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Semper fi: Bear Creek Marine veteran on mission to bring two ‘brothers’ home

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Railriders Notes: Voting underway for Triple-A All-Star Game

<p>The trickle down effect of Marlon Byrd&#8217;s suspension impacted Tunkhannock&#8217;s <strong>Mike Papi</strong> as the outfielder was promoted to Double-A Akron last week on the same day Byrd&#8217;s suspension was announced.</p><p>That&#8217;s not saying Papi&#8217;s promotion wasn&#8217;t well-deserved. The 23-year-old had one of the top on base percentages in the Carolina League for Lynchburg before getting transferred to the Rubber Ducks (Indians organization).</p><p>Papi started his Double-A career picking up where he left off in High-A by getting on base at a high clip. In his first three games with Akron, he reached base seven times including five walks, a single and a double.</p><p>His promotion also means that all three Wyoming Valley Conference graduates are currently in Double-A and in the Eastern League.</p><p>For the season combined with Lynchburg and Akron, Papi boasts a .380 on base percentage and a .443 slugging percentage. He&#8217;s also clubbed seven homers and driven in 19 runs to go with a batting average of .235.</p><p><strong>Matt Wotherspoon</strong></p><p>The Crestwood High School graduate continues to be a dominant force as a reliever. Last week, the 24-year-old tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings for the Trenton Thunder in which he struck out eight and allowed just three hits.</p><p>In three appearances since moving back to the bullpen, the right-hander has thrown 9 1/3 scoreless innings. His splits are a huge difference as a reliever and starter. In two starts, he&#8217;s 0-2 with a 16.71 ERA for Trenton. As a reliever for the Thunder, he&#8217;s 2-0 with a 0.68 ERA in nine outings.</p><p>When his stats from the RailRiders are included, Wotherspoon&#8217;s numbers are even more eye-popping since he threw six scoreless innings during his stay with the club last month.</p><p><strong>Ray Black</strong></p><p>Since having a season-low earned run average of 3.86 nearly a month ago, the Coughlin grad has been less than impressive. Black&#8217;s ERA has ballooned nearly four runs since then in nine outings for the Richmond Flying Squirrels (Giants).</p><p>The 25-year-old has shown signs of getting back on track recently. He tossed a scoreless inning last week while striking out two. But that outing followed one where he lasted just 2/3 of an inning and gave up two runs on three hits.</p><p>For the season, Black has a strikeout rate of 31 in 19 1/3 innings, but he&#8217;s also walked 18 and given up 15 hits and 16 earned runs.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Black </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_Black.jpg</photo0><caption0>Black </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_Wotherspoon-1-.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wotherspoon </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_Wotherspoon-1-.jpg</photo1><caption1>Wotherspoon </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_Papi.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Papi </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_Papi.jpg</photo2><caption2>Papi </caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Dave Rosengrant</p><p>drosengrant@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Dave Rosengrant at 570-991-6398 or on Twitter @tldrosengrant</p></shirttailMeta></div>

WVC grads in the minors: Mike Papi promoted to Double-A Akron