Plates Pitching Stifles RailRiders Thursday Night

Playing as the Plates for the first time in 2026, Rochester (4-1) came out on top against the Scranton/WB RailRiders (2-3), 3-1. The Plates' pitching staff limited the RailRiders to just two hits, the fewest allowed in a game against the New York Yankees' top affiliate since July 13, 2018. LHP Andrew Alvarez led the way for Rochester, striking out 10 while scattering just one hit across 5.0 strong innings of work. Offensively, LF Christian Franklin notched two more hits, giving him at least one knock in each of the first five games.

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After Scranton/WB went down quickly in the top of the first, Christian Franklin began the bottom half with a ground ball base-hit to right field. C Harry Ford then laced a double that hooked into the left field corner to put runners on second and third. Former second overall draft pick RF Dylan Crews then tapped a dribbler to short that brought in Franklin, giving the Plates a 1-0 lead. Two batters later, a tailor-made 6-4-3 double play got the RailRiders out of the jam.

After the first inning, the opening Plates game of 2026 turned into an old-fashioned pitchers' duel. From the second inning through the top half of the seventh, the two teams combined for 10 strikeouts while allowing two hits and walking three.

The Plates woke up the bats in the bottom half of the seventh, as CF Robert Hassell III led off the inning with a five-pitch walk. With the runner in motion, 2B Trey Lipscomb hit a frozen rope down the left field line that would’ve surely scored Hassell III from first if it wasn’t for the ball getting lodged under the padding in left field, forcing him to halt at third. Following a pitching change, 3B Yohandy Morales hit a fly ball to right field that dropped for a single after miscommunication from Scranton’s outfield, allowing Hassell III to score and Morales to reach second on the throw. Still with no outs, SS Zack Short hit a fly ball to center field deep enough to score Lipscomb and advance Morales to third. Scranton/WB once again escaped the jam with a double play, this time on a lineout to 1B Ernesto Martinez Jr., who threw out the runner returning to third.

The RailRiders hadn’t been shut out by Rochester since June 18, 2023, and they wouldn’t let it happen tonight. After a strikeout to start the inning, 3B Max Schuemann challenged a 3-1 strike call that was overturned for a walk. LF Oswaldo Cabrera smoked a single into right field following the walk and advanced Schuemann to third. A walk to Yanquiel Fernandez loaded the bases with one out for SS Paul DeJong, who hit a fly ball deep enough to center for Scheumann to score without a throw. A groundout from C Ali Sánchez to second base ended the RailRiders' late-game heroics, moving Rochester to 4-1 on the 2026 campaign.

Andrew Alvarez got his second start of the season for Rochester after getting the nod in the season opener at Jacksonville. The southpaw from California was credited with the win and worked through 5.0 innings of one-hit baseball while allowing one walk and tacking on 10 punchouts, six of them with his slider. LHP Erik Tolman came on in the sixth for his second appearance of the year, logging 2.0 innings and allowing just one baserunner with a walk. RHP Eddy Yean hurled a perfect eighth inning and struck out two, setting the stage for RHP Seth Shuman in his first career save opportunity. The Georgia native ran into some traffic in his 1.0 inning of work, allowing one run on two walks and one hit, but managed to escape and earn the save.

Thursday night’s player of the game for the Plates is LHP Andrew Alvarez. The left-hander became one of four Rochester pitchers since at least 2004 to strike out at least 10 in 5.0 innings or fewer, and the only pitcher to do so twice (9/22/2024 vs. IOW).

Rochester and Scranton/WB return to action Friday afternoon for a seven-inning doubleheader, making up Tuesday’s postponed Red Wings home opener. LHP Mitchell Parker will take the ball for Rochester in game one against RailRiders RHP Carlos Lagrange, and RHP Adam Kloffenstein will make the start for Scranton/WB in game two. The first pitch of game one is slated for 1:05 p.m., and game two will begin 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one.

Find the box score attached HERE.

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