The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders picked up right where they left off after a series sweep last week, holding off the Louisville Bats 4-3 for the team’s eighth straight victory on Tuesday night.
The Bats threatened to snap that streak in the bottom of the ninth, moving the tying run to third base and the winning run to second against RailRiders reliver Eric Reyzelman.
Reyzelman was able to strand the runners there, getting Francisco Urbaez to lift a fly ball to center for the final out to preserve the win for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
The RailRiders fell behind early against Louisville, trailing 2-0 through the first four innings after Jeimer Candelario drilled a two-run double in the third inning.
In the fifth, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre began to strike back. The RailRiders scored twice in the frame, one run on a Jesus Rodriguez double and another on a base hit from T.J. Rumfield to score Rodriguez.
Andrew Velazquez put the RailRiders ahead in the sixth inning with a base hit, and Everson Pereira added a crucial insurance run in the seventh with a solo homerun to center, his 12th homer of the season.
The RailRiders rapped out 13 hits in total against six Louisville pitchers, Rodriguez leading the way with three of those hits.
Rumfield, Braden Shewmake, CJ Alexander and Jorbit Vivas added two hits apiece, with Vivas and Shewmake both doubling twice.
Allan Winans continued his torrid start to the year in Triple-A, picking up his seventh win of the year with six strong innings of work.
Winans allowed two earned runs on five hits, striking out six to improve his record to 7-0.
Clayton Beeter and Colten Brewer each turned in scoreless relief appearances, combining for two innings of work across the seventh and eighth innings.
Reyzelman allowed one run in the ninth on three walks, but settled in to earn his first save of the season.
Reiver Sanmartin took the loss for Louisville in relief.
The RailRiders and Bats will tangle once again on Wednesday in the second game of a six-game series. First pitch is set for 12:05 p.m. in Louisville.
Local journalism matters, and your support makes it possible. You can help sustain this work by making a donation or choosing one of our subscription options. Subscribers enjoy valuable benefits, including full access to our e-edition, a reduced ad experience on timesleader.com, and more.
Your support helps ensure independent, high-quality local news remains available today and for future generations. Thank you for standing with local journalism.