SWB RailRiders Game Notes – April 18, 2023

April 18, 2023 – International League (IL) – Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (7-8) vs St. Paul Saints (8-6)

Game 16 | Away Game 7 | CHS Field | St. Paul, MN | Tuesday, April 18, 2023 | First Pitch 6:37 PM

RHP Randy Vasquez (0-1, 7.36) vs RHP Bailey Ober (0-1, 0.00)

AMAZING ANDRES- Rookie Andres Chaparro was on a tear this week, batting .417 with ten hits including five homers and one double. He has batted in seven runs and has secured eight of his own. He only struck out three times in six games played. Chaparro stole his first base of the season last week.

BAUERS BOMBS – With his three home runs and eight runs batted in, Jake Bauers wrote himself into the record books. The last RailRider to record eight RBI in a contest was Chris Gittens on June 27, 2021 at Lehigh Valley in a nine-inning contest. It was also the first three home run contest for a player since Mike Ford in 2019.

LIMITED FREE PASSES- The RailRiders pitching staff has only allowed 54 walks through 15 games this season. That is the fourth lowest issued in all of Triple-A Buffalo’s staff leads the way with just 39 base on balls. The Saints have allowed 70 walks. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has hit nine batters, while St. Paul has just had two hit batters by pitchers.

PATIENCE AT THE PLATE – When Chaparro stepped in against No. 29 Mets prospect Grant Hartwig in the second game on Sunday, he quickly worked a 2-0 count on breaking balls down in the zone. But then the game slowed down for them both. The 23-year-old fouled off a fastball before watching another ball down in the zone and taking another heater for a strike. With the count, 3-2, Chaparro became a veritable foul ball machine. The right-hander threw every pitch in his arsenal and Chappy fouled back a dozen in a row. On pitch No. 17 and foul ball No. 12, the ball popped up near first baseman Mark Vientos. New York’s No. 8 prospects didn’t get a good read on the ball, though, and it dropped next to him in foul ground. The next pitch was a ball in the dirt and Chaparro took his base. He was three pitches short of tying the record for longest plate appearance in history. That record was set by the Blue Jays’ Brandon Belt in 2018, when he was on the Giants, but the now-Blue Jays first baseman’s hard work only resulted in a flyout.

HOMER HEAVEN – The RailRiders have had ten different players launch a home run this season. The team has compiled 25 long balls, tied for third in all of Triple-A. Jake…