Scranton Recap: RailRiders Return Home With Series Win

Game 1: Edgar Barclay (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs Jackson Rutledge (1-0, 5.57 ERA)

Baseball is back in the Electric City! The RailRiders returned home for a two-week homestand that started Tuesday night against the Rochester Red Wings. Edgar Barclay took the mound for his first ever Triple-A start. Barclay was dominant down in Somerset posting a 3-1 record with a 1.32 ERA in 11 appearances. 

Edgar Barlcay has his first Triple-A strikeout! #EverythingMajor #RepBX pic.twitter.com/UIzfz2PN0u

— SWB RailRiders (@swbrailriders) August 1, 2023

Barclay did struggle in his start, allowing 4 runs while 2 of them were on fielder’s choices. Barclay also struggled with his control. He walked 4 batters and gave up a 2 run shot to Jacob Nottingham, and the RailRiders were down 4-0. The offense showed life in the bottom of the third, scoring 2 runs to cut the lead in half. Oswald Peraza drove one in on a sac-fly and Everson Pereira stayed hot, singling home another run. 

The scoring remained dormant until the bottom of the 7th. Once again Everson Pereira came to the plate with a runner in scoring position and delivered an RBI single to center field, scoring Peraza to cut the lead down to just a run. A wild pitch later in the inning scored Pereira, and just like that we were knotted up at 4.

The offense remained a 2 man show as Peraza came up in the bottom of the 8th and drove in the go ahead run with a 1 out RBI single. Matt Bowman came on in the Top of the 9th to lock down his 4th save of the year. Scranton overcame a 4-0 deficit to take game 1 of the series.

Final: 5-4 Scranton (Scranton leads series 1-0)

Game 2: Randy Vazquez (2-8, 5.04 ERA) vs. Jose Urena (1-2, 6.03 ERA) 

The trade deadline came and went and the Yankees did not make many moves. That boded well for this RailRiders squad as the team stays intact, instead adding to some pitching depth. Randy Vazquez looked to get back on track Wednesday night as he toed the slab on a beautiful Scranton summer night. Vasquez pitched one of his best games of the year going 6 innings, allowing 1 run on 3 hits and striking out 11 batters. The total matched his career high in strikeouts and was the first RailRider to hit double digit strikeouts since Matt Krook did it last year.

Victorious Vásquez 🏆

Randy Vásquez ties a career-high and sets a season-high with 11 strikeouts on tonight's win!

6 IP // 3 H // 1 R // 1 ER // 1 BB // 11 K #EverythingMajor #RepBX pic.twitter.com/c9VPoW99ax

— SWB RailRiders (@swbrailriders) August 3, 2023

The offense stayed hot in this one and who else but the electric Everson Pereira got things going as he led off the 2nd inning with a triple. He would later score on an RBI ground-out by Franchy Cordero and Scranton took an early 1-0 lead. The very next inning Oswaldo Cabrera hit a moonshot home run to right center field which put the team up 2-0 through 3 innings. 

The RailRiders continued to crush Rochester pitching as they would score runs in every inning from the 2nd to the 6th. Cordero was able to drive in yet another run finishing his day 1-for-4 with 2 RBIs and raising his batting average to .317 on the year. Austin Wells (1-for-2, RBI, 3 BB) also drove in another run as he continues to grow and become more comfortable against Triple-A pitching. 

Pereira capped off the scoring for the RailRiders, lining a 2 RBI single to center in the 8th that scored both Peraza and Cabrera. Everson finished the night going 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs and raised his batting average to an impressive .337 in Triple-A. 

Everson Pereira is on another level right now

— Bobby Santoro (@bsantoro112) August 3, 2023

That was all the pitching Scranton needed, as once Vasquez came out of the game, Jonathan Loaisiga came on to start his rehab assignment. Loaisiga has been out since April and looked great in his one inning of work for Scranton. He retired all 3 batters he faced on just 9 pitches and showed that he still can be one of the best relievers in the game. 

Jonathan Loaisiga Looked Both Great And Shaky In His Rehab Assignment With Scranton (Chris McCormack)

Final: 8-1 Scranton (Scranton Leads Series 2-0

Game 3: Will Warren (4-4, 5.22 ERA) vs Alex Troop (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Thursday, Will Warren and the RailRiders looked to win their third straight game on a beautiful night in the Electric City. Warren struggled a little when he was first called up but has started to settle in, as he continues to raise his value in the Yankees farm system.

The offense got out to a good start, as they had the bases loaded with just 1 out in the bottom of the second. They were able to push across 3 runs in the inning, one on a fielder’s choice by Wilmer Difo and the other on an Oswald Peraza 2 RBI single. 

Andres Chaparro dug in to lead off the 3rd inning and hit an absolute rocket over the wall in left and Scranton was in control early 4-0. The RailRiders pushed across another run in the inning when Brandon Lockridge grounded into a double that scored 1. From that point on, the Red Wings began to chip away at the RailRiders lead. 

Rochester hit solo home runs in both the 4th and 5th innings off of Warren, and the lead was cut down to 5-2. Warren would get through the 6th without allowing another run and finished his night only allowing the 2 earned runs through the 6 innings. Deivi Garcia was called upon to start the 7th, and it was just not there for the former Yankee top pitching prospect. 

Garcia surrendered back-to-back walks to start the inning, but was then able to get Richie Martin to fly out for the first out. Rochester then banged 2 singles to cut the Scranton lead to 5-4, and another walk by Deivi loaded the bases with just 1 out. Aaron McGarity was able to come on and let in only 1 of Garcia’s runs, but the score was now all knotted at 5. 

Austin Wells Rips A Lead Off Double In The 7th (Chris McCormack

The Scranton offense responded quickly, though, as Austin Wells led off the bottom of the 7th with a double. With 1 out, fellow catcher Carlos Narvaez ripped a go-ahead RBI double to left to put the RailRiders back on top once more.

Clutch Carlos 💪#EverythingMajor #RepBX pic.twitter.com/OczZFw50ae

— SWB RailRiders (@swbrailriders) August 4, 2023

Matt Bowman came on in the 9th and was dominant, striking out 2 batters and not allowing a hit for his 5th save of the year.

Final: 6-5 Scranton (Scranton Leads Series 3-0) 

Game 4: Clayton Beeter (1-2, 7.04 ERA) vs. Robbery Munoz (2-3, 4.36 ERA)

Clayton Beeter Bounced Back Strong On Friday Night (Chris McCormack)

Friday night baseball in Scranton saw Clayton Beeter take the ball with the RailRiders trying to win their 4 straight. Beeter started strong in the first before allowing a solo shot to former big leaguer Matt Adams. That was the only blip on the radar for Beeter, as he finished the night going 6 innings allowing 1 earned run on 5 hits and struck out 7. 

I was able to catch up with Scranton manager Shelly Duncan after the game and asked what he saw differently in Beeter this time out: “I felt he attacked the zone more, he was smart today, made the right pitches when he needed to. He doesn’t throw it a whole lot but his Change-up was good when he did throw it today”.

Scranton broke through in the 3rd inning when Austin Wells stepped up with 2 outs and runners on first and second. Wells roped a double to left center that gave the RailRiders a 2-1 lead as he continues to shine this year in the Yanks farm system. The RailRiders extended the lead to 3-1 when Franchy Cordero ripped an RBI single to left. 

Austin Wells Legs Out A 2 Out Double (Chris McCormack)

The score remained 3-1 Scranton until the top of the 8th inning. Jonathan Loaisiga, who came on in the 7th to strike out 3, did not have a great 8th inning. After a lead off double, Loaisiga gave up back-to-back singles which cut the Scranton lead to just 3-2. Zach Greene came on and got all 3 outs; however, he did allow a run to score on a ground-out and, just like that, we were tied at 3. 

Tied at 3 going into the 9th. Ron Marinaccio on to try and hold it right here for the @swbrailriders #RepBX #EverythingMajor

— Bobby Santoro (@bsantoro112) August 5, 2023

The RailRiders called on recently demoted Ron Marinaccio to try and hold the score at 3 in the 9th. Marinaccio struggled and allowed a go-ahead long ball that wound up being the decider in this one.

Final: 5-3 Rochester (Scranton Leads Series 3-1)

Ron Marinaccio Could Not Keep The Score Tied At 3 As Scranton Fell To Rochester

Game 5: Mitch Spence (8-6, 5.00 ERA) vs. Wily Peralta (3-5, 5.94 ERA)

It’s 5 o’clock somewhere; actually, it was 6 o’clock in Scranton as the RailRiders looked to bounce back on Margaritaville Night. Mitch Spence looked to get his 9th win of the year, and the offense helped him out right away.

After two quick outs in the bottom of the 1st, Everson Pereira and Andres Chaparro both walked, and Franchy Cordero stepped up looking to do some damage. Franchy launched a 3 run long ball to right center field and just like that Scranton was up 3-0 early.

3 run shot for Franchy Cordero and it’s 3-0 @swbrailriders in the top of the 1st #RepBX #EverythingMajor

— Bobby Santoro (@bsantoro112) August 5, 2023

The score would remain that way as the innings would go on until the top of the 6th inning.Rochester started the top of the 6th with back-to-back singles and Spence was immediately in a jam. With runners at the corners and one out, the Red Wings got on the board when Luis Garcia took off for second and Darren Baker was able to come home and score on the double steal. After Spence struck out Matt Adams, he then walked back-to-back hitters which set up the biggest spot in the game. Rochester had bases loaded with 2 outs, and Shelly Duncan elected to leave his starter in. Richie Martin ripped a single to center field, and Spence was not able to escape trouble as the score was all tied up at 3. 

Newly acquired Spencer Howard came on to pitch the 7th. Howard did not fare well in his debut. Howard gave up 3 straight singles to Red Wing batters and, before you could blink, it was 6-3 Rochester. The RailRiders threatened in the 8th, loading the bases with only 1 out but Michael Hermosillo grounded into a fielder’s choice that only scored a run. Rodolfo Duran then grounded out to end the inning, and Scranton could not get a run across in the 9th. A series that got off to a hot start, was now hinged on the Sunday matinee.  

Final: 6-4 Rochester (Scranton Leads Series 3-2)

Game 6: Zach Greene (1-0, 4.50 ERA) vs. Jackson Rutledge (1-0, 5.19 ERA)

After winning the first 3 games of the series, Scranton had dropped 2 in a row and now needed to win Sunday to avoid splitting the series. Zach Greene was starting what would be a bullpen game by the RailRiders. 

Rochester jumped on Greene early after a 1 out double by Luis Garcia, which paved the way for an RBI single for Jake Noll. Just like that, the RailRiders were down 1-0.  Ron Marinaccio was called on in the 3rd and still looked shaky to start. After a lead off double and a sac-bunt to get the runner to 3rd, Marinaccio issued a walk to Darren Baker. Baker quickly stole 2nd to make it runners on 2nd and 3rd with just 1 out. A sac-fly extended the Red Wings’ lead to 2-0. 

After escaping the inning only allowing one run, Scranton was able to push a run across of their own when Andres Chaparro was able to drive in Wilmer Difo on a sac-fly that cut the lead in half, 2-1. 

The score remained the same until the bottom of the 5th. Peraza and Wells both made two quick outs when Everson Pereira hit a deep fly ball to center. The center fielder Cody Wilson lost the ball in the sun and it dropped in as Pereira advanced to second. Up came Chaparro and he delivered a clutch RBI single to tie the game at 2. With the score all knotted at 2, Frenchy Cordero dug in and launched a 2 run bomb that put Scranton up 4-2 capping off a huge 3 run inning for the RailRiders.

Franchy Cordero a 2 run shot! @swbrailriders now lead Rochester 4-2! #RepBX #EverythingMajor

— Bobby Santoro (@bsantoro112) August 6, 2023

After Rochester got a run back in the top of the 7th to cut the Scranton lead to 4-3, Oswald Peraza got that run right back in the bottom of the inning hitting a solo shot to left and it was 5-3. Anthony Misiewicz came on in the 8th and pitched two scoreless innings to lock down the game and the series for Scranton.

Oswald Peraza Went Deep With A Solo Shot To Extend The Scranton Lead To 5-3 (Chris McCormack)

Final: 5-3 Scranton (Scranton Wins Series 4-2) 

While it could have very easily been a series sweep, the RailRiders looked strong on their first of two back-to-back home series. They are now 16-15 in the second half of the season and sit 3.5 games back of the division leading Norfolk Tides. Scranton will look to stay hot this week as the struggling Syracuse Mets come to town, giving the RailRiders a shot to make up some more ground in the standings.