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For the Birds: RailRiders fall 20-7 to Mud Hens Thursday

Three four-run frames and big ninth SWB's undoing in defeat
Dominic Smith homered and drove in two on Thursday night. (Brandon Banks)
May 15, 2025

MOOSIC, PA (May 15, 2025) – The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders fell to the Toledo Mud Hens 20-7 Thursday night at PNC Field. Three early four-run frames from Toledo were too much for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to overcome. Box Score Toledo opened the scoring in the first, hitting two home runs to take a

MOOSIC, PA (May 15, 2025) – The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders fell to the Toledo Mud Hens 20-7 Thursday night at PNC Field. Three early four-run frames from Toledo were too much for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to overcome.

Box Score

Toledo opened the scoring in the first, hitting two home runs to take a four-run advantage off RailRiders starter Erick Leal. Carlos Mendoza hit a solo shot to right for a 1-0 lead. Later in the inning, Jahmai Jones sent a three-run blast to left-center, giving the Mud Hens a 4-0 edge.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre countered in the home half of the frame. After Jesús Rodríguez extended his on-base streak to 24 straight games with a leadoff double, Dominic Smith doubled him home. Two batters later, Jose Rojas doubled to left, scoring Smith to cut the Mud Hens lead in half at 4-2.

Toledo sent all nine batters to the plate to go up six runs in the top of the second. Mendoza hit his second home run of the game; a two-run shot to right, giving the Mud Hens a 6-2 cushion. Andrew Navigato singled home Hao-Yu Lee to put Toledo in front by five. A bases-loaded walk extended the margin to 8-2.

The Mud Hens added a run in the third when Lee tripled home MLB rehabber Jake Rodgers for a 9-2 lead.

The RailRiders chipped away at Toledo’s advantage in the third. After Rodriguez singled and Everson Pereira and T.J. Rumfield walked to load the bases, Rojas hit into an RBI force-out to narrow the gap. Alex Jackson followed with an RBI single to make it a five-run game at 9-4.

Toledo tallied four more runs in the fifth when Lee and Navigato both hit two-run singles to build a 13-4 lead.

Three solo home runs in the fifth helped Scranton/Wilkes-Barre close the Mud Hens' advantage. Smith and Everson Pereira blasted back-to-back home runs off consecutive pitches from reliever Austin Bergner. Smith’s shot sailed 427 feet to right and Pereira drove a fastball 406 feet over the centerfield wall. With two outs, Alex Jackson crushed his fifth homer of the year, bringing the score to 13-7.

The RailRiders loaded the bases in the seventh and put two aboard in the eighth, but they could not push any runs across to mount a rally.

The Mud Hens plated seven more runs in the ninth to cap the scoring.

Rodriguez and Jackson both had three hits while Smith and Rojas each had two RBIs to pace the RailRiders.

Leal (1-5) worked 1.2 innings, surrendering eight runs on four hits. Clayton Beeter worked a clean seventh while continuing his MLB Rehab Assignment. Poulin tossed two frames at the outset for the Mud Hens, allowing two runs on three hits. Bergner (2-0) was credited with the win.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre continues its series with Toledo on Friday at 6:35 P.M. The RailRiders will send Jake Woodford to the mound to face the Mud Hens’ left-hander Deitrich Enns. Tickets are available at www.swbrailriders.com.