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Eddy Rodriguez is a key cog for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders’ young pitchers

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre International League Stats

In a show of gratitude, RailRiders entered every fan who attended home games at PNC field in the month of April into a raffle for prizes from the club.A total of 13 finalists were entered into the drawing and five of them claimed one of five prizes on Friday night after the game and before the popular fireworks show.The big winner was Hila Williams, who won a cruise courtesy of Norwegian Cruise Lines. The other four winners were awarded prizes of watching an inning in the bullpen area, a meet-and-greet with any celebrities that attend a RailRiders game, a meet-and-greet before the Legends Game, and four tickets to a New York Yankees game.The rest of the 13 finalists received a consolation prize from the RailRiders.Gettin&#8217; Figgy with itCole Figueroa may not have one of the highest batting averages on the RailRiders entering Saturday hitting just .202. But the alarming stat on his line is four strikeouts. Not in one game, all season. In 89 at-bats.The infielder has never struck out much in his career with the most being 54 times when he hit that mark in 2010 playing in the High-A California League.Before striking out a total of two times in three games last week, Figueroa went 16 games and 60 AB&#8217;s prior with getting punched out.&#8220;I just try to put the barrel to it and see what happens and have fun,&#8221; Figueroa said. &#8220;It&#8217;s definitely something I strive for. I don&#8217;t like striking out.&#8220;I don&#8217;t think it does me any good &#8212; especially the type of player I am &#8212; I&#8217;m not gonna hit a homer even if I try to hit a home run.&#8221;Figueroa hasn&#8217;t hit more than five longballs in a season with that coming in 2011 in Double-A. He hit three each the last two seasons with Durham. The last time he went deep was nearly a year ago on May 11, 2014 at PNC Field against, who else but, the RailRiders.In case you missed itAfter zero violations the first two games at PNC Field since the pace of play rules were officially instituted, the RailRiders were part of three in two games.Rehabbing Yankee left-hander Chris Capuano violated the 20-second timer on Thursday, while Gwinnett&#8217;s Todd Cunningham was late getting into the box later in that game. On Friday, RailRiders outfielder Tyler Austin had a strike called on him for not being in the batter&#8217;s box.Gwinnett, which leads the International League in stolen bases with 38, including the top two base-stealers in the league with Eury Perez and Jose Peraza, was 10 for 10 on steals versus the RailRiders in the three-game series.Indianapolis started the current series trying the same method, but after going 2 for 2, the Indians were caught twice on Friday night.Looking AheadAfter today&#8217;s game, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre heads back on the road down south to face Norfolk and Durham for a seven-game road trip against the top two teams in the I.L. South Division.The RailRiders play three games at Harbor Park against the Tides before heading to Durham Bulls Athletic Park on Thursday for a four-game set.In Norfolk, the RailRiders will have to deal with four of the Orioles top 10 prospects according to MLB.com. First baseman Christian Walker is the Orioles No. 3 prospect, while starting pitchers Zach Davies, Mike Wright and Tyler Wilson bolster the team&#8217;s starting rotation. Wright and Davies sport ERA&#8217;s under 3.00, while Wilson is slightly over at 3.58. The RailRiders may only have to face Wright, but he may be the best of the trio with a 3-0 record, 2.64 ERA and 30 K&#8217;s in 30 2/3 innings. The trio has helped lead Norfolk to the second-lowest earned run average in the circuit at 2.70 and the most strikeouts.The Bulls don&#8217;t have as many top prospects as Norfolk, but they&#8217;re still a force in the league. They entered Saturday tied with Pawtucket with the best record in the league at 18-11 despite the promotion of manager Charlie Montoyo, who is currently coaching third base for the parent Rays. Current skipper Jared Sandberg hasn&#8217;t missed a beat.Offensively, Durham is paced by center fielder Mikie Mahtook, who saw time with Tampa this season, and is currently batting .328 for the Bulls. Former RailRider and Yankee reliever Jim Miller paces the Durham bullpen with a 1-0 mark and 3.31 ERA.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders show fans appreciation