This year’s Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders are a team that keeps battling until the final out, and it is quickly becoming their M.O. Seven of their 13 wins through the first 24 games have occurred when the club was trailing at some point in the contest.
There was April 4th in Rochester, when seventh-inning solo shots by Seth Brown and Paul DeJong overcame a one-run deficit for a 4-3 victory. The next day, the RailRiders trailed after one inning, 2-1, but scored in the next four innings and rolled
to a 16-5 win.
In the home opener on April 8th against Durham, the RailRiders erased a six-run deficit in their final three at-bats to pull out a 7-6 triumph. The next day, they trailed Durham by one run after five innings, took the lead, watched the Bulls tie it in the top of the ninth, but won it in the bottom of the ninth on an Ali Sánchez home run, 5-4. Two days after that, in the nightcap of a doubleheader, they were down to the Bulls, 2-0, but used a six-run fourth inning to storm back for a 9-5 win.
“With these guys, I always know that when games are close, they grind really well,” said manager Shelley Duncan.
“I like to say they’re gritty. They’re grinders, and when it’s close at the end of a ball game, it’s hard to beat grinders.”
Also, the RailRiders are 3-0 in extra innings, including consecutive wins in the current home series with the Rochester Red Wings at PNC Field.
First, on Thursday, the RailRiders took a 4-2 lead into the top of the ninth, only to have Rochester score three runs on five consecutive hits to grab a 5-4 lead. But the RailRiders tied it in the bottom of the ninth on singles by Jonathan Ornelas and Max Schuemann, followed by an RBI groundout from Spencer Jones. Then in the bottom of the 11th, Jasson Domínguez won it with a RBI single to score the automatic runner Ornelas, 6-5.
On Friday, Red Wings starting pitcher Andry Lara had the RailRiders stymied. All they could manage against the right-hander through the first seven innings were a pair of Yanquiel Fernández singles as he walked none and struck out nine. Rochester built a 2-0 lead on two solo home runs, but the bullpen held it there.
“My main thought was keep it close,” Duncan said. “Down two, if we could just scrap one run across the board to get within one. Two runs is a lot harder than one.”
In the bottom of the eighth, with Lara out of the game, the RailRiders rallied. Brown drew a leadoff walk. Duke Ellis came on as a pinch-runner and immediately stole second. Ernesto Martínez Jr. then sent a 3-2 pitch out to right field for a game-tying home run.
“I was manifesting it. I was like, I’m hitting a home run right now. It’s going out,” Martínez said. “I was late on a couple of pitches and I was like, ‘OK, if I’m early I’m going to hit one out.
“We always believe and always have faith in our pitchers. They work really hard and are dedicated to their craft. If they have a bad inning, you know they’re going to come back. We trust our guys.”
Neither team scored in the ninth inning and the game headed to extra innings. Rochester scored a run in the top of the 10th and had runners at the corners with one out. But Harrison Cohen came on and struck out the next two Red Wings to keep it a 3-2 game.
With Oswaldo Cabrera at second base as the automatic runner in the bottom of the 10th, Ellis laid down a sacrifice bunt and reached safely when Rochester’s first baseman, Abimelec Orti,z was called for obstruction as Cabrera moved to third. Again, Ellis broke for second on a stolen-base attempt and when the pitch was wild, Cabrera scored the tying run and Ellis kept going and raced to third.
Martinez followed by lining a 2-2 pitch into right field to score Ellis with the game-winning run.
“Ernesto had two strikes early, took a deep breath and had an unbelievable at-bat,” Duncan said. “It was awesome seeing these guys stay in the game even though it looked very bleak in the beginning. You have to credit the pitching for keeping us close.”
Wins like these, Martínez said, show the character the RailRiders have and can give them some momentum to get on a roll.
“We’ve been a little bit up and down for the start of the season,” said Martínez. “We have expectations of being the best team in Triple-A, so for us it means a lot. Our spirit is not gone. We’re still going to try to win the first half.”
Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe continued his rehab stint with the RailRiders in Friday’s game and played nine innings for the first time. Batting leadoff, he went 0-for-4 with a flyout, two strikeouts, and a groundout. Defensively, he handled three chances and had two assists.
“That was the best I’ve seen him at short,” Duncan said. “He looked really good.”
The plan is for Volpe to again play nine innings Saturday and then likely serve as DH in Sunday’s series finale. What comes after that? Well, Yankees manager Aaron Boone didn’t anticipate a return in time for New York’s series against the Rangers, though he did make those remarks before Giancarlo Stanton left Friday night’s game in Houston early. Unless the DH’s calf strain forces an IL stint that accelerates the timeline, the most logical outcome would be Volpe remaining with Scranton since they have another home series coming up this week against Buffalo, beginning Tuesday. Stay tuned.
