during Trey's incredible run:
+The streak began on August 26, 2019, when Amburgey went 1-for-3 with a HBP at the Pawtucket Red Sox.
+He has hit .353/.429/.632 during the now 36-game streak, with 29 R, 14 2B, 1 3B, 7 HR, 39 RBI, 15 BB, 37 K and 5 HBP.
+The streak has included 10 multi-hit games and 12 multi-RBI games.
+During the streak, Amburgey has only gone hitless three times (8/31/19 vs BUF, 6/15/21 vs SYR, 6/29 @ WOR). In those games he has reached base on a walk and was hit by three pitches. He also has two RBIs in those hitless contests.
+Amburgey had a 20-game hitting streak from 9/1/19 to 6/13/21 as part of the longer on-base streak, snapped on 6/15 vs Syracuse. He then hit in eight straight games, and has a hit in 28 of his last 30 games played.
OTHER STREAKS OF NOTE: In addition to Trey Amburgey's impressive stretch, the RailRiders offense features two other players with double-digit on-base streaks. Outfielder Greg Allen is riding a season-long 21-game on-base streak into play on Saturday night, and infielder Hoy Park has reached base safely in 24 consecutive games. Park sports a .508 OBP during his streak, which has propelled him to the Triple-A East lead in OBP (.493) and OPS (1.105), second in the league in AVG (.353), and third in SLG (.612). The infielder also ranks second in Triple-A East in walks (30) behind Worcester's Marcus Wilson (31).
OH WHAT A RELIEF IT IS!: Since Kyle Barraclough relieved Albert Abreu in the sixth inning of the RailRiders game at Buffalo on Friday, June 11, the SWB bullpen has performed at an amazing clip. In the last 19 days, the bullpen has combined for a 1.67 ERA (16 ER/80.2 IP), while allowing just 53 hits, 24 walks and recording 95 strikeouts. The current stretch has lowered SWB's bullpen ERA to 2.85 on the season, the second-best in Minor League Baseball (Harrisburg, 2.35). RailRiders closer Luis García is tied for the minor league lead with 11 saves on the season, and is one of only four pitchers with double-digit saves this year.
WHILE THE GITTENS GOOD: INF Chris Gittens put up an historic performance for the RailRiders in Sunday's 19-1 win over the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Gittens finished the game 4-for-7 with four runs scored, a double, two home runs and eight RBIs. He hit two homers in the third inning, including the first grand slam of the season for SWB. He became just the fourth Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Player to ever have an eight RBI game, and the first-ever in the Yankees affiliation (2007 - Present).
International League Stories from July 1, 2021
- Three Home Runs Power the Tides Past Charlotte - Norfolk Tides
- César Puello's Walk-Off Double Leads Syracuse to Game Two Win and Split of Thursday Doubleheader against Rochester - Syracuse Mets
- Bullpen Strong, But Saints Fall to Storm Chasers 6-1 - St. Paul Saints
- Iowa Loses Second Straight Extra Inning Game - Iowa Cubs
- Sounds Lose Another Tight Game to Louisville - Nashville Sounds
- Barrero Goes Deep, 'Pen Hangs on as Bats Win 2nd Straight - Louisville Bats
- Wings Split Doubleheader vs. Mets Thursday - Rochester Red Wings
- Mud Hens Hold off Clippers for Fourth Straight Win - Toledo Mud Hens
- RailRiders Split Doubleheader with Worcester - Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders
- WooSox and RailRiders Split Two-Game Slate - Worcester Red Sox
- Enns Fans Twelve as Durham Downs Gwinnett 6-1 - Durham Bulls
- Jumbo Shrimp, Redbirds Postponed Thursday - Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp
- Thursday's Redbirds Game Postponed Due to Rain: July 1, 2021 - Memphis Redbirds
- Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (26-23) vs. Iowa Cubs (18-29) - Indianapolis Indians
- Buffalo and Lehigh Valley Rained out in Trenton on Thursday - Buffalo Bisons
- Memphis Redbirds Game Notes: July 1, 2021 - Memphis Redbirds
- July 1 Game Notes: Iowa at Indianapolis - Iowa Cubs
- Jumbo Shrimp Homestand Highlights July 6-11 - Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp
- SWB RailRiders Game Notes - July 1, 2021 - Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders
- FNBO Fireworks, Bobblehead Giveaway, Highlight Homestand - Omaha Storm Chasers
- Jacksonville Splits De Facto Doubleheader with Memphis - Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp
- Buffalo Survives Late Scare to Defeat IronPigs 10-9 - Buffalo Bisons
- Omaha Drops Third Straight, Finishes June in First Place - Omaha Storm Chasers
- Liberatore Dazzles as Redbirds Rally Back and Win - Memphis Redbirds
- Mariot Maneuvers Through 6.0, Barrero Plates Winner in 10thÃâà- Louisville Bats
- Nashville Falls to Louisville in Extra Innings - Nashville Sounds
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