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Fish sandwich thrown in Wilkes-Barre domestic dispute

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Rare barn owlets put on a show in Lancaster County banding operation

MOOSIC &#8212; Unflappable and in control, Matt Wotherspoon suddenly faced a difficult late-game situation.The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders didn&#8217;t feel especially insecure.Instead, they let Wotherspoon work his way out of danger, and the big right-handed reliever from Crestwood High School responded with a game-ending strikeout Sunday to preserve the RailRiders 1-0 victory over Gwinnett.&#8220;It was exciting. It was fun,&#8221; said Wotherspoon, who earned his second career save for the RailRiders, but first with the potential tying run standing on third base. &#8220;That was my first time truly pitching in a save situation this year.&#8221;Now the RailRiders will prepare for another type of situation.After Monday&#8217;s off day, they&#8217;ll have New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira in the lineup for a three-day rehabilitation stint, beginning with Tuesday&#8217;s 7:05 p.m. tangle with Toledo at PNC Field.With Nick Swisher already among the regulars in the RailRiders batting order, that&#8217;ll give Scranton/Wilkes-Barre one-fourth of the Yankees starting lineup in the field that won the 2009 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.&#8220;We&#8217;ll be here,&#8221; Swisher grinned.Throw in Phil Coke, a reliever on that Yankees 2009 title team who pitched five scoreless innings while starting for the RailRiders against Gwinnett on Sunday, and it may as well be a nine-year New York World Championship reunion this coming week at PNC Field.&#8220;That&#8217;s going to be nice, to have a guy like him,&#8221; RailRiders manager Al Pedrique said of Teixeira, who has been on the Yankees disabled list since June 3 with an articular cartilage tear in his right knee. &#8220;These guys with the Yankees love to talk to the kids, spend time with the young players. That&#8217;s what Swisher has done from day one, and I&#8217;m sure Mark will be the same way.&#8220;Having him (Teixeira) coming through is going to be nice.&#8221;Remaining on the mound in what Wotherspoon called a &#8220;pressure situation&#8221; was a nice way to boost his self-esteem.He entered the game in the ninth inning entrusted with protecting a 1-0 lead for the RailRiders, but eventually sensed some danger.Gwinnett leadoff man Ozzie Albies poked a check-swing single just over the glove of leaping shortstop Pete Kozma, then was sacrificed to second base by Daniel Castro. Albies then raced to third base on a groundout as G-Braves cleanup hitter Anthony Recker stepped to the plate.&#8220;It&#8217;s a 1-0 ballgame,&#8221; said Wotherspoon, who began his second stint as a relief pitcher for the RailRiders on June 12 when he was promoted from Double-A Trenton, where he worked as both a starter and reliever. &#8220;The chance of a guy scoring with no outs and a man on first is pretty high.&#8221;But Pedrique never wavered, even with the dangerous and powerful Recker stepping into the box with a chance to tie the game.&#8220;He&#8217;s been throwing the ball well for us lately,&#8221; Pedrique said of Wotherspoon. &#8220;The first time he was up with us he threw the ball well. It was tough to tell him he was going to Double-A. He showed good life on his fastball, good command of his second pitch. I like the fact he&#8217;s aggressive, will challenge the hitters and works ahead in the count.&#8221;That faith paid off, when Wotherspoon got Recker on a swinging third strike to end the Gwinnett threat and the game.&#8220;I know we probably had a guy back in the pen,&#8221; Wotherspoon said. &#8220;That&#8217;s his (Pedrique&#8217;s) decision, either way. I definitely appreciate the confidence he showed in me and tried to get the job done.&#8220;Pressure was on, I made a couple good pitches.&#8221;Good pitching was the name of the whole game.RailRiders starter Coke and former RailRiders pitcher Joel De La Cruz didn&#8217;t allow a hit through the first three innings and surrendered a combined eight hits between them. Recker laced a two-out single in the fourth for the first hit off Coke, and Swisher lined a single past first base in the fifth for the first hit off De La Cruz.It took three hits to produce the game&#8217;s lone run.Pete Kozma beat out an infield single to start the RailRiders sixth inning and Jonathan Diaz sacrificed him to second base. Ben Gamel followed with a single to deep shortstop as Kozma scampered to third base, then Donovan Solano&#8217;s sharp single to center field sent Kozma home with a 1-0 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre lead.RailRiders relievers Giovanny Gallegos and Wotherspoon made sure it stayed that way.Gallegos picked up the victory by pitching three perfect innings in relief of Coke from the sixth through eighth innings, then Wotherspoon locked down the tight victory.&#8220;Both guys pitched well, Coke and De La Cruz,&#8221; Pedrique said. &#8220;Both guys were outstanding. You can tell, offense wasn&#8217;t doing a whole lot. It was huge to play good defense.&#8220;Every win is always nice to get.&#8221;RailRiders 1, Gwinnett 0Gwinnett`AB`R`H`BIAlbies 2b`4`0`1`0Castro ss`3`0`0`0Brignac 1b`4`0`0`0Recker dh`4`0`1`0Ruiz 3b`3`0`1`0Mustelier lf`2`0`0`0Landoni rf`3`0`1`0Lipka cf`3`0`0`0Schlehuber c`3`0`0`0Totals`29`0`4`0RailRiders`AB`R`H`BIGamel cf`4`0`1`0Solano 3b`3`0`1`1Judge rf`1`0`0`0Sanchez c`3`0`0`0Cave lf`3`0`1`0Swisher 1b`3`0`1`0Puello dh`3`0`0`0Kozma ss`3`1`1`0Diaz 2b`2`0`0`0Totals`25`1`5`1Gwinnett`000`000`000`&#8212;`0 RailRiders`000`001`000`&#8212;`1Gwinnett`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SODe La Cruz, L (1-2)`7`5`1`1`1`2Weber`1`0`0`0`0`0RailRiders`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SOCoke`5`3`0`0`1`2Gallegos`3`0`0`0`0`3Wotherspoon, S (2)`1`1`0`0`0`1<style>
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<div class="neCaption">Wotherspoon </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_Wotherspoon-1-1-4.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wotherspoon </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Yankees first baseman Teixeira to begin three-day rehab stint with RailRiders at PNC Field starting Tuesday</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Paul Sokoloskipsokoloski@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta>T.L. ExpressIt was all pitching for the RailRiders in a 1-0 victory over Gwinnett, as Phil Coke worked five shutout innings of three-hit ball, Giovanny Gallegos threw three perfect innings of relief and Matt Wotherspoon earned his second Triple-A save by stranding a runner at third base in the ninth.Next Up: The RailRiders have Monday off before starting a three-game series with Toledo on Tuesday, when Yankees rehabbing first baseman Mark Teixeira is expected to play three games for the RailRiders.On Deck: Toledo comes to town Tuesday, with RailRiders RHP Luis Cessa (1-1, 3.93) opposing Mud Hens LHP Chad Bell (3-1, 3.82) in a 7:05 p.m. game at PNC Field.Ridng the Rails: LHP Chasen Shreve returned from rehab, was reinstated to the 15-day disabled list and optioned to the RailRiders.On TV: Next televised game: Wednesday, 7:05 p.m. vs. Toledo, WQMY (MyTV)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.HOW THEY SCOREDRAILRIDERS SIXTH: Pete Kozma beat out and infield single and Jonathan Diaz sacrificed him to second base. Kozma moved to third base when Ben Gamel singled to deep shortstop, and scored when Donovan Solano placed a single to center field. RAILRIDERS 1-0</factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-991-6392 or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski</shirttailMeta></div>

Coke, Wotherspoon lead RailRiders to 1-0 win; Teixeira to join team