When they opened the second half of the International League season by winning a remarkable 17 of their first 20 games, it became a possibility.
On Friday night in Buffalo, it became a reality. The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders are second-half champions!
A 10-2 victory over the Bisons gave the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate the title. J.C. Escarra had four hits to fuel a 16-hit attack and Jose Rojas and Bryan De La Cruz each hit two-run home runs in a five-run fifth inning that broke open a one-run
lead. For Rojas, it was his league-leading 32nd home run and tied the single-season franchise record set in 2011 by Jorge Vazquez.
By clinching second-half honors, the RailRiders will face the first-half winner Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp next week in the best-of-3 league championship series.
This is the first time since 2019 that Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has qualified for the International League playoffs and 17th time overall. It is also their ninth appearance in the finals.
Here is a look back at how the affiliate fared in the previous eight trips:
1992
The Red Barons faced the Columbus Clippers, who at that time were the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate. In the fifth and deciding game of the Governors’ Cup final, they held a 3-1 lead and were three outs away from the title. However, Columbus rallied for three runs in the bottom of the ninth to pull out a 4-3 win and repeat as IL champion. RBI singles by one-time star prospect Hensley Meulens and Jay Knoblauh tied it and current Yankees bench coach Brad Ausmus’ RBI single won it.
2000
Facing elimination in Game 4 against the Indianapolis Indians, Red Barons pitcher Nelson Figueroa threw a complete-game four-hit shutout with one walk and nine strikeouts in a 1-0 win. He also had two hits and scored the game’s lone run in the top of the seventh inning when he doubled and came around on Reggie Taylor’s RBI single. However, in the deciding Game 5, the Red Barons were shut down by Indianapolis pitcher Tim Harikkala and lost, 6-1.
2001
Game 5 of the semifinals in Buffalo lasted 5 hours and 13 minutes before the Red Barons scored four runs in the top of the 19th inning to win the series with a 6-2 victory and advance to the final. They traveled to Louisville the next morning and arrived there at 2:30 p.m. for Game 1, which started at 7:15 p.m. They lost the opener to the Bats, 2-1.
Then, the September 11th attacks happened and the remainer of the series was canceled. While many other minor leagues declared co-champions, International League president Randy Mobley said that since Louisville won the first game, it was the champion.
2008
Current RailRiders manager Shelley Duncan sent the SWB Yankees to the final when he hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the 10th inning to beat Pawtucket, 2-0, in Game 4 of the semifinals. Facing Durham in the final, the Yankees rallied for two runs in bottom of the ninth inning to win Game 1, 8-7. They then took Game 2 in 13 innings, 1-0. The Bulls rallied in Game 3, scoring a run in the bottom of the ninth for a 3-2 win. But in Game 4, the Yankees rolled to a 20-2 win. Chris Basak went 4-for-4, Juan Miranda had three hits and six RBIs and the acclaimed Phil Hughes struck out 12 in five innings.
It was the area’s first pro baseball championship since the Scranton Red Sox claimed the Eastern League title in 1951. In the Triple-A National Championship Game, the Yankees lost to Sacramento, 4-1.
2009
It was a rematch of the 2008 final between the Yankees and Durham, but this time the Bulls prevailed in a three-game sweep to deny Scranton/Wilkes-Barre back-to-back titles (eventually giving the Yankees a match in 2009 championships at their two highest levels). After winning the first two games by identical 4-1 scores, Durham won Game 3 in 12 innings, 3-2, on John Jaso’s RBI double in the top of the 12th inning.
2016
The RailRiders faced Gwinnett in the final with a soon-to-be familiar group of future Yankees that included Clint Frazier and Jordan Montgomery. They lost Game 1 to the Braves, 7-4, and had only one hit in Game 2 and trailed, 1-0. But a rally in the bottom of the ninth comprised of four walks and a hit batsman gave them a 2-1 victory. Their pitching dominated the next two games by posting consecutive 3-0 shutouts to capture the franchise’s second International League title. They then won the Triple-A National Championship by defeating El Paso, 3-1.
2017
Another matchup with Durham in the final. Current Yankees pitcher Ryan Yarbrough and two relievers combined for a three-hit shutout in the opener, but Domingo Germán and two relievers answered for the RailRiders in Game 2 with a combined three-hit shutout of their own. However, the Bulls won the next two games to take the series and the title.
2018
For a fourth time, it was a Durham-Scranton/Wilkes-Barre final. In Game 4, the RailRiders used a solo home run by a then-anonymous Gio Urshela and a three-run homer by Mike Ford to win, 5-2, and force a deciding Game 5. But Scranton native Joe McCarthy led the Bulls to a 6-2 win with a home run, two doubles and four RBIs.
Now, the RailRiders will try to add to their championship history against Jacksonville, top affiliate of the Miami Marlins. The best-of-three series begins on Tuesday at VyStar Ballpark in Florida.
