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Swoyersville native Tara Laskowski will read from ‘Bystanders,’ a collection of stories, June 17 at Osterhout Library

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Apple refuses DA’s request to unlock Laurie Merritt’s iPhone

MOOSIC &#8212; The day didn&#8217;t start exactly how Phil Coke would have liked.The RailRiders left-hander had a warm-up pitch get away before Wednesday&#8217;s game started and hit home plate umpire Roberto Ortiz.Something like that could be a bad omen for pitchers, but not for a veteran like Coke.The 33-year-old who has more than 400 games under his belt in the Major Leagues, tossed five innings of four-hit ball only allowing one run to lead Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to a 7-1 win over Louisville on Wednesday in front of a sellout crowd of 10,000 fans on the School Day Special at PNC Field. The victory gives the team its 10th in the last 13 games.&#8220;Apparently, it&#8217;s a weird, but good trend,&#8221; Coke said about the pitch that got away.The warm-up pitch that got Ortiz above his right knee was a slider that Coke has recently reintroduced to his repertoire. And though he got off to a rocky start, Coke is encouraged by the pitch. And because Ortiz was able to stay and call the entire game, it made things easier to take.&#8220;The fact that I&#8217;m getting the shape that I&#8217;m getting on it (the slider) is a positive,&#8221; Coke said. &#8220;The fact that I&#8217;m taking umpires out at their knees is not so positive. It&#8217;s just a matter of direction and it actually gives me feedback of what I need to do. Sorry it was an innocent bystander.&#8220;I felt terrible for it. And wouldn&#8217;t have felt any emotion towards it other than &#8216;are you alright?&#8217; but I had the whole visiting dugout laughing at me and I couldn&#8217;t help but smile. I felt bad, but that&#8217;s just how it went,&#8221; he said.Coke got help from his offense early as the RailRiders scored at least six runs for the fifth time during their win streak. The unit started to get going in the bottom of the first inning when Chris Parmelee slugged a three-run homer giving Coke a 3-0 lead against Anthony DeSclafani, who was making a Major League rehab appearance for Cincinnati.The lead was a welcome for Coke, who got behind hitters in the first inning and got a double play to help get some momentum.&#8220;That&#8217;s awesome,&#8221; Coke said about the lead. &#8220;As a pitcher in any situation out there you want to put your best foot forward and when your guys respond on the offensive end and the defense end as well &#8212; we made a lot of spectacular defensive plays today &#8212; it was awesome. &#8220;After Coke allowed a run in the fourth on consecutive doubles to cut the lead to 3-1, the RailRiders got the run right back on a run-scoring triple by Deibinson Romero.Cesar Puello added an RBI-single in the fifth inning, while Ben Gamel and Aaron Judge had run-scoring hits in the ninth as the team and bounced back from a loss that ended about 13 hours prior to the start of Wednesday&#8217;s game.&#8220;Under the circumstances with the night game (Tuesday night) and the loss and the 10:30 game this morning, it was tough for everybody to get ready, but the guys still came out, worked hard,&#8221; SWB manager AL Pedrique said. &#8220;The key was scoring early. The team that scored early was going to be the difference. I&#8217;m glad we did it.&#8221;Notes: The RailRiders learned on Wednesday that catcher Gary Sanchez will be placed on the disabled list with a crack in the thumb on his right hand. He&#8217;s headed to New York for further evaluation; a timetable for his return is unknown. &#8230;Cesar Puello, who went 1 for 3, was also hit by a pitch for the eighth time this season in just 24 games having missed time on the disabled list.RailRiders 7, Bats 1Louisville `AB`R`H`BIPeraza ss`3`0`0`0Winker rf` 4`0`2`0Curtis dh`4`1`1`0Schebler lf`4`0`1`1Meijas-Brean 3b`4`0`1`0Iribarren cf`3`0`0`0Triunfel 2b`3`0`0`0Berset c`3`0`0`0Chang 1b`3`0`0`0Totals`31`1`5`1RailRiders`AB`R`H`BIGamel cf`4`2`2`1Judge dh`5`0`1`1Solano 2b`5`1`2`0Parmelee 1b`4`1`1`3Puello rf`3`1`1`1Cave lf`4`1`1`0Romero 3b`2`1`1`2Rodriguez c`2`0`0`0Kozma ss`4`0`0`0Totals`33`7`8`7Louisville`000`100`000`&#8212;`1RailRiders`300`110`02x` &#8212; `7LOB: Bats 4, RailRiders 9. DP: Bats 0, RailRiders 1. 2B: Schebler (4), Curtis (8). 3B: Romero (1). HR: Parmelee (6). SB: Gamel (8). PB: Rodriguez (2).Louisville`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SODeSclafani (L, 0-1) `3.0`3`3`3`0`2Johnson `2.1`1`2`2`4`1Magill `0.2`0`0`0`0`1Hoover ` 1.0`1`0`0`0`2Hayes ` 1.0`3`2`2`2`1RailRiders`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SOCoke (W, 3-0)`5.0`4`1`1`0`4Mullee `2.0`1`0`0`1`1Cotts `1.0`0`0`0`0`1Swarzak `1.0`0`0`0`0`1WP: JohnsonHBP: Puello (by Johnson)Umpires: HP: Roberto Ortiz. 1B: Joe Born. 3B: Ryan Clark.T: 2:48 Att: 10,000<style>
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<div class="neCaption">Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders' Chris Parmelee, right, fist-bumps teammate Ben Gamel at home plate after hitting a three-run homer against Louisville at PNC Field in Moosic on Wednesday morning. Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_TTL052616RailRiders_spt_1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders' Chris Parmelee, right, fist-bumps teammate Ben Gamel at home plate after hitting a three-run homer against Louisville at PNC Field in Moosic on Wednesday morning. Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_TTL052616RailRiders_spt_2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">RailRiders right fielder Cesar Puello lunges for a catch deep in foul territory against Louisville at PNC Field in Moosic on Wednesday morning. Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_TTL052616RailRiders_spt_2.jpg</photo1><caption1>RailRiders right fielder Cesar Puello lunges for a catch deep in foul territory against Louisville at PNC Field in Moosic on Wednesday morning. Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader</caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_TTL052616RailRiders_spt_3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">RailRiders shortstop Pete Kozma fields a grounder to set up an inning-ending double play against Louisville at PNC Field in Moosic on Wednesday morning. Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_TTL052616RailRiders_spt_3.jpg</photo2><caption2>RailRiders shortstop Pete Kozma fields a grounder to set up an inning-ending double play against Louisville at PNC Field in Moosic on Wednesday morning. Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader</caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_TTL052616RailRiders_spt_4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">RailRiders starter Phil Coke delivers a pitch against Louisville at PNC Field in Moosic on Wednesday morning. Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_TTL052616RailRiders_spt_4.jpg</photo3><caption3>RailRiders starter Phil Coke delivers a pitch against Louisville at PNC Field in Moosic on Wednesday morning. Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader</caption3><photoCredit3></photoCredit3></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Dave Rosengrantdrosengrant@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta>T.L. ExpressThe RailRiders won for the 10th in their last 13 games with a 7-1 victory over Louisville on Wednesday morning at PNC Field.Today&#8217;s Game: The final game of the short three-game homestand is Thursday at 6:35 p.m. at PNC Field against Louisville.Today at PNC Field: The normal Thursday staple Thirsty Thursday returns with select beer and soda products for just a dollar. It&#8217;s also college night where college students can just show their ID and get a walk-up lawn seat ticket for $5.Probable Pitchers: SWB LHP Tyler Olson (1-1, 4.66) vs. Bats RHP Jon Moscot (0-2, 9.82 MLB rehab)On Deck: The RailRiders are back on the road on Friday to start a three-game set at Norfolk.Riding the Rails: Catcher Sebastian Valle was added to the roster from Double-A Trenton for Wednesday&#8217;s game, while Tuesday&#8217;s starting pitcher Brady Lail was transferred to the Thunder.On Radio: All RailRiders games can be heard live on The Game Radio Network (100.7-FM, 106.7-FM, 1340-AM, 1400-AM, 1440-AM) with John Sadak and Darren Headrick.TV: Today&#8217;s game will be telecast live on WQMY (My TV) for the 6:35 p.m. start versus Louisville.HOW THEY SCOREDRAILRIDERS FIRST: Ben Gamel singled. Aaron Judge grounded out, Gamel to second. Donovan Solano singled, Gamel to third. Chris Parmelee hit a three-run home run. Cesar Puello grounded out. Jake Cave struck out. RAILRIDERS 3-0LOUISVILLE FOURTH: Jesse Winker struck out. Jermaine Curtis doubled. Scott Schebler doubled knocking on Curtis. Seth Mejias-Brean grounded out. Hernan Iribarrem struck out. RAILRIDERS 3-1RAILRIDERS FOURTH: Parmelee flied out. Puello was hit by a pitch. Cave flied out. Deibinson Romero tripled in Puello. Eddy Rodriguez walked and moved to second on a wild pitch. Pete Kozma struck out. RAILRIDERS 4-1RAILRIDERS FIFTH: Gamel walked. Judge flied out. Solano flied out. Gamel stole second. Parmelee walked. Puello reached on an error as Gamel scored and Parmelee moved to third. Cave flied out. RAILRIDERS 5-1RAILRIDERS EIGHTH: Cave singled. Romero walked. Rodriguez walked to load the bases. Kozma popped out. Gamel singled to score Cave. Judge singled to score Romero. Solano struck out. Parmelee flied out. RAILRIDERS 7-1</factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Dave Rosengrant at 570-991-6398 or on Twitter @tldrosengrant</shirttailMeta></div>

Phil Coke’s pitching helps SWB RailRiders beat Louisville Bats