IL Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

SWB RailRiders Game Notes - September 11, 2021

Published on September 11, 2021 under International League (IL)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release


Rochester Red Wings (43-65) vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (63-46)

LHP Ben Braymer (6-8, 5.44 ERA) vs. RHP Shawn Semple (First Game)

| Game 110 | Home Game 58 | PNC Field | Moosic, PA | September 11, 2021 | First Pitch 6:05 p.m. |

SEPTEMBER SCARIES: Through nine games in the month of September, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders pitching staff is posting its best month of the year by ERA. The staff owns a collective 2.76 ERA (23 ER/75.0 IP), nearly a run better than its previous monthly best of 3.66 in August. That mark ranks third among Triple-A East staffs, trailing Worcester (2.00) and Jacksonville (2.75). RailRiders pitchers have struck out 104 batters on the month, the most of any Triple-A team and have a gaudy 12.48 K/9 rate.

RACING CLOSE TO A NEW RECORD: Through 109 games, the RailRiders have stolen 120 bases in 153 attempts in the 2021 season (78.4% success). The all-time Scranton/Wilkes-Barre franchise record for most stolen bases in a season belongs to the 2000 Red Barons, who stole 139 bases, meaning that the 2021 RailRiders are 20 steals shy of setting a new franchise record with 18 games to play. The team has stolen an average of 1.1 bases per game this year, which puts them on pace to break the record in the last game of the Final Stretch.

CLOSE CALLS & BLOWOUTS: The RailRiders have played an extraordinary number of close games this season, with 53 of SWB's 109 games being decided by one or two runs (48.6%). Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has performed perfectly average in these close contests, going 15-15 (.500) in one-run games and 12-11 (.522) in two-run games. However, the RailRiders have also participated in their share of extreme blowout games, decided by eight-or-more runs. In 13 such contests, SWB is 11-2 (.846) on the season, and is part of the reason why the team is +129 in run differential this season, third-best in Triple-A East.

SANDS STORM: After beginning the current homestand on a 1-for-17 (.058) slide, RailRiders catcher Donny Sands has been on a tear over his last four games played. Since Sunday, Sands is batting .400/.438/.733 (6-for-15) with 2 2B, 1 HR, and 7 RBIs. The streak has raised his season OPS by 52 points, and 28% (7-of-28) of his season RBIs with SWB have come during it.

STOP THE STEAL: The Rochester Red Wings were 2-for-2 on stolen base attempts against the RailRiders on Tuesday night, continuing a troubling trend of teams running wild on the RailRiders. Opponents are an absurd 14-for-16 on stolen base attempts during the current homestand. Since the beginning of August, RailRiders opponents are a stunning 32-for-37 (86.5% success rate) when trying to steal against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. That is slightly better than the career success rate of Carlos Beltran, ranks third all-time in stolen base success rate.

ONE OF THE BEST: Throughout the 2021 season, the RailRiders bullpen has been the backbone of the pitching staff, posting a 2.98 ERA as a unit and racking up 43 of SWB's 62 wins. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has the third-best bullpen ERA in full season baseball (minors and majors), trailing only Buffalo (2.80) and Somerset (2.80). The bullpen is posting impressive rates of 10.89 K/9, 4.03 BB/9, and has limited opposing batters to just a .202 AVG this season.

CERTIFIED STRIKEOUT BOYS: RailRiders pitchers struck out a season-high 17 batters on Friday night in a 1-0 loss against the Buffalo Bisons. That was the highest strikeout total of the year for SWB, surpassing the 15 K mark accomplished three times, most recently on August 8 against Worcester. The 17 strikeouts recorded by the RailRiders on Friday was the most since the staff struck out 18 on May 5, 2019 against the Syracuse Mets. That contest was also notable for SWB scoring 14 runs (10 earned) against Mets starter Mickey Jannis, and a 7 RBI performance from Kyle Higashioka. The RailRiders followed that up with a 15-strikeout performance on Sunday, whiffed 24 Rochester hitters in Thursday's doubleheader, and are striking out 10.15 batters per-nine innings this season as a staff.

THE FINAL STRETCH BEFORE THE FINAL STRETCH™: Saturday and Sunday wrap up the penultimate series of the regular season across MiLB, with most teams having eight games remaining on their regular season schedules. SWB hosts Rochester for two more games before finishing the season on the road at Lehigh Valley. Following that, the RailRiders return home for a five-game set with Syracuse to kick off the Triple-A Final Stretch, a 10-game, 2-week "postseason tournament". The team with the best overall record over the 10-game period will be dubbed the Final Stretch Champion and receive a prize which is still TBA. Team and individual stats and records achieved during the Triple-A Final Stretch will be counted toward regular season numbers, as confirmed by MLB's statistics team.

Check out the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



International League Stories from September 11, 2021


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central