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MOOSIC — It doesn’t matter how you score, as long as you score more than the opponent.
And the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders did their damage in bunches Wednesday night against the Rochester Red Wings.
The RailRiders (86-50) did all of their scoring in just two innings, as a pair of four-run innings were the difference. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre routed the Red Wings (77-60) for a second straight night, 8-4.
“That’s what we need to do, score early so we can give the pitcher a comfortable lead to work with and give them some room for mistakes,” RailRiders manager Al Pedrique said. “Defensively, we have enough good defense where we’ll win a lot of games if we score early, if the starters keep doing a good job going five, six innings. Our bullpen is going to be rested. The key is to jump ahead and play good defense.”
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre opened the scoring with a four-run fourth inning when a string of six RailRiders got on base.
Billy McKinney put the RailRiders on the board with an RBI single to right field that scored Miguel Andujar and moved Tyler Austin to third. Ji-Man Choi drilled a two-run double in the next at-bat to give the International League North Division Champions a 3-0 lead with one out.
RailRiders catcher Wilkin Castillo capped off the four-run frame with an RBI infield single that hopped over Rochester third baseman Leonardo Reginatto and allowed Choi to score from second.
“The good thing that we have in our left-handed hitters is that they battle left-handed pitchers. They’re not easy outs,” Pedrique said. “I felt comfortable having the lineup we had tonight with the two, three lefties in a row with McKinney, Choi and (Mason) Williams because they’re capable of putting the ball in play, putting pressure on the defense, and I’m glad tonight they all came through.”
Niko Goodrum’s two-run triple and Anthony Recker’s sacrifice fly made things interesting in the top of the sixth inning for Rochester.
But just as the Red Wings started to gain some momentum, getting men on the corners with just one out in the seventh inning and primed to try to take the lead for the first time of the series, Andujar erased the threat.
The 22-year-old third baseman, who’s defensive miscue allowed the Red Wings’ second of two base runners to get on, made an impressive diving stop to his left to start an inning-ending double play.
“That play, he saved the game,” Pedrique said of Andujar’s play to end the seventh. “Andujar did a good job of getting up to his feet real quick and threw a strike to (second baseman Donovan) Solano. I know how quick Solano can turn a double play, so definitely it was a double play.”
The three-run sixth and scare in the seventh forced the RailRiders’ hand in the bottom of the frame.
Loading the bases on a Cito Culver infield single, a Solano double to the right field corner and a Matt Holliday walk, Andujar drove a fly ball to center field, allowing Culver to come home and Solano to advance to third. But Austin ended any hope for Rochester with the very next pitch.
The RailRiders right fielder took an Alex Wimmers fastball deep into the RailRiders bullpen, clearing the bases to give Scranton/Wilkes-Barre an 8-3 lead.
“That was a big inning for us,” Austin said. “I came up and hit a home run, that’s part of it.”
Injury update
Castillo was pulled from the game on Wednesday after injuring his knee sliding into second in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Pedrique said Castillo heard the inside of his knee pop when he was running to second attempting to steal during the fourth. The RailRiders are hoping he can get an MRI on Thursday.
“We’re hoping that everything’s going to be fine but he was a little sore when he was running to second and tried to stop,” Pedrique said.
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RailRiders 8, Rochester 4
Rochester`AB`R`H`BI
Shuck lf`5`0`2`0
Hague dh`5`0`1`0
Palka rf`4`1`1`0
Park 1b`4`1`1`0
Goodrum 2b`3`2`1`2
Reginatto 3b`3`0`0`0
Recker c`2`0`1`1
Michael cf`3`0`1`0
Vielma ss`4`0`0`0
Totals`33`4`8`3
RailRiders`AB`R`H`BI
Wade ss`3`0`1`0
Culver ss`2`1`1`0
Solano 2b`4`1`2`0
Holliday dh`3`1`1`0
Andujar 3b`3`1`2`1
Austin rf`3`2`1`3
McKinney lf`4`1`1`1
Choi 1b`4`1`2`2
Williams cf`2`0`1`0
Cave cf`1`0`0`0
Castillo c`2`0`1`1
Rodriguez c`2`0`1`0
Totals`33`8`14`8
Rochester`000`003`010`—`4
RailRiders`000`400`400`—`8
E: Culver; OA: Shuck; PO: Mejia, Recker; DP: Red Wings 1, RailRiders 2; LOB: Red Wings 9, RailRiders 9; 2B: Wade (20), Choi (23), Solano (28); 3B: Goodrum (5); HR: Austin (8); SF: Recker, Andujar; PO: Wade, Williams; CS: Castillo (W).
Rochester`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Mejia`3.0`2`0`0`1`4
Gonsalves (L, 1-2)`0.2`4`4`4`2`0
Reed`2.1`2`0`0`2`0
Boshers`0.2`2`0`0`2`0
Tonkin`0.1`0`0`0`0`0
RailRiders`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
German (W, 7-2)`5.0`4`2`2`3`4
Holder (H, 1)`2.0`3`1`1`1`1
Heller`1.2`1`1`0`2`0
Feyereisen`0.1`0`0`0`0`0
Ejections: Williams.
Umpires: Scott Costello, HP; Shane Livensparger, 1B; Ryan Clark, 3B.
Time: 3:08; Att.: 5,879.
