LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - Andrés Blanco walked with the bases loaded to give the Gwinnett Stripers (72-51) an 8-7 walk-off win over the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (65-59) in 11 innings on Saturday night in front of a season-high 9,001 fans at Coolray Field. With their fourth walk-off win of the season, the
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - Andrés Blanco walked with the bases loaded to give the Gwinnett Stripers (72-51) an 8-7 walk-off win over the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (65-59) in 11 innings on Saturday night in front of a season-high 9,001 fans at Coolray Field. With their fourth walk-off win of the season, the Stripers raised their lead in the International League South Division to 4.5 games over both Durham (68-56) and Charlotte (68-56).
Scoring Recap: Down 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth, Pedro Florimón scored from second on a sacrifice fly by Lucas Duda to tie the game at 1-1. Trailing 4-1 in the sixth, Blanco (18) ended a combined no-hitter with a 381-foot solo homer off David Hernandez to cut the deficit to 4-2. Later in the sixth, an RBI ground out by Jack Lopez and two-out RBI single by Johan Camargo tied it at 4-4. Still tied in the top of the 10th, Billy Burns came in to score on a throwing error by catcher Alex Jackson to make it 5-4 RailRiders. Blanco walked with the bases loaded to tie it at 5-5 in the bottom of the 10th. In the top of the 11th, Ryan McBroom (21) hit a 386-foot two-run homer off A.J. Minter to give Scranton a 7-5 lead. In the bottom of the 11th, an RBI double by Camargo, game-tying RBI single by Florimon, and a second bases-loaded walk by Blanco gave Gwinnett the 8-7 win.
Stripers Stats: Blanco went 1-for-2 with a homer, three RBIs, and four walks. Camargo was 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs. Starting pitcher Ian Anderson struck out seven in 7.0 innings and yielded four runs on five hits in a no-decision. Minter (W, 1-1) pitched 2.0 innings with three runs (1 ER) and four strikeouts.
RailRiders Stats: Following 1.0 perfect inning from rehabbing starter Ben Heller, Deivi Garcia struck out seven in 5.0 hitless innings. Brady Lail (L, 1-1) pitched a third of an inning and gave up three runs (2 ER) on three hits. Erik Kratz was 2-for-4 with two homers and three RBIs, and McBroom went 1-for-5 with a homer and two RBIs.
Quote: "I knew I had to put the ball in play," Blanco said. "I got a good pitch but I fouled it off. I just took the rest of the pitches and got the job done."
Postgame Notes: Ryan LaMarre went 2-for-6 to extend his on-base streak to 26 games. The Stripers drew a season-high 11 walks, including four from Blanco, the most by a Gwinnett player this season.
Next Game (Sunday, August 18): Gwinnett vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, 1:05 p.m. at Coolray Field. RHP Patrick Weigel (6-2, 2.63 ERA) for the Stripers vs. RHP Adonis Rosa (4-0, 3.45 ERA) for the RailRiders. Radio Broadcast: 12:50 p.m. on 97.7 and 93.5 FM "The Other Side of the River."
