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MOOSIC — It was only one inning of unspectacular work.
Yet, it was enough to give the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders – and more importantly, their parent club – a shot of excitement.
New York Yankees injured closer Andrew Miller pitched one scoreless inning Monday during his first minor league rehabilitation appearance for the RailRiders, showing signs he may not be far from getting back to the big leagues in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s 6-2 loss to Buffalo.
“I think he pitched really well, was pretty crisp,” said RailRiders second baseman Rob Refsnyder, who spent most of spring training as Miller’s teammate with the parent Yankees. “He’s got some electric stuff, for sure. It was fun to watch at second base.”
Miller, a lights-out lefty pitching in the postseason for the Baltimore Orioles last year before signing as a free agent with the Yankees, was on a roll in New York before suffering a strained left forearm that landed him on the 15-day disabled list.
The dominating late-inning specialist converted all 17 of his save opportunities with the Yankees this season, struck out 43 batters in 26 1/3 innings and allowed just eight hits while carrying a minuscule 1.03 ERA.
Miller, who was no longer in the clubhouse by the time the RailRiders locker room was opened following Monday’s game, made the rehab appearance after throwing a 30-pitch simulated game Saturday to Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild.
Entering against the heart of Buffalo’s batting order to start the fifth inning, didn’t exactly pick up where he left off in the big leagues before his injury. He allowed a ground ball single to left field by Buffalo’s league-leading hitter Matt Hague, struck out cleanup man Luke Scott, then watched Brad Glenn line a hard single to left field.
“He may not be right where he was,” RailRiders reliever Chris Martin, who started the season with Miller in the Yankees bullpen before being sent to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on June 19, said of Miller. “He’s still good enough to throw the ball right down the middle and get people out.”
Miller quickly worked out of the potential jam, though, by getting a first-pitch doubleplay to finish the fifth – and his only frame – in nine pitches. Scheduled for a 25-pitch outing, Miller than finished his work by throwing his final 16 pitches in the bullpen.
“When you see guys swinging at first pitches, it’s because he’s got exceptional stuff,” Refsnyder said. “Guys don’t want to get deeper in the count and strike out. He’s got one of the best arms in all of baseball.”
The RailRiders, though, weren’t armed with much offense.
They scored when Refsnyder, a spray hitter who dropped into the power spot at cleanup in the RailRiders lineup over the weekend – cracked a homer to lead off the second inning.
“I’m as surprised as you are I’m fourth,” Refsnyder said. “You definitely don’t ever try to generate (more) power. Nothing’s really changed, (except) they’re pitching me a little differently, you see a lot more off-speed (pitches). I’m relaxing, trying not to do too much. Just having a good approach helped out.”
The RailRiders didn’t get much more, scoring just one more run – on Ben Gamel’s RBI double in the fifth inning that cut Buffalo’s lead to 4-2.
That was it for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s scoring, despite an eight-hit night that included Cole Figueroa’s 10th consecutive multi-hit game and prospect Greg Bird’s first Triple-A double.
“It’s really frustrating,” Refsnyder said of the RailRiders lack of run production. “Anybody who says it’s not frustrating is lying. They’re good defenders across the board.”
Pretty good batters, too.
The Bisons used solo home runs by Scott and Andy Burns, an RBI double from former Scranton/Wilkes-Barre star Melky Mesa and Alex Hassan’s run-scoring single to build a 4-1 lead in four innings against RailRiders starter Jaron Long. Buffalo then sewed up its fourth victory in the five-game series when Mesa doubled home one run and scored another in the eighth inning, sending suddenly-slumping Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to its eighth loss in the past 11 games.
“Obviously, there’s been a lot of (roster) changes,” Refsnyder said. “But we expect to win every night.”
Buffalo 6, RailRiders 2
BUFFALO`AB`R`H`BI
Mesa cf`3`1`2`2
Santiago 2b`5`0`1`1
Hague 1b`5`0`2`0
Scott dh`4`1`1`1
Glenn rf`4`1`3`0
Gindl rf`1`0`0`0
Burns 3b`5`1`1`1
Hassan lf`4`1`1`0
Thole c`3`0`1`1
Diaz ss`4`1`2`0
Totals`38`6`14`6
RailRiders`AB`R`H`BI
Gamel lf`4`0`1`1
Judge rf`4`0`1`0
Bird 1b`4`0`1`0
Refsnyder 2b`3`1`1`1
Romine c`4`0`1`0
Figueroa 3b`4`0`2`0
Roller dh`4`0`0`0
Noonan ss`3`1`1`0
Noel cf`3`0`0`0
Totals`33`2`8`2
Buffalo`020`200`020`-`6
RailRiders`010`010`000`-`2
2B –
Mesa 2, Glenn, Diaz; Bird, Gamel. HR – Scott, Burns; Refsnyder.
Buffalo`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Boyd, W (2-1)`7`6`2`2`1`8
McFarland`1`1`0`0`0`0
Korecky`1`1`0`0`0`0
RailRiders`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Long, L (5-6)`4`7`4`4`3`1
Miller`1`2`0`0`0`1
Martin`2`2`0`0`1`2
Ramirez`2`3`2`2`1`2