MOOSIC, Pa. (June 12, 2018) - The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders swept a doubleheader with the Rochester Red Wings on Tuesday night, winning the first game 5-2, and taking the finale 2-0. It was the first doubleheader sweep of the year for the surging RailRiders, who have won four of their last five
MOOSIC, Pa. (June 12, 2018) - The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders swept a doubleheader with the Rochester Red Wings on Tuesday night, winning the first game 5-2, and taking the finale 2-0. It was the first doubleheader sweep of the year for the surging RailRiders, who have won four of their last five games.
In the first game of the twin bill, the RailRiders jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Billy McKinney connected for a three-run home run off Aaron Slegers. The round-tripper was the seventh of the season for McKinney, and his second in his last two games.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre tacked on in the bottom of the third when Clint Frazier touched up Slegers for a solo shot to dead centerfield to extend the lead to 4-0. Abiatal Avelino contributed a third RailRider home run, a solo homer in the fourth.
Erik Swanson was strong for SWB, delivering 6.0 stellar innings of work in Game One. The right-hander allowed two runs on six hits, striking out eight and not allowing a walk. The runs against Swanson scored in the top of the fourth on back-to-back home runs from Cameron Rupp and Taylor Motter.
Joe Harvey relieved Swanson (1-1) in the top of the seventh and worked around a two-out walk to shut the door to earn his second save of the season.
Brandon Drury was 0-for-3 with a run scored in the opener, ending his RailRiders record 32-game on-base streak.
In Game Two, Nestor Cortes got the RailRiders off to a splendid start, retiring the first six batters he faced and not allowing a hit until the top of the fifth. The southpaw threw 5.0 shutout innings, allowing just one single, walking two and striking out three in his first start since May 15th.
After the offensive explosion in the opening game, the RailRiders bats were stymied by Red Wings pitching through the first five frames of the nightcap. Rochester pitchers Gabriel Moya and Tyler Duffy scattering four hits.
Against John Curtiss in the bottom of the sixth, Clint Frazier led off with a double and Tyler Wade singled to place runners on first and third with nobody out. Drury drove an opposite-field triple to drive in both runners and give Scranton/Wilkes-Barre a 2-0 lead.
Giovanny Gallegos (1-0) relieved Cortes in the night cap and shut the Red Wings down over the final two innings to seal the victory and the doubleheader sweep.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre looks to complete a four-game sweep of the Rochester Red Wings on Wednesday night at PNC Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. RHP Chance Adams (2-2, 5.43) takes the ball for the RailRiders, while LHP Dietrich Enns (4-6, 5.84) heads to the slab for the Red Wings. For tickets and more information, call (570) 969-BALL or slide to www.swbrailriders.com/tickets.
