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IL Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

SWB RailRiders Game Notes - May 21, 2021

May 21, 2021 - International League (IL)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release


Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (11-4) at Rochester Red Wings (3-12)

LHP Mike Montgomery (0-2, 9.26 ERA) vs. RHP Steven Fuentes (0-1, 12.15 ERA)

| Game 16 | Road Game 10 | Frontier Field | Rochester, NY | May 21, 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 Modesto (12-3; Low-A, SEA) has more wins than the RailRiders this season. Among all Triple-A teams, only Buffalo, Jacksonville, Reno and Round Rock 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 9 BB in his first 21 PA (42.9 BB%), and including his time with Double-A Somerset has 13 total BB in 33 PA in 2021 (39.4 BB%). Zehner leads all minor league players (min. 20 PA) in BB%, with Gwinnett's Travis Snider (38.5%) sitting in second place, according to leaderboards at Fangraphs. Additionally, Zehner had been 3-for-6 career in stolen bases in Triple-A, and is already 3-for-3 in 2021.

BULLS ON PARADE: The RailRiders bullpen has emerged as one of the strengths of the team through the first 15 games of the season. Even after surrendering a 3-1 lead on Thursday night, SWB's Bullpen ERA is a solid 3.68 (30 ER/73.1 IP), good for 10th in the 20-team Triple-A East. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's bullpen leads Triple-A East in wins (10), saves (7) and strikeouts (100), and ranks second in the league in batting average against (.184). Across al levels of the minor leagues, SWB's bullpen is t-4th in W (Delmarva, Down East, Tampa; 11) and SV. The 12-man unit is posting ratios of 12.27 K/9, 5.15 BB/9 and a 1.23 WHIP.

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 15 games this season. The 23 round-trippers hit by SWB puts the club in a tie for third place in Triple-A East with Charlotte, trailing Durham (29) and Gwinnett (25). The RailRiders are tied for sixth in minor league baseball in home runs, and it is a true team effort, as only Chris Gittens (t-7th, 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 83 walks, the second-most in all of Triple-A baseball behind Gwinnett (86). No other team in the minors' highest level has taken more than 78 bases on balls. Overall, the RailRiders are 10th in all of minor league baseball in walks, with Tampa (Low-A, NYY) leading the way with 103 walks. SWB's team .364 OBP is second best in the Triple-A East League, trailing Gwinnett (.369), and ranks 14th across all levels of the minors. There are currently four teams in Triple-A East with team OBPs greater than .360. Rochester (.295) has the lowest OBP of the 20-team league. The Red Wings also have the second-lowest team SLG (.340) in the circuit, and have an abysmal .635 team OPS, the lowest in all of Triple-A.

OH SAY CAN YOU GENESEE?: 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 128-140 (.478) all-time in Rochester.

#SQUADUP: The RailRiders received three players this week from Double-A Somerset, and all three have made meaningful impacts in the series against Rochester. INFs Hoy Park, Brandon Wagner and OF Thomas Milone have combined to hit .371/.463/.543 (13-for-35) with 6 R, 3 2B, 1 HR, 9 RBIs, 5 BB, 12 K and 1 HBP. In Wednesday's 3-2 win over the Red Wings, Park and Milone drove in all three SWB runs, while all three have contributed strong play on the defensive end as well.

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