Jake Bauers, right, clubbed a pair of home runs in Friday night’s season opener to give the RailRiders a win in the debut of new manager Shelley Duncan, left.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
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RailRiders leadoff man Willie Calhoun lines a stand-up double down the first base line on Friday night.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Left fielder Elijah Dunham stares down a line drive from Buffalo’s Wynton Bernard for an out.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Buffalo’s Otto Lopez gets tagged out in a rundown by RailRiders first baseman Billy McKinney (10) after an attempt to steal second base.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Former RailRiders slugger and new manager Shelly Duncan fist-bumps his players during introduction for opening night against the Buffalo Bisons on Friday at PNC Field in Moosic.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
MOOSIC — On a cold night at PNC Field, Jake Bauers was a one-man heater for the RailRiders.
Bauers launched two homers in his first two at-bats of the 2023 season, and a solid committee pitching performance boosted Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in a 2-1 victory over the Buffalo Bisons on Opening Night in Moosic.
Hits were hard to come by on Friday night, as the teams combined for just seven of them. But Bauers made the most of his appearances at the dish to give his team all the offense they needed.
In the second inning, Bauers swung at the first pitch he saw from Bisons starter Casey Lawrence and hammered it to dead center field, clearing the 408-feet sign for the first run of the ballgame.
The Bisons were able to tie the game back up in the top of the fourth, but Bauers had the answer yet again in the home half of the inning.
His second homer was a liner out to right-center field, landing in the grass beyond the fence to give the RailRiders a lead that would stand up the rest of the way.
The offensive outburst from Bauers was an outlier in a game mostly defined by pitching, from both teams.
Lawrence was very good for Buffalo despite getting tagged with the loss. He threw five innings, struck out eight and allowed just three hits, with two earned runs.
On the RailRiders’ side, an adventurous start to the game from Randy Vasquez in his Triple-A debut included six strikeouts and five walks in 3.1 innings pitched.
Vasquez struggled with his command but was able to set batters down when it counted, and only let up one unearned run. Ernie Clement doubled in that run in the fourth inning after Wynton Bernard reached on an error by RailRiders third baseman Andrés Chaparro.
However, the string of arms that came on to relieve Vasquez were stellar, one after another: Matt Bowman, Matt Krook, Nick Ramirez and Greg Weissert combined for 5.2 hitless innings with eight strikeouts.
Krook, who set the single-season strikeout record for the RailRiders as a starter a season ago, looked just as effective in a bullpen role on Friday. In two innings, Krook struck out five.
Plenty of fans in attendance were excited to see budding young star Oswald Peraza after the 22-year-old shortstop impressed in his stint with the Yankees last season.
It wasn’t the start he would’ve wanted — three strikeouts in his first three trips to the plate — but Peraza was able to regroup in his final at-bat.
Peraza went to a full count against Buffalo reliver Nate Pearson in the bottom of the eighth before slapping a broken-bat single over the shortstop’s head, and then stole second base before the inning came to an end.
The RailRiders (1-0) will be back in action on Saturday against Buffalo, with a first pitch set for 4:05 p.m. at PNC Field.
RAILRIDERS 2, BUFFALO 1
Buffalo`AB`R`H`BI
Lopez 2b`3`0`1`0
Barger 3b`2`0`0`0
Schneider dh`4`0`0`0
Horwitz 1b`4`0`1`0
Capra lf`3`0`0`0
Bernard cf`4`1`0`0
Brantly c`3`0`0`0
Clement ss`4`0`1`1
Eden rf`3`0`0`0
Totals`30`1`3`1
RailRiders`AB`R`H`BI
Calhoun rf`2`0`1`0
Difo 3b`1`0`0`0
Peraza ss`4`0`1`0
Dunham lf`3`0`0`0
Chaparro 3b-1b`4`0`0`0
Bauers dh`2`2`2`2
Bastidas 2b`3`0`0`0
McKinney 1b-rf`3`0`0`0
Hermosillo cf`3`0`0`0
Gasper c`3`0`0`0
Totals`28`2`4`2
Buffalo`000`100`000 — 1
RailRiders`010`100`00x — 2
2B — Clement, Calhoun; HR — Bauers 2
Buffalo`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Lawrence (L)`5.0`3`2`2`0`8
Hatch`0.2`0`0`0`2`2
Eisert`1.1`0`0`0`1`0
Pearson`1.0`1`0`0`0`3
RailRiders`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Vasquez`3.1`3`1`0`5`6
Bowman (W)`1.2`0`0`0`0`2
Krook (H)`2.0`0`0`0`0`5
Ramirez (H)`1.0`0`0`0`0`1
Weissert (S)`1.0`0`0`0`0`0