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Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders no-hitter history
Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders no-hitter history
Pitchers Brendan Beck and Carson Coleman made Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders history when they combined to no-hit the Syracuse Mets, 4-0, on June 5th at NBT Bank Stadium in upstate New York.
Beck, the New York Yankees’ No. 21 prospect who made his MLB debut on May 7th, went seven innings, walked three and struck out six. He threw 93 pitches, 63 for strikes. He issued a one-out walk to Jorge Polanco in the bottom of the first inning, then retired the next 10 batters before walking Christian Arroyo with two outs in the fourth. But Beck got Andy Ibáñez to pop out to first baseman Seth Brown to end the inning. After a 1-2-3 bottom of the fifth, the 2021 second-round pick issued a leadoff walk to Matt Rudick in following frame, but retired the next three batters. Beck then pitched a perfect seventh inning, ending his outing with a strikeout of Yonny Hernandez.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementColeman relieved in the bottom of the eighth and fanned the final two batters to close out a perfect inning. After retiring the first batter in the bottom of the ninth, Nick Morabito, on a groundout, Coleman walked Polanco. But Kevin Parada grounded Coleman’s first pitch to him to shortstop George Lombard Jr., who flipped to second baseman Jonathan Ornelas, who threw to Brown at first for the game-ending 6-4-3 double play. Abrahan Gutierrez, in his first game with the RailRiders after being promoted earlier in the day from Double-A Somerset, was the catcher.
It was the seventh no-hitter in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre franchise history and the third nine-inning no-no. The other four were done in seven innings.
Here is a look back at the previous six no-hitters, dating back to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s time as a Phillies affiliate as well. Two of them have interesting connections to this year’s RailRiders team:
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementJuly 25, 1992: Ben Rivera, Red Barons (7 innings)
In the first game of a doubleheader against the Pawtucket Red Sox at Lackawanna County Stadium, Rivera retired the final 20 batters he faced in a 2-0 victory for the first no-hitter in franchise history. A three-year big leaguer with the Braves and Phillies, Rivera walked the first batter of the game, and got the next batter to ground into a double play. He finished with six strikeouts.
As the cherry on top, the Red Barons also won the second game to sweep the doubleheader.
July 4, 1993: Tyler Green, Red Barons (7 innings)
Two years before Green made the NL All-Star team as a rookie with the Phillies, he provided the fireworks on the Fourth of July in a 3-1 victory in the opener of a doubleheader against the Ottawa Lynx. He allowed an unearned run, walked three (one intentionally) and struck out four.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOttawa actually took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning. Curtis Pride walked, advanced to third on an errant pickoff attempt by Green and scored on a sacrifice fly by future Blue Jays skipper Charlie Montoyo.
But in the bottom of the fifth, Green ignited a Red Barons rally with a leadoff single. (Back then, when two National League affiliates played each other, the pitcher batted). An error on a sacrifice bunt by Kevin Stocker put runners at second and third. Scranton legend Greg Legg had a RBI groundout and Tony Longmire hit a RBI single to make it 2-1. Pat Brady’s home run in the bottom of the sixth capped the scoring.
June 6, 2004: Robert Ellis, Red Barons (7 innings)
Ellis was acquired in a trade from Buffalo three days earlier. He pitched in 29 major league games, including 17 starts in 2001 for the Arizona Diamondbacks, who beat the Yankees in the World Series that season.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMaking his first start for the Red Barons in Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Louisville Bats, Ellis was almost perfect. He walked one — pinch-hitter Bobby Darula with two outs in the top of the sixth inning — and struck out two. He was working with a slim margin for error since Louisville starter Jesus Sanchez gave up just one hit — a home run in the bottom of the second inning to Mark Smith for the game’s lone run in a 1-0 Red Barons victory.
It is interesting to note that Robert Ellis is the father of current RailRiders outfielder Duke Ellis, who had a triple, home run and two RBIs in the no-hitter against Syracuse.
Sept. 3, 2006: Jeremy Cummings, Red Barons (9 innings)Cummings threw the first nine-inning no-hitter in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre franchise history in the penultimate game of the regular season against the Rochester Red Wings, 5-0, at Frontier Field in New York. He walked four, struck out nine and hit one batter. He threw 137 pitches, 84 for strikes.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHe retired the first 13 batters he faced before issuing consecutive one-out walks to Terry Tiffee and Kevin West. However, he got Alex Romero to ground into an inning-ending double play. With one out in the bottom of the eighth, he hit West with a pitch, but again got Romero to hit into a double play to end that inning. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, he walked Andres Torres, but struck out Gil Velazquez to finish off the no-hitter. Velazquez is the current RailRiders bench coach.
The catcher was Jason Jaramillo, who was making his Triple-A debut.
July 21, 2021: Luis Gil/Reggie McClain/Stephen Ridings, RailRiders (9 innings)
Against the Rochester Red Wings at PNC Field, the three pitchers combined for a no-hitter in an 8-0 win.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementJust a few weeks away from his impressive MLB debut, Gil went six innings for the RailRiders, walked two and struck out nine. He walked Adrian Sanchez with one out in the top of the first inning, then retired the next 14 batters before giving up a leadoff walk in the top of the sixth to Jakson Reetz, but got two groundouts and a strikeout to end the inning.
McClain pitched two perfect innings in the seventh and eighth with two strikeouts. In the ninth, Ridings—oh-so-briefly a 2021 sensation in New York—needed only nine pitches to complete the no-hitter, sandwiching two groundouts around a fly out.
The Bronx’s own Andrew Velazquez provided offensive support with two hits and one RBI. Brandon Wagner also had two hits, catcher Donny Sands drove in two runs and Socrates Brito had a solo home run.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAug. 19, 2021: Sean Boyle, RailRiders (7 innings)
Twenty-nine days after Gil, McClain and Ridings combined on a no-hitter, Boyle threw one in the nightcap of a doubleheader against the Worcester Red Sox at Polar Park in Massachusetts, 5-0, to complete a sweep of the twinbill.
Making his Triple-A debut (he hadn’t even pitched at Double-A), Boyle threw 95 pitches. He walked one — Franchy Cordero with two outs in the bottom of the first — struck out six and hit one batter — Jeremy Rivera in the bottom of the sixth.
Brito backed Boyle’s effort by going 3-for-3 with a triple, two runs, two RBIs and two stolen bases.
As a final note, Wally Ritchie of the Red Barons almost had the distinction of throwing the first no-hitter in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre franchise history. On May 25, 1990, in Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Syracuse Chiefs at Lackawanna County Stadium, Ritchie didn’t allow a hit for the first seven innings. However, the game was scoreless and went to extra innings. Pedro Munoz broke up the bid with a leadoff double in the top of the eighth. The Red Barons wound up winning in the bottom of the eighth, 1-o.