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MOOSIC — Ben Heller has pitched for the New York Yankees in each of the last two seasons, but none of his previous 11 appearances compared to his more recent outing.

The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders reliever pitched the final two innings of the Yankees’ July 15 4-1 16-inning victory over the Boston Red Sox to secure the second Major-League win of his career and first of the season. It was just the second time he had ever pitched at Fenway Park, and the Yankees were desperate for a win, losing the series opener to the Red Sox after sputtering into the All-Star Break.

Heller delivered.

“That’s probably the biggest moment I’ve pitched in, in the big leagues so far,” Heller said. “It’s a lot of fun for sure. Kind of cool for me to see that I can pitch in a spot like that and get out big-league hitters.”

The reliever said he’s had to remind himself that it wasn’t a dream.

Nerves aside, Heller pitched two innings of no-hit baseball, striking three and walking just one.

“Every time I go to Fenway I kind of have to pinch myself. It’s like, I’m really a player for the Yankees against the Red Sox. Like, this is incredible,” Heller said.

Cave finding success in new approach

RailRiders outfielder Jake Cave has never been playing better.

His 2017 Triple-A batting average is 67 points higher than his career average, he’s hitting .444 in his last 10 games heading into the weekend series against the Charlotte Knights and he’s already surpassed his career season-high total for home runs and could pass his career season-high total for RBI by Monday.

The reason for Cave’s recent success? He’s changed his approach. The 24-year-old outfielder has worked on extending his swing and his plate discipline when facing two-strike counts.

“There’s just different things you can do hitting-wise to get better and I’ve always felt like I have some power but haven’t used it to the best of my abilities in the game,” Cave said. “We’ve really worked on staying behind the baseball and getting to a powerful position in my legs instead. And instead of just tossing (the approach) to the side when it didn’t work and when it didn’t feel comfortable at first, I’ve stayed with it and I feel like it’s paying off now.

“Now, when I get to two strikes I still feel like I can do damage to the baseball. When I go 0-2 it’s not the end of the world.”

German working on secondary pitches

Domingo German’s 2017 season has been a whirlwind of sorts.

The 24-year-old right-hander started the season with Double-A Trenton, then came up to the RailRiders, made it all the way to the New York Yankees and is now back in Triple-A again. Not only has he pitched at three different levels this season, but both as a starter and a reliever.

“It makes it a little bit more difficult to be transitioning back and forth, but (I) have to go out there and get the job done,” German said through a translator.

At the end of the day, German wants to be a starter in the big leagues, and not come out of the bullpen, like the Yankees have done with him this season. In order to do that, he has to continue to develop his secondary pitches while he’s with the RailRiders.

“(My off-speed) was working for (me) and (I’m) also trying to improve on those pitches too, so (I) can show the big-league squad that I have control,” German said after Wednesday’s start. “It’s super important to work on those secondary pitches and not only be able to throw them, but be able to locate them too.”

Heller
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_Ben-Heller201772016306396.jpg.optimal.jpgHeller

By DJ Eberle

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Reach DJ Eberle at 570-991-6398 or on Twitter @ByDJEberle