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IL Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

SWB RailRiders Game Notes - September 22, 2021

September 22, 2021 - International League (IL)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release


Syracuse Mets (47-69) vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (68-49)

RHP Noah Syndergaard (MLB Rehab) vs. RHP Jameson Taillon (MLB Rehab)

| Game 118 | Final Stretch Game 1 | Home Game 60 | PNC Field | Moosic, PA | September 22, 2021 | First Pitch 6:35 p.m. |

NEW FACES: With both the High-A Hudson Valley Renegades and Double-A Somerset Patriots narrowly missing out on the playoffs in their respective leagues, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders have received three of the Yankees Top 20 prospects heading into The Final Stretch. Infielders Oswald Peraza (#3) and Oswaldo Cabrera (#16) pack a powerful punch as a double play combination, and right-handed pitcher Hayden Wesneski (#15) finished second among Yankees minor leaguers (and t-22nd in all of MiLB) with 139 strikeouts (Ken Waldichuk, 163 K).

OFFENSIVE MARKS: At the end of the 2021 regular season, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders had a combined team on-base percentage of .352, which is the best mark in franchise history. It narrowly beats out the .351 OBP posted by the 2019 RailRiders, despite the team's batting average being 23-points lower in 2021. This is only the fourth time in the 31-year history of the franchise that SWB has posted a team OBP of greater than .345. Amazingly, despite playing only 117 games, the team's 134 home runs are the fourth-most in a season hit by the team, with only the 2019 (212), 1998 (164), and 2017 (153) clubs hitting more.

RACING CLOSE TO A NEW RECORD: Through 117 games, the RailRiders have stolen 132 bases in 168 attempts in the 2021 season (78.6% 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 7 steals shy of setting a new franchise record with 10 games to play. The team has stolen an average of 1.13 bases per game this year, which puts them on pace to break the record during the Final Stretch series at Rochester. The thievery has ticked up in September, with SWB currently 24-for-27 in steal attempts in 16 games during the month (1.50 steals/game). Andrew Velazquez leads the team with 29 stolen bases in 75 games, and with one more can become the first SWB player with 30 steals in a season since Brett Gardner stole 37 with the 2008 SWB Yankees.

CLOSE CALLS & BLOWOUTS: The RailRiders have played an extraordinary number of close games this season, with 57 of SWB's 117 games being decided by one or two runs (48.7%). Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has performed approximately average in these close contests, going 15-16 (.484) in one-run games and 14-12 (.538) 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 +137 in run differential this season, third-best in Triple-A East.

SANDS STORM: After beginning the last homestand on a 1-for-17 (.058) slide, RailRiders catcher Donny Sands has been on a tear over his last nine games played. Since September 5, Sands is batting .433/.500/.767 (13-for-30) with 4 2B, 2 HR, and 11 RBIs. The streak has raised his season OPS by 116 points, and 37.9% (11-of-29) of his season RBIs with SWB have come during it.

STOP THE STEAL: The Lehigh Valley IronPigs were 12-for-15 on stolen base attempts through in the last series, continuing a troubling trend of teams running wild on the RailRiders. Opponents are a combined 27-for-31 in stolen base attempts against SWB in the month of September. Since the beginning of August, RailRiders opponents are a stunning 46-for-54 (85.2% success rate) when trying to steal against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. That is approximately the career success rate of Jayson Werth, who ranks fifth all-time in success rate.

ONE OF THE BEST: Throughout the 2021 season, the RailRiders bullpen has been the backbone of the pitching staff, posting a 3.10 ERA as a unit and racking up 46 of SWB's 68 wins. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has the third-best bullpen ERA in full season baseball (minors and majors), trailing only Somerset (2.89) and Buffalo (2.89). The bullpen is posting impressive rates of 10.95 K/9, 3.99 BB/9, and has limited opposing batters to just a .206 AVG this season. No team in Triple-A East has asked for more innings out of the bullpen than SWB's 561.0 this season.

EYES ON THE FINAL STRETCH PRIZE...WHATEVER IT IS: Unlike all other classifications, Triple-A does not have playoffs this year, with instead every team playing 10 extra games in the Triple-A Final Stretch. The Triple-A Final Stretch is a 10-game, 2-week "postseason tournament" which sees SWB playing a home series with Syracuse and a road series at Rochester. The team with the best overall record over the 10-game period will be dubbed the Final Stretch Champion and receive a prize that MLB has unbelievably still not announced despite the fact that Triple-A East's Final Stretch began yesterday. Team and individual statistics achieved during the Triple-A Final Stretch will be counted toward regular season numbers, as confirmed by MLB's statistics team, making The Final Stretch a Schrödinger's Cat paradox where it is both the postseason and the regular season at the same time.

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