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Each home run was countered immediately.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Charlotte traded solo shots — five in all from the third inning through the eighth — ultimately sending Tuesday night’s game into extra innings.

In the 10th, the RailRiders couldn’t come up with another answer.

The Knights pushed across two runs in the top of the 10th and ended it with three quick outs in the home half for a 5-3 victory in the series opener at PNC Field.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (64-50) maintained a six-game lead atop the IL North after a Buffalo loss.

Wendell Rijo had given the RailRiders their first lead of the night by crushing a 2-1 pitch well over the fence in left for a 3-2 advantage in the bottom of the seventh. Daniel Palka wasted no time knotting things back up for Charlotte with a leadoff homer in the eighth.

Palka then came through with the winning hit in the 10th, an RBI single off of All-Star reliever J.P. Feyereisen. Yermin Mercedes drew a bases-loaded walk against Will Carter for some insurance.

The Knights didn’t end up needing it, as Juan Minaya quickly retired the top of the order in Clint Frazier, Thairo Estrada and Tyler Wade on just seven pitches for the save.

Feyereisen took the loss, just his second of the season. Estrada had two of the RailRiders’ seven hits on the night.

After neither team recorded a hit in the first two innings, Charlotte broke out with three straight hits to open the third as Trey Michalczewski’s RBI single to left opened the scoring with no outs.

Starter Deivi Garcia rallied with a strikeout and a groundout before a rain delay struck with a 2-1 count to Knights home run leader Palka and runners at the corners.

On his return, Garcia came back and struck out Palka to end the threat.

The team’s traded home runs from there, with Frazier lining his seventh Triple-A homer of the season off the foul pole in left to tie the game in the bottom of the third. When Zach Collins put the Knights back up with a solo shot of his own in the top of the fourth, Trey Amburgey hit No. 20 in the home half to pull things even again.

Garcia exited early with a no-decision, going four innings while allowing two earned runs on four hits to go with four strikeouts and two walks. The 20-year-old threw 75 pitches, 46 for strikes.

Frazier had multiple important plays in left field, none bigger than in the top of the sixth when the Knights looked to take the lead on a two-out single. AJ Reed tried to score from second, only to be gunned down by a pinpoint Frazier throw to Francisco Arcia at the plate.

The long homestand continues with Wednesday’s 7:05 p.m. start against the Knights. And the RailRiders are expected to have a major addition to their lineup.

New York Yankees All-Star catcher Gary Sanchez is set to join the team behind the plate for the final two games of the series on a rehab stint from a groin strain.

“He’ll catch both days and then hopefully travel to Toronto and be an active player by the weekend,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters covering the team in Baltimore on Monday.

Riding the rails

Pitcher Chance Adams returned to the team after making a cameo as the 26th man on the Yankees roster for a weekend doubleheader.

Terrance Gore was placed on the temporarily inactive list prior to the game. Earlier in the day the outfielder announced the birth of his daughter, Skylyn Jean Gore, on social media and that the baby and his wife, Britney, were doing well.

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By Derek Levarse

dlevarse@www.timesleader.com