IL Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

SWB RailRiders Game Notes - May 16, 2021

Published on May 16, 2021 under International League (IL)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release


Lehigh Valley IronPigs (7-4) vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (8-3)

RHP Spencer Howard (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Deivi García (1-0, 5.40 ERA)

| Game 12 | Home Game 6 | PNC Field | Moosic, PA | May 16, 2021 | First Pitch 1:05 p.m. |

LET'S GET IT STARTED (IN HERE): After posting a 6.75 ERA (15 ER/20.0 IP) in the season-opening series at Syracuse, RailRiders starting pitchers have been much better at PNC Field through two games. Before Mike Montgomery allowed 5 ER in 4.0 IP on Saturday, SWB starting pitchers had combined for a 1.84 ERA (3 ER/14.2 IP) in the first four games of this series against Lehigh Valley. With a small sample size of 10 games played before Saturday, the previous four games had dropped RailRiders' starters ERA down to 4.63, while the overall staff ERA has fell from 6.24 entering Tuesday's home opener, to 4.31 entering Sunday. In 2019, SWB posted a 4.98 ERA at home in 71 games, and 4.94 overall.

BULLS ON PARADE: The RailRiders bullpen has emerged as one of the strengths of the team through the first 11 games of the season. After 5.0 hitless, scoreless innings against Lehigh Valley on Saturday, the 'pen has allowed only one run in its last 16.2 innings across three games, and three runs in 26.0 dating back to Sunday, May 9. As a 12-man unit, the bullpen has combined for 40 strikeouts and 12 walks in that time. Overall, the bullpen sports a 3.58 ERA (22 ER/55.1 IP) and is 5-for-6 in save opportunities.

DINGER ALERT: 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. However, the RailRiders did not hit a home run in their first two games at PNC Field this season, but Robinson Chirinos'4th-inning blast off David Parkinson on Thursday night changed that. Nonetheless, the 18 round-trippers hit by SWB puts the club in a tie for second place in the Triple-A East League with Nashville and Gwinnett, trailing Durham (25). The RailRiders are tied for fourth in minor league baseball in home runs and are one of seven teams who have hit at least 18 long balls. Incredibly, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs only hit two home runs thus far, the fewest of any Triple-A team. Only one MiLB team (South Bend, A+, CHC, 0 HR) has hit fewer than the IronPigs.

WALK-A-THON: Through 11 games this season, the RailRiders have drawn an astonishing 66 walks, tied for the most in all of Triple-A baseball with Gwinnett. No other team in the minors' highest level has taken more than 56 bases on balls. Overall, the RailRiders are tied or fourth in all of minor league baseball in walks, with St. Lucie (Low-A, NYM) leading the way with 74 walks. SWB's team .380 OBP is second best in the Triple-A East League, trailing Gwinnett (.383), and ranks seventh across all levels of the minors.

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 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 rival Lehigh Valley IronPigs an unprecedented 36 times. The RailRiders currently lead the 2021 IronRail Series 3-2.

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.

AIN'T NO PARTY LIKE A MOOSIC PARTY: Tuesday's RailRiders home opener was 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 214-143 (.599) at PNC Field since the beginning of the 2015 season, and sport an average season record of approximately 42-28.

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