MOOSIC, PA (August 21, 2019) - A heroic, pinch-hit, go-ahead home run by Breyvic Valera broke a 2-2 tie in the 8th inning and gave the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders a 4-2 win Wednesday night at PNC Field over the Pawtucket Red Sox.
MOOSIC, PA (August 21, 2019) - A heroic, pinch-hit, go-ahead home run by Breyvic Valera broke a 2-2 tie in the 8th inning and gave the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders a 4-2 win Wednesday night at PNC Field over the Pawtucket Red Sox.
The game was tied entering the bottom of the 8th inning, when Wendell Rijo singled off the PawSox starting pitcher Kyle Hart. That knocked the lefty from the game on his 101st pitch after 7.1 innings of strong pitching, turning the ball over to the bullpen. With Terrance Gore set to come up to the plate, RailRiders Manager Jay Bell summoned Valera from the bench which set the table for his dramatic blast.
Pawtucket got on the board first in the ballgame in the top of the second as Gorkys Hernández and Cole Sturgeon hit RBI singles and plated two runs, 2-0. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre caught up in the bottom half as Gosuke Katoh and Wendell Rijo nailed back-to-back singles and tied the game 2-2.
RailRiders starting pitcher Nick Nelson (0-1) worked 6.0 innings and allowed seven hits and two runs. It was his second Triple-A start, after making his most recent appearance Thursday in Charlotte. The 23-year old sat 93-95 MPH with his fastball as he kept his team in the game through the middle innings.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre dipped into its bullpen by first summoning Tyler Lyons for 1.2 scoreless innings. Then, reliever J.P. Feyereisen (9-2) was the winning arm as he got the final out of the 8th inning before the RailRiders struck for the go-ahead homer. He notched the final three outs in order without allowing Pawtucket to bring the tying run to the plate.
The RailRiders look to take the series against Pawtucket in the final game of the homestand Thursday evening. First pitch of game three is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
