With victories in the final three games, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders were able to take their six-game series, 4-2, from the Rochester Red Wings last week at Innovative Field in New York.
The Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate also claimed the season series with Rochester, 11-5.
One of the offensive standouts in the series for the RailRiders was Jesus Rodriguez. He batted .400 (10-for-25) in five games with one triple, two home runs and eight RBIs. Both home runs came in the series finale — a pair
of three-run shots. That extended his hitting streak to 15 games. Earlier this season, he had a 13-game hitting streak and reached base in his first 32 Triple-A games to tie for the fourth-longest streak since SWB began its affiliation with the Yankees in 2007.
J-Rod is red hot with a TWO-homer day!
— SWB RailRiders (@swbrailriders) July 27, 2025
No. 27 #Yankees prospect Jesús Rodríguez has hit three-run blasts in back-to-back innings!#WhereLegendsRise #RepBX pic.twitter.com/IHJTk0D8Df
Rodriguez ranks fifth in the International League in batting with a .320 average with five home runs and 41 RBIs.
Bryan De La Cruz batted .304 (7-for-23) in five games with two doubles, one home run and three RBIs. His home run was a two-run shot in the top of the seventh inning of the finale that gave the RailRiders an 8-7 win after Rochester overcame a 6-1 deficit to take a 7-6 lead in the bottom of the sixth.
Duke Ellis appeared in four games and went 9-for-12 with four doubles. At one point, Ellis had hits in seven consecutive plate appearances. He singled in his final at-bat in the July 24th game, went 4-for-4 with three doubles July 25th, then had singles in his first two trips July 27th. The streak came to an end when he struck out in the top of the fifth inning.
Of course, Spencer Jones had his three-homer day in the third game of the series. However, the Yankees’ No. 4 prospect in the most recent MLB Pipeline rankings did not play in the final three games of the series due to back spasms.
Out of the bullpen, right-hander Joel Kuhnel struck out eight and did not walk a batter in three relief appearances covering 3.1 innings. He allowed one run and three hits. Fellow righty Baron Stuart did not give up a run nor a hit in three appearances. He walked two and fanned the same in 2.1 innings and earned his first career save in the finale.
Starter Carlos Carrasco yielded two runs on five hits with one walk and six strikeouts in seven innings to notch the win in the penultimate game of the series. It would prove to be his final outing with the RailRiders after the Yankees dealt the 38-year-old veteran to the Atlanta Braves on Monday night in a minor trade.
Carlos Carrasco was LOCKED IN tonight!
— SWB RailRiders (@swbrailriders) July 27, 2025
7 IP | 5 H | 2 ER | 1 BB | 6 K | 1 Pickoff pic.twitter.com/KuH1HEtLsT
Another pitcher traded during the series was Clayton Beeter, who was part of the deal that brought utilityman Amed Rosario to the Yankees from the Washington Nationals. Amusingly, since Rochester is the Nationals’ top affiliate, Beeter only had to change clubhouses at Innovative Field (à la newly-enshrined Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki when he was traded from the Mariners to the Yankees in 2012 while they were visiting Seattle).
Beeter made his Red Wings debut in the series finale against his former team and pitched a scoreless sixth inning with one walk and one strikeout.
Clayton Beeter on Wednesday: pitching for the @swbrailriders against the @RocRedWings.
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) July 27, 2025
Clayton Beeter today: pitching for the Red Wings against the RailRiders.
The RHP spins a scoreless frame in his first outing since being traded to the @Nationals in the Amed Rosario deal. pic.twitter.com/E8P2gEvumz
Now, after nine road games coming out of the MLB All-Star break, the RailRiders return home to PNC Field to begin a six-game series against the Nashville Sounds, top affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. It is the first visit for Nashville to Northeastern Pennsylvania since 1991.
Luis Gil is scheduled to make his second MLB rehab start with the RailRiders in the series opener Tuesday night. This could very well be his last appearance in the minors before finally returning to the New York rotation for his season debut next week.
When the teams met at First Horizon Park in Tennessee on May 21-24, the Sounds won four of five games. They are led by veteran Bobby Dalbec, who is batting .273 with 12 home runs and 43 RBIs in 59 games with Nashville. In the Sounds’ last game Sunday, Dalbec hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 10th inning to defeat Charlotte, 3-2. It was his 200th professional home run: 153 in the minors, 47 in the majors.
Right-hander Logan Henderson, the Brewers’ No. 5 prospect in the recent MLB Pipeline rankings, leads the International League in wins with a 10-4 record. He has a 3.59 ERA and 87 strikeouts in 77.2 innings.
The RailRiders (59-39 overall) enter the series in first place in the International League second-half standings at 21-5, one-half game ahead of the surging Syracuse Mets, who have won seven straight. Nashville is 15-12 in the second half, 6.5 games in back of the RailRiders, and 59-41 overall.
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- Aaron Judge heading to the IL with a flexor strain
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