Scranton/Wilkes-Barre had to plug three players from Double-A into the lineup Tuesday night. The RailRiders didn’t miss a beat.
The reinforcements from Somerset — Thomas Milone, Hoy Park and Brandon Wagner — combined for six hits and six RBIs to help the RailRiders win the series opener at Rochester, 11-6.
Park and Wagner helped break the game open in a five-run fourth inning that was highlighted by Wagner’s three-run homer, his first career long ball in Triple-A.
Estevan Florial and Rob Brantly also went deep for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (10-3), which took over sole possession of first place in the Northeast Division along with a loss by Buffalo. Park went 3-for-5, Milone was 2-for-4 with a double and Wagner’s lone hit was the big homer.
The RailRiders needed some extra bats prior to the game with Chris Gittens placed on the temporary inactive list a day after Greg Allen was placed on the seven-day injured list. Milone slotted in as the designated hitter at No. 6 in the lineup and Park and Wagner were at second base and first base while batting eighth and ninth, respectively.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre actually trailed after one inning on Carter Kieboom’s two-out home run. But Wagner got the offense started by drawing a two-out walk with the bases empty in the top of the third, and Florial capitalized with a home run to right, giving the RailRiders the lead for good.
Brantly and Park had RBI singles in the fourth before Wagner’s home run made it 7-1. Brantly hit a solo shot in the fifth and the Red Wings’ Daniel Palka answered with one of his own in the home half.
A wild pitch in the eighth brought home another run for Rochester in the eighth, but Milone’s RBI double in the top of the ninth got the run back, while Cristian Perez and Park (double) both drove in one to make it 11-3.
Yasmany Tomas hit a three-run homer off Addison Russ in the bottom of the ninth to make the final score more respectable.
Trevor Lane picked up the win in relief of Brody Koerner, who exited with one out in the fifth.
The series continues Wednesday with a matinee on Wednesday at 1:05 p.m.