Moosic, Pa. – Some days are just meant to be etched in the record books. Unfortunately for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (10-11), Saturday evening at Durham Bulls Athletic Park was one of those days. In front of a capacity crowd, left-handed pitcher Mike Montgomery dizzied RailRiders bats, tossing 8.1 innings pitched and striking out nine batters along the way to retiring his last 22 batters faced. Montgomery combined with right-handed reliever Brad Boxberger to finish off the contest as the Durham Bulls (Triple-A/Tampa Bay Rays) no-hit the RailRiders, 5-0. The no-hitter was the first for the Bull’s since Jake Odorizzi and three other Bulls’ pitchers combined to no-hit the Pawtucket Red Sox on May 5, 2013.
Durham took advantage of SWB miscues early, using a two-run first inning to set the tone. After Caleb Cotham (0-1) retired his first two batters faced, Vince Belnome reached and advanced to third after back-to-back walks by Cotham. The two Bulls run came across after Russ Canzler overthrew Cotham at first. The error was the fifth on the year for Canzler, marking a team high.
Belnome added the second dagger of the day, launching a home run that sailed over the centerfield wall to begin the third. The home run was the second of the year for Belnome and pushed the Bulls’ lead to 3-0.
After Cotham departed the game after the fourth, newly received Diego Moreno relieved him. The Bulls took advantage of Moreno, who was making his first appearance with SWB, blasting three extra-base hits that plated two runs. After three of the first four batters of the inning reached base, Moreno settled down to retire five of his final six batters faced.
RailRiders pitching found its stride after Moreno departed the game in favor of right-hander Robert Coello. The RailRiders pitching staff combined to finish off 11 of the final 12 batters that came to the plate.
The lone RailRider base runner came about in the second frame when Canzler reached on a free pass. Montgomery from there settled in to a rhythm, needing 106 pitches to work his way through the RailRiders attack, facing just 26 hitters throughout the speedy 2:16 minute affair.
The win improved Montgomery to 3-0 on the season while Cothem earned his first loss, dropping him to 0-1.
The RailRiders will continue an eight-game road trip tomorrow at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, April 27 at 5:05 p.m. when the RailRider visit the Bulls for the second game of a four-game set. SWB calls upon Brian Gordon (0-1, 2.57) while Durham sends right-hander Merrill Kelly (4-0, 1.05) to the mound. John Sadak and Aaron Berlin will have the call on radio with the pregame show beginning at 4:35 p.m. on NEPA Sports Radio – The GAME, Northeast PA’s largest sports radio network: 100.7 FM, 1340 WYCK-AM, 1400 WICK-AM, 1440 WCDL-AM and 106.7 FM. For season ticket information, single-game tickets or to book a ballpark group outing, call (570) 969-BALL (2255) or visit swbrailriders.com.
OFF THE RAILS:
The SWB offense combined to strikeout in eight of the nine innings.
Russ Canzler was the lone RailRider to reach base with a walk in the second.
Seven of the nine batters in the Bulls’ lineup reached base safely.
Vince Belnome went 3-for-4, falling a triple shy of the cycle.
- SWB RailRiders – All Aboard! -
