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Letter to the Editor: Don’t sit out this election; vote

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DNC 2016: Thursday’s Schedule

MOOSIC &#8212; Things were sailing along so smoothly, Brady Lail didn&#8217;t ever want his day to end.By the time it did, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders starting pitcher showed the way to another shutout.Lail tossed seven scoreless innings of three-hit baseball Wednesday, Tyler Austin had three hits and accounted for three runs and the RailRiders rolled past Buffalo 6-0 to complete a three-game series sweep at PNC Field.&#8220;All my pitches were there,&#8221; Lail said. &#8220;It was fun.&#8221;He was having such a blast, Lail didn&#8217;t want to leave the mound.And who could blame him?The right-hander surrendered just one hit over his final six innings of work and set down 17 of the 19 batters he faced after allowing back-to-back singles in the opening inning.But Lail, making his second start for the RailRiders while rebounding from a strained oblique that put him on the disabled list last month, was limited to 90 pitches or seven innings.When told he&#8217;d worked through seven on just 72 pitches, Lail met the decision to replace him on the mound with mock protest to RailRiders pitching coach Tommy Phelps.&#8220;I asked how many pitches I was at, and he was like, &#8216;72,&#8217;&#8221; Lail laughed. &#8220;I&#8217;m like, &#8216;You&#8217;re taking me out? One more (inning) is not going to hurt.&#8217; I was at 90 (pitches) with a max of seven (innings). But you&#8217;ve got to trust the Yankees. I want to last the season.&#8221;The way he was going, Lail looked like he could have lasted all day.He struck out six Buffalo batters and was backed by three double plays as the RailRiders built a 5-0 lead behind him.Ben Gamel dropped a two-run double into the right field corner in the third inning. And two runs scored on an error before Jose Rosario completed a three-run sixth inning with a sacrifice fly. Tyler Austin completed the scoring by driving a solo home run off the pedestrian walk behind the RailRiders bullpen in left field in the eighth.But Lail&#8217;s support didn&#8217;t stop there.Former Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees prospect Jesus Montero grounded into an inning-ending double play to get Lail out of danger in the opening frame. Third baseman Rosario started his second double play with a nice backhanded stop in the fifth. And first baseman Ike Davis probably took a run away when he snared Dalton Pompey&#8217;s shot down the line and stepped on first base for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre&#8217;s third double play in the sixth.&#8220;It&#8217;s what I call a big league infield, a big league outfield,&#8221; said Lail, who improved to 4-2 with the RailRiders and dropped his ERA to 3.21. &#8220;With the defense I&#8217;ve got behind me, I&#8217;m like, &#8216;Hit it. Those guys are going to make a play.&#8217; Even Ike caught a line drive that would have scored a run.&#8221;The best chance for Buffalo to score against Lail came at the start when Toronto Blue Jays rehabbing infielder Ryan Goins and Chris Colabello ripped back-to-back, one-out singles. But Lail induced Montero&#8217;s double-play grounder to Rosario, then breezed through the rest of the day.&#8220;As the game went on, he got stronger,&#8221; RailRiders manager Al Pedrique said. &#8220;He stayed aggressive, attacked the strike zone.&#8221;Showing no signs of stress from the oblique strain, Lail surrendered only a single to cleanup hitter Darrell Ceciliani in the fifth inning and walked Alexi Casilla in the sixth as the only two baserunners he allowed after the first.&#8220;Oblique&#8217;s fine, everything&#8217;s good,&#8221; Lail said. &#8220;I&#8217;m still in that process of getting built up again. My next one (start), I would be full-go, 95 to 100 pitches.Scoreless frames by RailRiders relievers Johnny Barbato in the eighth and Kirby Yates in the ninth extended the franchise record to 17 shutouts this season, which is four away from matching the International League record of 21 first set by Tidewater in 1975 and equaled by Rochester last season.&#8220;We have pitched well,&#8221; Pedrique said. &#8220;I&#8217;m a firm believer that pitching and defense will win you a lot of games, win you a championship.&#8221;RailRiders 6, Buffalo 0Buffalo`AB`R`H`RBIPompey cf`4`0`0`0Goins 2b`3`0`1`0Colabello rf`3`0`1`0Montero dh`3`0`0`0Ceciliani lf`3`0`1`0Dominguez 1b`3`0`0`0Burns 3b`3`0`0`0Sanchez c`3`0`0`0Casilla ss`1`0`0`0Totals`26`0`3`0RailRiders`AB`R`H`RBIWilliams cf`4`1`1`0Gamel rf`4`0`1`2Sanchez c`4`0`0`0Davis 1b`4`1`1`0Austin dh`4`2`3`1Solano 2b`3`1`1`0Cave lf`3`0`1`0Rosario 3b`3`1`1`1Diaz ss`4`0`1`0Totals`33`6`10`4Buffalo`000`000`000`-`0RailRiders`002`003`01x`-`62B &#8212; Gamel (20). HR &#8212; Austin (12).Buffalo`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SOLawrence, L (2-3)`5.2`8`5`2`1`2Venditte`1.1`0`0`0`0`2Rowen`1`2`1`1`0`2RailRiders`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SOLail, W (4-2)`7`3`0`0`1`6Barbato`1`0`0`0`0`0Yates`1`0`0`0`1`0<style>
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<div class="neCaption">Railriders&#8217; Ike Davis (39) is safe at second after avoiding a tag by the Bisons&#8217; shortstop Alexi Casilla (12). </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_Railriders-Bisons-2-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Railriders&#8217; Ike Davis (39) is safe at second after avoiding a tag by the Bisons&#8217; shortstop Alexi Casilla (12). </caption0><photoCredit0>Tony Callaio | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Starter tosses three-hit shutout to complete series sweep of Buffalo</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Paul Sokoloskipsokoloski@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta>T.L. ExpressThe RailRiders hit the road on a high note, as Brady Lail tossed seven scoreless innings to fuel the team&#8217;s 17th shutout, Tyler Austin hammered his 12th home run and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre swept three games from Buffalo with Wednesday&#8217;s 6-0 win.Next Up: The RailRiders take Thursday off before beginning a weekend series in Pawtucket on Friday. They return home to PNC Field next Friday with a 7:05 game against Syracuse.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 SCOREDFIRST GAMERAILRIDERS THIRD: Jake Cave singled to diving Buffalo&#8217;s rehabbing second baseman Ryan Goins and Jose Rosario beat out a bunt single for the RailRiders first two hits of the day. Both runners took an extra base on the play when Rosario&#8217;s bunt was thrown wide of first for an error. Cave was erased in a rundown when Mason Williams reached on a fielder&#8217;s choice, but Ben Gamel dumped a two-run double into the right field corner. RAILRIDERS 2-0RAILRIDERS SIXTH: Ike Davis beat the shift with a single that hugged the third-base line. Tyler Austin dropped a single into right field and Donovan Solano walked to fill the bases. Cave hit a bouncer to first that was thrown way high to home for an error, allowing Davis and Austin to score and sending Solano to third base. Jose Rosario&#8217;s sacrifice fly to deep center field brought Solano home. RAILRIDERS 5-0RAILRIDERS EIGHTH: Tyler Austin crushed a long, lead-off home run off the bottom of the pedestrian bridge in left field. RAILRIDERS 6-0</factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-991-6392 or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski</shirttailMeta></div>

Brad Lail pitches RailRiders to win over Buffalo