IL Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

SWB RailRiders Game Notes - July 24, 2021

Published on July 24, 2021 under International League (IL)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release


Rochester Red Wings (28-40) vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (44-22)

LHP Sean Nolin (3-2, 4.17 ERA) vs. RHP Brody Koerner (2-3, 3.62 ERA)

| Game 67 | Home Game 33 | PNC Field | Moosic, PA | July 24, 2021 | First Pitch 6:05 p.m. |

SWB DIGS THE LONG BALL: On Friday night the RailRiders set a new season high by hitting six home runs against the Rochester Red Wings in a 14-5 triumph at PNC Field. Armando Alvarez, Donny Sands, Thomas Milone, Andrew Velazquez (2x), and Frederick Cuevas all went deep for SWB on the night. It was the first career multi home run game for Velazquez, and Cuevas' dinger was his first above the High-A level in his career. The SWB franchise record for home runs in a game is seven, set on May 31, 1998 at Toledo.

TURN AROUND NOW SWITCH: As part of his two-homer performance on Friday night, Andrew Velazquez became just the second player in SWB franchise history to switch hit home runs in a game. He hit a home run right-handed against Matt Tomshaw in the fourth inning, and clubbed one left-handed against Ronald Peña in the sixth. Velazquez joined Darren Burton in the annals of franchise history with his switch-hit performance. Burton accomplished the rare feat on April 23, 1998 in a game at the Rochester Red Wings.

ALVAREZ ON THE RISE: RailRiders infielder Armando Alvarez has been on a tear over his last six games at the plate, batting .346/.370/.846 with three home runs and nine RBIs. Of the eight hits he has in this span, seven of them have gone for extra bases, with four doubles added to his home runs. He has raised his season batting average from .219 to .236, and his OPS has jumped 75 points from .648 to .723. In addition to his recent offensive spurt, Alvarez made a diving catch into the first base camera well on Tuesday night against Rochester which ended up as the No. 1 "Top Play" of the night on ESPN's SportsCenter.

NO HITS FOR YOU!: On Wednesday Luis Gil, Reggie McClain and Stephen Ridings combined to no-hit the Rochester Red Wings in an 8-0 victory. It was the first no-hitter thrown by Scranton/Wilkes-Barre under the Yankees affiliation (2007 - Present), and the first overall since Jeremy Cummings no-hit Rochester on Sept. 3, 2006. With the RailRiders having thrown a one-hitter on May 27 against the Buffalo Bisons, 2021 is the first season in franchise history to feature both a no-hitter and a one-hitter in the same season.

- The RailRiders no-hitter was the third thrown in Triple-A East this year. The Iowa Cubs have thrown two no-nos this year, using four pitchers to no-hit the Indianapolis Indians on May 9, and had three pitchers no-hit St. Paul on July 11.

- It was the first no-hitter for a Yankees Triple-A affiliate since 2002, when Adrian Hernandez, Bob Scanlan and Kevin Lovinger of the Columbus Clippers no-hit the Indianapolis Indians in a 15-1 win. The Clippers threw four no-hitters while affiliated with the Yankees from 1979 - 2006, including one by Mariano Rivera in 1995.

QUALITY CONTROL: After not having a single quality start (defined as at least 6.0 IP while allowing 3 ER-or-less) in their first 62 games of the season, the RailRiders have gotten three in their last four games. RHP Deivi García tossed one on Tuesday night, allowing 3 ER in 6.0 innings of work, and Luis Gil followed up with 6.0 shutout innings on Wednesday. On Friday night, Glenn Otto twirled his seventh quality start of the season, combined with his time in Double-A Somerset. Prior to these starts, the last QS for the RailRiders was thrown by Michael King on Aug. 27, 2019 against the Pawtucket Red Sox at McCoy Stadium, a span of 693 days. King threw 6.0 innings of shutout baseball in a 4-0 win.

JUST WINGING IT: For the first time in nearly two months, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders will take on the Rochester Red Wings this week. The RailRiders took four of six in the first series of the season with the Red Wings, which at the time was scheduled to be SWB's lone trip to Roc City. However, thanks to MLB's announcement of the Triple-A Final Stretch postseason extravaganza, the club returns to Frontier Field for the final five games of the season from Sept. 29 through Oct. 3. The Red Wings make one more return trip to the Electric City after this series from Sept. 7-12, the final homestand of the Triple-A regular season for the RailRiders.

IT'S THE FINAL STRETCH (DA NA NA NA): In lieu of a traditional playoff in Triple-A Baseball, MLB announced last Wednesday that all Triple-A teams will compete in a 10-game postseason tournament called the Triple-A Final Stretch from Sept. 22 through Oct. 3. Each league will have a regular season champion, crowned for having the best record across 120 games, and a Final Stretch champion, crowned for having the best record in the added 10 games. Unlike any tournament you may be familiar with, the Triple-A Final Stretch has a set schedule of opponents and you continue to play even if you are eliminated from contention. MLB announced the RailRiders will play Syracuse from 9/22-26 at PNC Field and finish the Final Stretch at Rochester from 9/28-10/3. MLB also announced it will give a prize to the winners of the Final Stretch.

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