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IL Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

SWB RailRiders Game Notes - September 12, 2021

September 12, 2021 - International League (IL)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release


Rochester Red Wings (43-66) vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (64-46)

RHP Jefry Rodriguez (1-0, 5.34 ERA) vs. LHP Matt Krook (4-5, 3.90 ERA)

| Game 111 | Home Game 59 | PNC Field | Moosic, PA | September 12, 2021 | First Pitch 1:05 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 3.32 ERA (31 ER/84.0 IP), more than a third of a run better than its previous monthly best of 3.66 in August. That mark ranks eighth among Triple-A East staffs, and third in the Northeast Division. RailRiders pitchers have struck out 116 batters on the month, the second-most of any Triple-A team behind Durham and have a gaudy 12.43 K/9 rate.

RACING CLOSE TO A NEW RECORD: Through 110 games, the RailRiders have stolen 123 bases in 156 attempts in the 2021 season (78.8% 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 17 steals shy of setting a new franchise record with 17 games to play. The team has stolen an average of 1.12 bases per game this year, which puts them on pace to break the record during the Final Stretch.

CLOSE CALLS & BLOWOUTS: The RailRiders have played an extraordinary number of close games this season, with 54 of SWB's 110 games being decided by one or two runs (49.1%). Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has performed perfectly average in these close contests, going 15-15 (.500) in one-run games and 13-11 (.541) 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 +131 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 3.00 ERA as a unit and racking up 44 of SWB's 64 wins. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has the third-best bullpen ERA in full season baseball (minors and majors), trailing only Buffalo (2.80) and Somerset (2.83). The bullpen is posting impressive rates of 10.92 K/9, 3.98 BB/9, and has limited opposing batters to just a .203 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 10.18 batters per-nine innings this season as a staff.

THE FINAL STRETCH BEFORE THE FINAL STRETCH™: Sunday wraps up the penultimate series of the regular season across MiLB, with most teams having only seven games remaining on their regular season schedules. SWB hosts Rochester for the final home game of the regular season 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.

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