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IL Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

SWB RailRiders Game Notes - May 21, 2021

May 20, 2021 - International League (IL)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release


Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (11-3) at Rochester Red Wings (2-12)

RHP Brian Keller (0-0, 3.60 ERA) vs. RHP Jefry Rodriguez (0-0, 7.36 ERA)

| Game 15 | Road Game 9 | Frontier Field | Rochester, NY | May 20, 2021 | First Pitch 7:05 p.m. |

FAST OUT OF THE GATE: With their 11th win of the season in 14 games on Wednesday, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders have kept themselves in elite company across minor league baseball. Only Delmarva (Low-A, BAL) and Modesto (Low-A, SEA) have matched the RailRiders' win total through 14 games. Among all Triple-A teams, only Buffalo and Jacksonville have reached the 10-win plateau so far this season. The Baby Bombers are off to their best start to a season since the 2009 SWB Yankees went 17-3 in the month of April.

LET IT ZEHN: Before this season, RailRiders OF Zack Zehner had drawn 41 walks in 546 plate appearances (142 G) in Triple-A between the 2018 and 2019 seasons (7.5 BB%). However, in an extremely small sample in Triple-A in 2021 Zehner has already drawn 8 BB in his first 17 PA (47.1 BB%), and including his time with Double-A Somerset has 12 total BB in 29 PA in 2021 (41.4 BB%). Additionally, Zehner had been 3-for-6 career in stolen bases in Triple-A, and is already 2-for-2 in 2021.

BULLS ON PARADE: The RailRiders bullpen has emerged as one of the strengths of the team through the first 14 games of the season. After 12.1 consecutive scoreless innings, Rochester broke through Tuesday night for four runs in the final three innings, but the RailRiders followed that up with five scoreless innings on Wednesday. Before the late outburst, the bullpen had allowed only one run in its last 24.0 innings across five games, and three runs in 33.1 dating back to Sunday, May 9. As a 12-man unit, the bullpen combined for 51 strikeouts and 17 walks in that span. Overall, the bullpen sports a 3.39 ERA (26 ER/69.0 IP) and is 7-for-8 in save opportunities. The bullpen ranks ninth in the Triple-A East League in ERA, sixth in innings pitched, and is first in strikeouts. In fact, the bullpen's 95 strikeouts are seven more than second place Durham. Iowa's 1.66 bullpen ERA is the best mark in the league, and second-best in minor league baseball.

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 23 home runs in their first 14 games this season. The 23 round-trippers hit by SWB puts the club in third place in the Triple-A East League, trailing Durham (29) and Gwinnett (24). The RailRiders are fifth in minor league baseball in home runs, and it is a true team effort, as only Chris Gittens (t-6th, 4) ranks in the top 15 in home runs in Triple-A East.

WALK-A-THON: Through 14 games this season, the RailRiders have drawn 81 walks, the second-most in all of Triple-A baseball behind Gwinnett (82). No other team in the minors' highest level has taken more than 70 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 95 walks. SWB's team .372 OBP is second best in the Triple-A East League, trailing Gwinnett (.376), and ranks ninth across all levels of the minors. There are currently four teams in Triple-A East with team OBPs greater than .360. Rochester (.292) has the lowest OBP of the 20-team league. The Red Wings also have the lowest team SLG (.326) in the circuit, and have an abysmal .618 team OPS.

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 14 games played RailRiders' starting pitchers' ERA has fallen to 4.67, while the overall staff ERA has fell from 6.24 entering Tuesday's home opener, to 3.94 entering Thursday night's game at Rochester. In 2019, SWB posted a 4.98 ERA at home in 71 games, and 4.94 overall.

OH SAY CAN YOU GENESSEE?: The current six-game road trip marks the one and only trip to Frontier Field for the RailRiders during the 2021 season, with the final 12 games against the Red Wings to be played in Moosic. Despite an all-time winning record against Rochester, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has historically struggled in Roc City, going only 1-7 last year and a combined 4-11 at Frontier Field in 2018 and 2019. In the RailRiders era (2013-Present), SWB has only one winning season in Rochester, when they went 4-3 in 2017. Including the two wins in 2021, SWB is 128-139 (.479) all-time in Rochester.

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