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IL Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

SWB RailRiders Game Notes - September 29, 2021

September 29, 2021 - International League (IL)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release


Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (70-52) vs. Rochester Red Wings (49-72)

LHP Matt Krook (5-5, 3.39 ERA) vs. RHP Cade Cavalli (1-4, 6.00 ERA)

| Game 123 | Road Game 59 | Frontier Field | Rochester, NY | September 29, 2021 | First Pitch 6:05 p.m. |

RECORDS ARE MEANT TO BE BROKEN: When Greg Allen stole second base in the sixth inning of game one of the doubleheader on September 25 with Syracuse, he recorded the 140th stolen base of the season for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, setting a new franchise record. In only 120 games, the team surpassed the previous record of 139 held by the 2000 SWB Red Barons, who needed 145 games to set the mark. Through 122 games, the RailRiders have stolen 143 bases in 180 attempts in the 2021 season (79.4% success). The pace of thievery has ticked up in September, with SWB currently 36-for-41 in steal attempts in 22 games during the month (1.64 steals/game). Andrew Velazquez leads the team with 29 stolen bases in 77 games, and Socrates Brito (23) and Greg Allen (23) have also recorded 20-or-more steals. With one more steal, Velazquez can become the first SWB player with 30 steals in a season since Brett Gardner stole 37 with the 2008 SWB Yankees.

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. Despite playing only 122 games, the team's 141 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. For each home run hit this season by the RailRiders, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield has pledged a $10 donation to the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Northeast Regional Food Bank in Pittston.

HOMERS THAT HELP: As part of The Final StretchTM, Minor League Baseball has announced that it will be donating $50 for each home run hit by each club to a charity within that club's local community. The RailRiders are hitting home runs to benefit the Wyoming Valley Challenger Baseball. Through five Final StretchTM games, the RailRiders have hit seven home runs for a total donation thus far of $350. The Triple-A team which hits the most home runs during the final stretch will receive a $5,000 bonus for their designated organization.

CLOSE CALLS & BLOWOUTS: The RailRiders have played an extraordinary number of close games this season, with 58 of SWB's 122 games being decided by one or two runs (47.5%). Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has performed approximately average in these close contests, going 15-16 (.484) in one-run games and 15-12 (.555) 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 +132 in run differential this season, the third-best mark in Triple-A East.

ONE OF THE BEST: Throughout the 2021 season, the RailRiders bullpen has been the backbone of the pitching staff, posting a 3.17 ERA as a unit and racking up 47 of SWB's 70 wins. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre own the fourth-best bullpen ERA in full season baseball (minors and majors), trailing only Somerset (2.89), Buffalo (2.90) and Gwinnett (3.10). The bullpen is posting impressive rates of 10.97 K/9, 4.04 BB/9, and has limited opposing batters to just a .208 AVG this season. No team in Triple-A East has asked for more innings out of the bullpen than SWB's 576.2 this season.

EYES ON THE FINAL STRETCHTM 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 has already seen SWB host Syracuse for five games and concludes with the current 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's Final Stretch began last week. 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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