IL1 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

SWB RailRiders Game Notes

Published on May 10, 2018 under International League (IL1)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release


SCRANTON WILKES-BARRE RAILRIDERS (15-17) vs. ROCHESTER RED WINGS (14-14)

LHP Josh Rogers (2-3, 3.15) vs. RHP Zack Littell (1-0, 0.00)

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| Game No. 33 | Thursday May 10, 2018 | PNC Field | Moosic, PA |

| First Pitch 6:35 p.m. | Pregame Show 6:05 p.m. |

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LAST TIME OUT: The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders exploded in the first inning, and fended-off a couple middle-inning rallies by the Syracuse Chiefs Wednesday night to secure the series win and an 8-7 win.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre jumped to an early 5-0 lead against Syracuse's Cesar Vargas in the top of the first. With two outs, Clint Frazier (2-for-5, 2B, R) singled and Mike Ford (1-for-4, BB, R) walked. Adam Lind (3-for-4, 2B, RBI, BB) singled in Frazier to start the scoring and Kyle Higashioka (2-for-5, R, RBI) singled home Ford for a 2-0 advantage. Zack Zehner (1-for-4, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB) hit a 3-2 over the centerfield wall for the 5-0 lead. It was Zehner's fourth home run of the season and gave him 16 runs batted in to match Higashioka's team-high.

The Chiefs managed one run against RailRiders starter Chance Adams in the bottom of the second and evened the game in the third with four runs. Syracuse sent all nine batters to the plate and tallied four runs on four straight base hits for a 5-5 score. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre quickly responded in the fourth. Vargas, a former Yankees farmhand, walked Zehner to leadoff the inning and Bruce Caldwell doubled him in for a 6-5 edge. The RailRiders added a run in the sixth on an error for a 7-5 lead. The RailRiders took the lead back in the seventh when Caldwell singled to shallow left, driving in Lind for an 8-7 lead. Caldwell had his first multi-hit game of his career with the RailRiders (2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI)

The bullpen made it hold up down the stretch. Cody Carroll entered for a scoreless final two innings, including striking out the final three men of the game after allowing the tying run into scoring position after a Jose Marmolejos leadoff double to begin the ninth inning. All told, the bullpen tossed 6.1 innings and didn't allow an earned run while scattering three hits and striking out eight men.

FAMILIAR FACES: The Rochester Red Wings come to town with three former New York Yankees minor leaguers on the roster: OF Jake Cave, LHP Dietrich Enns and RHP Zack Littell. Both Cave and Enns made it to the RailRiders, being invaluable members of the team over the past few seasons:

Cave: 168G, .296 AVG (185-for-624), 34 2B, 10 3B, 20 HR, 78 RBI, 4-for-6 SB

Enns: 21G/17GS: 8-3, 1.81 ERA, 104.1 IP, 77 H, 36 BB, 87 K (7.5 K/9)

EXPLOSIVE START: The RailRiders entered Wednesday's game having scored five 1st-inning runs in the first 31 games of the season and had been outscored 16-5 in 1st innings this season. Then in the series-finale, the offense jumped all over former RailRiders Cesar Vargas to the tune of five runs on four hits, including a two-out three-run homer by Zack Zehner. It had been 16 games since the RailRiders scored in the 1st inning, dating to April 24 vs. Columbus where they scored two runs in the bottom of the frame, only to lose 3-2.

AN AWAKENING: Monday and Wednesday nights featured explosive eight-run performances in an 8-3 and an 8-7 win for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders over the Syracuse Chiefs. Entering the series against the Chiefs, the RailRiders offense had been rather sluggish in the previous nine games, combining for 20 runs (2.2/game) on 58 hits (6.4/game) and only twice scored more than four runs in a game in that stretch.

FALLING BEHIND EARLY...: Wednesday night bucked a trend by RailRiders starting pitchers this season in which they allow early runs and the team finds itself trailing entering the 3rd inning. In the first two innings of games this season, opponents are outscoring the RailRiders 39-17 (-22) which has immediately put SWB in an early hole.

...MAKING IT CLOSE LATE: Meanwhile, the RailRiders are doing their best to make a run at teams when trailing in the later innings. SWB is +31 in run differential in the 7th, 8th and 9th innings, outscoring their opponents 52-21 in that time. Despite those impressive numbers, the RailRiders are just 2-16 when trailing after six innings and 1-13 when trailing after eight innings -- the lone comeback win in the 9th inning being the five-run bottom of the 9th on Opening Night in which Abiatal Avelino capped a 6-5 win with a walk-off three-run home run.

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