IL Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

SWB RailRiders Game Notes - June 6, 2021

Published on June 6, 2021 under International League (IL)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release


Lehigh Valley IronPigs (16-13) vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (18-9)

LHP Cristopher Sánchez (1-1, 3.74 ERA) vs. RHP Nick Green (0-1, 5.94 ERA)

| Game 28 | Home Game 16 | PNC Field | Moosic, PA | June 6, 2021 | First Pitch 1:05 p.m. |

TWIN STREAKS: Entering play on Sunday afternoon two Scranton/Wilkes-Barre players carry 12-game on-base streaks. Outfielders Estevan Florial and Trey Amburgey have both reached base safely at least once in 12 consecutive games played. However, their on-base percentages during their respective streaks are starkly different. Florial has reached base at a .304 clip in his last 12 games, while Amburgey checks in at .468. The dual streaks are the longest on-base streaks for a RailRider this season, both passing Chris Gittens' 11 game streak from 5/4-16. The SWB franchise record for longest on-base streak belongs to Brandon Drury, who reached safely in 32 straight games in the 2018 season.

FAST OUT OF THE GATE: With 18 wins in 27 games, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders have kept themselves in elite company across minor league baseball. Entering play on Sunday there are only 28 teams across minor league baseball with at least 18 wins, with only Nashville, Durham and Omaha at that mark among Triple-A East teams. Bowie (AA, BAL) has the best record in minor league baseball at 21-6 on the season, and is one of only three teams with 20 wins. Overall, the Yankees have the best organizational record in baseball (74-37, .667), a full 4.0 games better than Baltimore (69-40, .633), who has the second-best record. The RailRiders have lost back-to-back games to Lehigh Valley, just the second time all year that SWB has dropped consecutive games.

SATURDAY IN THE PARK: Since his promotion from Double-A Somerset, infielder Hoy Park has been a hitting machine for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. After a 1-for-4 performance on Saturday, Park is hitting .353/.459/.667 with 4 doubles, 4 home runs and 12 RBIs in just 14 games played. In 113 games with Trenton in 2019, Park totaled three home runs, and is already more than halfway to his career-high of 7 HR (2017 with Charleston and Tampa). Signed as an international free agent in 2014, Park already has five multi-hit games with the RailRiders, including a pair of three-hit contests. He has reached base safely in 13 games and recorded a hit in 11 of his 14 contests.

BULLISH ON THE 'PEN: Before allowing five runs (plus two inherited runners to score) in 7.2 innings of work in the last two games, the RailRiders bullpen had been on an incredible run. SWB relievers had combined to allow just two runs in 30.2 innings (0.59 ERA) against the Bisons and IronPigs in a six-game span dating to last Wednesday. Overall, the SWB bullpen ERA is down to 3.22 on the season, while the unit is averaging 11.65 K/9. That ranks as the fourth-best bullpen ERA in Triple-A East, and is behind only Buffalo (2.50) in the Northeast Division.

WALK-A-THON: Through 27 games this season, the RailRiders have drawn 142 walks, the second-most in all of Triple-A baseball, trailing only Gwinnett (160). No other team in the minors' highest level has taken more than 135 bases on balls (Lehigh Valley). Overall, the RailRiders are 14th in all of minor league baseball in walks, with St. Lucie (Low-A, NYM) leading the way with 182 walks. The top four teams in walks all play in the Low-A Southeast, which is using an automated balls and strikes (ABS) system this season. SWB's team .359 OBP is third in Triple-A East, and ranks tied for 12th across all levels of the minors. There are currently three teams in Triple-A East with team OBPs of .350 or higher. Lehigh Valley (.339) has the eighth-best OBP of the 20-team league. Among qualified hitters, the RailRiders boast Chris Gittens (2nd, .486), Andrew Velazquez (36th, .348) and Socrates Brito (45th, .340) in the top 50 in OBP in Triple-A East.

THREE DOZEN SIDES OF BACON: The COVID-19 pandemic has created one of the most unusual season schedules in the history of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre franchise. With the season beginning a full month later than traditional, all teams in Triple-A East will play 120-game schedules. The RailRiders, along with the rest of the Northeast Division teams, will exclusively play teams within the division. This leads to a schedule where SWB plays the rival Lehigh Valley IronPigs an unprecedented 36 times. For perspective, the RailRiders play the Rochester Red Wings and the Buffalo Bisons a combined 36 times. The RailRiders currently lead the 2021 IronRail Series 6-5.

BIG TEN: The RailRiders' 10-2 win over the Lehigh Valley IronPigs on Wednesday was the fourth time this season that the Baby Bombers have scored at least 10 runs in a ballgame this year in 24 games. Before Wednesday night, the last time the RailRiders had accomplished the feat was on May 18 at Rochester in an 11-6 win. It also marked the first time that SWB scored double-digits at PNC Field this season, having also done so twice in the opening series of the season at Syracuse.

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