Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (72-52) vs. Rochester Red Wings (49-74) LHP JP Sears (6-0, 2.64 ERA) vs. RHP Steven Fuentes (0-4, 17.31 ERA) | Game 125 | Road Game 61 | Frontier Field | Rochester, NY | October 1, 2021 | First Pitch 6:05 p.m. | RECORD BREAKING SEASON: In the most unusual season in modern minor league baseball history, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders have done their part to re-write the franchise record book, breaking seven team single game or season-long records despite the shortened schedule. Here is a list of the known team records broken: Longest 9 inning game 4:09, 5/6 @ Syracuse Most Errors, single game 6, 9/29 at Rochester (tied) Most No-Hitters thrown, single season 2 (7/21 vs Rochester & 8/19 at Worcester) Most Strikeouts, single game (offense) 18, 8/5 vs Worcester (tied) Most Stolen Bases, single game 7, 6/29 at Worcester (tied) Most Stolen Bases, season 145 Most Walks, single game (pitching) 16, 7/28 @ Syracuse (tied) SOUNDS LIKE A BROKEN RECORD: When Greg Allen stole second base in the sixth inning of game one of the doubleheader on September 25 with Syracuse, he recorded the 140th stolen base of the season for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, setting a new franchise record. In only 120 games, the team surpassed the previous record of 139 held by the 2000 SWB Red Barons, who needed 145 games to set the mark. Through 122 games, the RailRiders have stolen 145 bases in 184 attempts in the 2021 season (78.8% success). The pace of thievery has ticked up in September, with SWB currently 38-for-45 in steal attempts in 24 games during the month (1.58 steals/game). Andrew Velazquez leads the team with 29 stolen bases in 77 games, and Greg Allen (25) and Socrates Brito (23) have also recorded 20-or-more steals. With one more steal, Velazquez can become the first SWB player with 30 steals in a season since Brett Gardner stole 37 with the 2008 SWB Yankees. STOP HITTING ME!: A prevailing trend around professional baseball has been an uptick in hit batsmen this year, and the RailRiders hitters have not been immune. SWB batters have been plunked 96 times this season, the most of any Triple-A or Double-A team this year. Greg Allen leads the team with 18 HBP in 256 PA, while Rob Brantly and Derek Dietrich are tied for second with 14 each (in 257 and 160 PA, respectively). Max McDowell has been plunked 11 times in only 152 PA. An individual RailRiders batter has been hit by a pitch twice in a game six times this season, including Allen twice, a feat which ties a franchise record and had not been accomplished since 2016 (Cesar Puello, 4/27 vs Lehigh Valley). OFFENSIVE MARKS: At the end of the 2021 regular season, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders had a combined team on-base percentage of .353, which is the best mark in franchise history. It narrowly beats out the .351 OBP posted by the 2019 RailRiders, despite the team’s batting average being 23-points lower in 2021. This is only the fourth time in the 31-year history of the franchise that SWB has posted a team OBP of greater than .345. HOMERS THAT HELP: As part of The Final StretchTM, Minor League Baseball has announced that it will be donating $50 for each home run hit by each club to a charity within that club’s local community. The RailRiders are hitting home runs to benefit the Wyoming Valley Challenger Baseball. Through five Final StretchTM games, the RailRiders have hit nine home runs for a total donation thus far of $450. The Triple-A team which hits the most home runs during the final stretch will receive a $5,000 bonus for their designated organization. CLOSE CALLS & BLOWOUTS: The RailRiders have played an extraordinary number of close games this season, with 59 of SWB’s 124 games being decided by one or two runs (47.6%). Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has performed approximately average in these close contests, going 15-16 (.484) in one-run games and 16-12 (.571) in two-run games. However, the RailRiders have also participated in their share of extreme blowout games, decided by eight-or-more runs. In 13 such contests, SWB is 11-2 (.846) on the season, and is part of the reason why the team is +139 in run differential this season, the third-best mark in Triple-A East. EYES ON THE FINAL STRETCHTM PRIZE...WHATEVER IT IS: Unlike all other classifications, Triple-A does not have playoffs this year, with instead every team playing 10 extra games in the Triple-A Final Stretch. The Triple-A Final Stretch is a 10-game, 2-week “postseason tournament” which has already seen SWB host Syracuse for five games and concludes with the current series at Rochester. The team with the best overall record over the 10-game period will be dubbed the Final Stretch Champion and receive a prize that MLB has unbelievably still not announced despite the fact that Triple-A’s Final Stretch ends on Sunday. Team and individual statistics achieved during the Triple-A Final Stretch will be counted toward regular season numbers, making The Final Stretch a Schrödinger’s Cat paradox where it is both the postseason and the regular season at the same time.