Long Time Coming: SWB rallies for 17-11 win

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (May 6, 2021) – The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders put on an offensive showcase and defeated the Syracuse Mets 17-11 on Thursday night in a wild contest at NBT Bank Stadium. Led by two home runs by Miguel Andújar, the RailRiders pounded out a season-high 17 hits in the victory.

Deivi Garcia made his first start of the season with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and struggled with his command, walking a career-high seven batters in 3.1 innings. He allowed five runs and struck out three. Five RailRiders pitchers combined to issue 13 walks on the night, while Mets pitchers walked eight more.

After the RailRiders jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, Bruce Maxwell tied the game with a two-run home run off Garcia in the bottom of the second. Syracuse grabbed the lead for the first time in the bottom of the fourth with three runs, but the Baby Bombers answered right back with three in the top of the fifth to tie the game 5-5.

The Mets rallied for four runs in the bottom of the fifth to claim a 9-5 lead, but the RailRiders exploded for eight runs in the top of the sixth. The club sent 11 batters to the plate in the frame, with a two-run single from Derek Dietrich putting SWB on top for good.

Andújar’s first home run of the night in the seventh was a two-run blast which put the RailRiders on top 15-9. He added a solo shot in the ninth, with Trey Amburgey joining him in a two-homer inning.

A Jake Hager home run in the seventh got the Mets a little closer, but the combination of Braden Bristo, Nick Goody and Luis Garcia was able to finish off the win for the RailRiders. Bristo (1-0) got the win in his Triple-A debut, while Garcia threw a 1-2-3 ninth in his Yankees organizational debut.

POST-GAME NOTES: The game took 4:09 to play, setting a new franchise record for longest nine-inning game, besting a contest against Pawtucket on Sept. 1, 2000… Six RailRiders players had multi-hit games, while five had multiple RBIs… Andújar became the first SWB player to homer twice in a game since Kyle Higashioka on Sept. 3, 2019 against Syracuse at PNC Field.

The RailRiders continue their six-game series with the Mets on Friday night at NBT Bank Stadium in Syracuse. The game can be heard on the RailRiders Baseball Network with first pitch at 6:35 p.m. and pregame coverage beginning at 6:15.

The RailRiders 2021 home opener at PNC Field is scheduled for Tuesday, May 11 against Lehigh Valley at 6:35 p.m. For tickets and more information, call (570) 969-BALL or slide to www.swbrailriders.com/tickets.