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RailRiders split two games with Worcester with cameos by Kluber, Andujar

Times Leader - August 17, 2021

Miguel Andujar stepped in for his first game back with the RailRiders and sent a grounder into center field for a single.

It came on the very first pitch of the game. And it was very nearly Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s only hit of the game.

The RailRiders had opened Tuesday by scoring seven runs in the final three innings of a game that had been suspended in July to beat Worcester 7-4. They ended the day by managing just a pair of singles — one in the first and one in the ninth — in a 2-0 loss to the Red Sox.

Splitting the decisions meant that the RailRiders (52-35) remained two games behind Buffalo for first place in the Northeast Division.

Andujar was in the lineup for the second game to start a rehab assignment from a wrist injury along with the recently returned Trey Amburgey, who had the team’s next hit — with one out in the ninth.

Amburgey’s single put runners at the corners with the go-ahead run coming to the plate. But former RailRiders pitcher Kaleb Ort struck out Estevan Florial and got Chris Gittens to pop up to close out the shutout.

Another former Scranton/Wilkes-Barre pitcher got the start and dominated his former team. Raynel Espinal retired 14 in a row after Andujar’s leadoff single and didn’t allow another baserunner until Armando Alvarez drew a walk in the top of the fifth. They were the only two to reach base against Espinal in seven innings of one-hit ball with six strikeouts.

Espinal overshadowed a strong start by the RailRiders’ Josh Maciejewski, who pitched five innings of two-hit ball with just one walk and two strikeouts. Reggie McClain kept it a 0-0 game through seven with four strikeouts in two innings.

Worcester finally broke through against Nick Goody, who had just rejoined the team after being released in July and spending time with Rochester before landing back with the RailRiders.

With two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Connor Wong and Jeter Downs hit back-to-back homers off of Goody for the only two runs of the game.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre had no issues scoring in the first game.

The opener resumed in the top of the sixth of a scoreless tie from a contest suspended on July 17. This time, the RailRiders had a big name on the mound.

Two-time Cy Young winner Corey Kluber arrived from Double-A Somerset for his latest rehab start and went three-plus innings for the win, giving up three earned runs on two hits and two walks while striking out four.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre backed up Kluber with seven runs over the final three frames. Kyle Holder’s RBI triple in the seventh drew first blood before the Sox answered in the home half with a two-run homer from Downs.

The RailRiders wasted no time in grabbing back the lead in the eighth as Cristian Perez scored on a bases-loaded groundout by Socrates Brito. Greg Allen followed with an RBI single and Holder drove in another run on a perfectly placed bunt that made it a 4-2 lead.

Plenty of insurance came in the ninth, starting with an Estevan Florial RBI double. Another run came in on a Sox error and Matt Pita added a solo shot to go up 7-2.

Kluber came back out for the ninth but exited after issuing a leadoff walk that put him at 56 pitches. Sal Romano took over and gave up RBI singles to Josh Ockimey and Jeremy Rivera, both with two outs.

But after a mound visit, Romano regrouped and struck out Jack Lopez swinging on a full count to end the game and pick up the save.

The RailRiders are back on the field for a single game in Worcester at 6:35 p.m. Wednesday before playing a seven-inning twinbill against the Sox on Thursday.