Locastro homers RailRiders to another series win
Jun. 20—MOOSIC — With a chance to win back-to-back series for the first time this season, Tim Locastro ended Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's homestand with a bang.
Locastro broke a tie game with two outs in the eighth inning by slapping a home run just over the wall in right field, sending the RailRiders past Rochester, 5-4, in a Father's Day matinee at PNC Field on Sunday.
The RailRiders took four of six against Rochester, which entered the series in first place in the International League East. They have won eight of their last 11 games, and are 9-9 in June after playing the first two months of the season at a .375 winning percentage.
"Our lineup top to bottom today, guys were getting on base, we were getting good opportunities," said Locastro, who capped an impressive week with three more hits. "Pitchers kept us in the game to get me a shot to get that run in. So, happy we came away with a win and the series win. That's big for us."
Locastro went 3 for 4 in the finale, doubling in two runs as part of the RailRiders' four-run first inning. Over the six games against Rochester, Locastro was 9 for 25 (.360) with five doubles, two home runs, 10 RBIs and six runs. He also worked a walk and stole a base.
"It's nice for Tim," RailRiders manager Doug Davis said. "Like I said the other day, he's becoming very confident at the plate in his ability to drive the ball. He hung in there and battled today against really tough pitchers, and some tough pitches. He got down a couple times late. That double was huge for us to drive in a couple, and obviously, the home run was, too."
Locastro and the offense were clicking early against Rochester starter Sterling Sharp, with five of the game's first six batters knocking hits. In his first at-bat since returning from an illness, Oswald Peraza hooked a home run into the RailRiders bullpen, his seventh of the year. Jake Bauers followed with a single, Greg Bird doubled and so did Derek Dietrich to make it 2-0 before Locastro added his two-bagger.
"I thought we swung the bats relatively well all series, better than we have consistently, I think, all year," Davis said. "It was just a good series and a nice team to do it against, because I think that certainly builds confidence in this group."
Of the RailRiders' 57 hits in the series, 18 went for extra bases. They averaged 5.33 runs per game, significant output for a team that is still last in the International League in runs (243; 3.68 per game).
"I would say this: the early season stuff is hard, right?" RailRiders catcher Rob Brantly said. "Because you have a process and you're trying to trust and believe in this process and the results of it weren't panning out, right? It takes fortitude, right, mental durability to really not try and just change everything. And I think one thing that we have here, especially with the blend of the older guys and the young guys, is those guys have that mental fortitude and the strong mental game to just continue with the process, and that's what they've been doing. Just executing hard-hit baseballs, good at-bats, and right now, those at-bats are paying out for us."
Even with the early outburst, the RailRiders couldn't put away Rochester. They scored three runs in the third to tie things at 4 with a five-hit inning against SWB starter Hayden Wesneski, who was facing them for the second time in the series. After six shutout innings in the opener, Wesneski allowed three earned runs in five innings Sunday, walking one and striking out three.
The bullpens preserved the tie. For the RailRiders, Zach Greene struck out two in a perfect sixth before leaving after Andrew Stevenson's leadoff single in the seventh. Shane Greene stranded that runner by getting the next three in order, then he, too, left after the first batter of the next inning reached base, with Jake Noll lacing a double to begin the eighth. David McKay didn't let Noll off of second, then worked out of a two-on, no-out jam in the ninth to clinch the win.
"That was big time," Brantly said. "Our relievers came up huge for us today. I think each one came in in a (tough) spot and got out of it. That in itself is a part of that mental fortitude."
Rochester's arms seemed to get stronger the later the game went. Curtis Taylor blew away the top of the RailRiders lineup in the seventh inning, striking out Estevan Florial, Peraza and Bauers on just 13 pitches. He gave way to Patrick Murphy, who continued the trend by fanning Bird on four pitches, then Dietrich on five.
Locastro snapped the run with his line drive the opposite way, which had just enough juice to clear the wall.
"Really happy with the way we played against this team," Davis said. "I mean, this team's in first place, been in first place all year. It's just a good baseball team.
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