IL Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

SWB RailRiders Game Notes - May 18, 2021

Published on May 18, 2021 under International League (IL)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release


Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (9-3) at Rochester Red Wings (2-10)

RHP Brody Koerner (0-0, 1.17 ERA) vs. LHP Ben Braymer (0-1, 9.39 ERA

| Game 13 | Road Game 7 | Frontier Field | Rochester, NY | May 18, 2021 | First Pitch 7:05 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 were terrific against Lehigh Valley, posting a 3.04 ERA (8 ER/23.2 IP). That figure includes Mike Montgomery allowing 5 ER in 4.0 IP in Saturday's tilt. With a small sample size of 12 games played RailRiders' starting pitchers' ERA has fallen to 4.74, while the overall staff ERA has fell from 6.24 entering Tuesday's home opener, to 3.93 entering Tuesday's road contest at Rochester. 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 12 games of the season. After 9.0 scoreless innings against Lehigh Valley in the final two games of the last series, the 'pen has allowed only one run in its last 20.2 innings across four games, and three runs in 30.0 dating back to Sunday, May 9. As a 12-man unit, the bullpen has combined for 46 strikeouts and 14 walks in that time. Overall, the bullpen sports a 3.34 ERA (22 ER/59.1 IP) and is 6-for-7 in save opportunities. The bullpen ranks eighth in the Triple-A East League in ERA, seventh in innings pitched, and is first in strikeouts. In fact, the bullpen's 86 strikeouts are 12 more than second place Durham, and its 13.05 K/9.0 IP ratio is 13th-best in the minors.

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 19 round-trippers hit by SWB puts the club in third place in the Triple-A East League, trailing Durham (26) and Gwinnett (20). The RailRiders are tied for seventh in minor league baseball in home runs and are one of nine teams who have hit at least 19 long balls.

WALK-A-THON: Through 11 games this season, the RailRiders have drawn an astonishing 69 walks, the second-most in all of Triple-A baseball behind Gwinnett (76). No other team in the minors' highest level has taken more than 61 bases on balls. Overall, the RailRiders are eighth in all of minor league baseball in walks, with Tampa (Low-A, NYY) leading the way with 71 walks. SWB's team .371 OBP is second best in the Triple-A East League, trailing Gwinnett (.382) and Buffalo (.374), and ranks 12th across all levels of the minors. There are currently four teams in Triple-A East with team OBPs greater than .370. Rochester (.282) has the lowest OBP of the 20-team league. The Red Wings also have the second-lowest team SLG (.314) in the circuit, and have an abysmal .596 team OPS.

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: Last 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 215-143 (.601) at PNC Field since the beginning of the 2015 season, and sport an average season record of approximately 42-28.

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International League Stories from May 18, 2021


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