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IL Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

SWB RailRiders Game Notes - May 11, 2021

May 11, 2021 - International League (IL)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release


Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs (4-1) vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (4-1)

RHP Deivi García (0-0, 13.50 ERA) vs. RHP Spencer Howard (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

| Game 7 | Home Game 1 | PNC Field | Moosic, PA | May 11, 2021 | First Pitch 6:35 p.m. |

AIN'T NO PARTY LIKE A MOOSIC PARTY: Tonight's RailRiders home opener will be Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's first game at PNC Field since Game 3 of the First Round of the IL Playoffs vs. Durham on Sept. 7, 2019. The span of 612 days between games at home in NEPA is the longest in franchise history, surpassing the 577-day streak from Sept. 5, 2011 - April 4, 2013 when SWB played the entire 2012 season away from Moosic owing to renovations at PNC Field. In 2019, the RailRiders were 45-26 (.634) at home, and are 211-141 (.599) at PNC Field since the beginning of the 2015 season, and average record of approximately 42-28.

EVERYONE DIGS THE LONG BALL: After shattering the SWB franchise record with 212 home runs in 2019 (previously 164 in 1998), the RailRiders are at it again, hitting 15 home runs in the team's first six games. The 15 round-trippers hit by SWB puts the club in a tie for second place in the Triple-A East League with Gwinnett, trailing Durham (16). The RailRiders are tied for second in minor league baseball in home runs as well, one of three teams who have hit 15 long balls. Incredibly, the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs only hit one home run in their opening series, making them one of only two Triple-A teams with one home run.

MARATHON MEN: The RailRiders played their longest 9-inning game in franchise history on Thursday at Syracuse, clocking in at 4:09. That surpassed the previous record of 4:04, when the then-Red Barons locked horns with the Pawtucket Red Sox on Sept. 1, 2000. Thursday's game also featured 13 walks by SWB pitchers, three shy of the club record set against Tidewater in 1991. Early in the season, it stands as the longest game in Triple-A East League history, but wasn't even the longest 9-inning game in minor league baseball on May 6. That distinction belongs to the Lake County Captains (High-A, CLE) and Lansing Lugnuts (High-A, OAK) who completed a 7-6 Captains win in 4:18. Not to be out-done, the RailRiders and Mets game on Sunday, May 9 lasted 4:03, making it the third-longest game in franchise history.

PANDEMIC ADJUSTMENTS: 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 the Triple-A East League 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 Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs an unprecedented 36 times.

VETERANS DAY: The RailRiders 31-man Break Camp roster is one of the most veteran-laden in recent club history, featuring a whopping 19 players with MLB Service Time and 3,523 total games played in MLB. Derek Dietrich (746 G) has played in the most MLB games on the roster, while Luis García (326 G) narrowly edges out Adam Warren (323 G) for the most pitching appearances.

FILLING THE VOIT: 2020 MLB Home Run King Luke Voit joined the team on May 4 to begin a rehab assignment and went 2-for-3 with a double and a walk in the season opener. He played in five games for the RailRiders during the opening series and hit .389/.476/1.000 (7-for-18) with 2 2B, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 3 BB and 5 K. In 16 career games with the RailRiders since being acquired from St. Louis in July 2018, the slugger is hitting .375/.444/.750 (24-for-64) with 6 HR and 13 RBIs.

CALL IT A COMEBACK: Before tonight, the last SWB regular season home game was in the memorable Game 141 of the 2019 season, when the RailRiders completed the Miracle on Montage Mountain against the Syracuse Mets. Trailing 7-1 entering the bottom of the 7th and having just one hit to that point off starting pitcher Ervin Santana, the RailRiders scored five times to make it a 7-6 deficit. When Syracuse responded with six runs in the top of the 8th inning it seemed as if the RailRiders' fate was sealed, but instead they plated a season-best eight runs in an inning and grabbed a 14-13 lead en route to a win. This game also has the distinction of being the final regular season game ever played in the International League, a circuit which began play in 1884 but has been disbanded and reconstituted as the Triple-A East League.

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