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<p>DURHAM, N.C. &#8212; When Garrett Cooper stepped up to the plate in the first inning, there were two outs and the bases were loaded.</p><p>Cooper was still searching for his first hit with the the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, playing in his fourth game with the team.</p><p>Although the 27-year-old had to grind it out at-bat after at-bat, his patience paid off. Cooper took a pitch from Durham Bulls right-hander Yonny Chirinos back up the middle to score Donovan Solano for the first run of Wednesday&#8217;s Governors&#8217; Cup Finals.</p><p>The designated hitter&#8217;s RBI single was just the start as RailRiders ace Domingo German pitched a stellar seven innings in a 4-0 Game 2 win over the Bulls. The series now heads to Moosic tied 1-1.</p><p>&#8220;Getting the first run of the game &#8212; taking the lead of the game &#8212; is always good, especially in a playoff atmosphere. It was a big hit for us,&#8221; Cooper said. &#8220;I&#8217;ve never played in the playoffs over with the (Milwaukee Brewers organization). This is definitely something new.&#8221;</p><p>Cooper has had a &#8220;whirlwind&#8221; of a second half after being traded to the RailRiders from the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, where he was batting .366 and made the Triple-A All-Star Game. He made his Major League debut just a day later, went back to Triple-A, was called up again, then got hurt.</p><p>Now he&#8217;s healthy and coming through for the RailRiders.</p><p>After a strong performance in batting practice, which included multiple home runs off the building behind the Green Monster-esque wall in left field at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, he knew it was only a matter of time until he broke out of his slump.</p><p>Cooper finished 3 for 5 with with a double, a run scored and an RBI.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s definitely different. You like to see where your home runs land in batting practice,&#8221; Cooper said. &#8220;It&#8217;s a nice park. I&#8217;ve never been here. Never been to North Carolina.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve been all over the place &#8212; up and down, playing some days, taking some days off. The second half has been different than playing every day in the second half. It&#8217;s definitely nice to help the team win.&#8221;</p><p>With the RailRiders facing a 1-0 series deficit heading into Wednesday&#8217;s tilt, German brought his &#8216;A&#8217; game.</p><p>The 25-year-old right-hander allowed just one hit and three walks in his seven innings of work, striking out eight &#8212; two off his season high. German struck out four of the last five batters he faced and let just one runner reach third.</p><p>&#8220;I just wanted to go out there and compete. It&#8217;s a must-win game, and I wanted to compete and give it my all,&#8221; German said through an interpreter. &#8220;Thanks to God, I executed all my pitches, I pounded the strike zone and I mixed up all my pitches real well. From last outing to this outing, I changed what I had mistaken from my last outing and I didn&#8217;t this outing.&#8221;</p><p>With the RailRiders protecting a 3-0 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth inning, manager Al Pedrique put his trust in 22-year-old reliever Anyelo Gomez.</p><p>The inning got off to a rough start after Gomez gave up a one-out infield single on a Justin Williams grounder that he was trying to field but slipped on the infield grass. But after throwing a few practice pitches, Gomez was dialed back in. He struck out the next two Bulls to end the frame.</p><p>It was just the fourth Triple-A appearance of his career, and he&#8217;s yet to give up a run. Gomez picked up the hold in the win.</p><p>&#8220;I like to use him in those situations because he showed that he has the make-up,&#8221; Pedrique said. &#8220;He&#8217;s nice and calm on the mound. He&#8217;s not afraid to challenge the hitters. He&#8217;s not afraid to throw his breaking ball in fastball counts when he&#8217;s behind in the count.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve been really impressed with his performance, the way he&#8217;s handled himself in key situations on the field. And he showed it tonight.&#8221;</p><p>Not only did the RailRiders&#8217; late three-run burst in the final three frames provide German and company some comfort on the mound, but it showed life in a Scranton/Wilkes-Barre lineup that had been quiet of late.</p><p>The RailRiders scored one run on Sunday and were shut out on Tuesday. But Wednesday&#8217;s four-run performance showed possible signs of what could be to come.</p><p>&#8220;That&#8217;s what we&#8217;ve been waiting for. For everybody to come in contribute, have some good at-bats,&#8221; Pedrique said. &#8220;Overall, the whole lineup had better at-bats, quality at-bats. We didn&#8217;t give at-bats away. That&#8217;s what we need to go back to. That&#8217;s what we did the whole year, and that&#8217;s why we were successful.&#8221;</p><p><ins>For other RailRiders stories, <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/category/sports" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">click here</a>.</ins></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Game 2, Governors&#8217; Cup Finals</strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>RailRiders 4, Durham 0</strong></p><p><strong>RailRiders`AB`R`H`BI</strong></p><p>M. Williams cf`5`1`1`0</p><p>Solano 2b`3`1`2`1</p><p>McKinney rf`4`0`0`0</p><p>Andujar 3b`5`0`2`1</p><p>Ford 1b`4`0`1`0</p><p>Cooper dh`5`1`3`1</p><p>Higashioka c`4`0`1`0</p><p>Payton lf`4`1`1`0</p><p>Diaz ss`3`0`0`0</p><p><strong>Totals`37`4`11`3</strong></p><p><strong>Durham`AB`R`H`BI</strong></p><p>Field cf`4`0`0`0</p><p>Wong 2b`4`0`0`0</p><p>Adames ss`4`0`0`0</p><p>Bauers 1b`3`0`2`0</p><p>Leonard lf`4`0`0`0</p><p>Peterson dh`3`0`0`0</p><p>Robertson 3b`2`0`0`0</p><p>J. Williams rf`2`0`1`0</p><p>O&#8217;Conner c`3`0`0`0</p><p><strong>Totals`29`0`3`0</strong></p><p><strong>RailRiders`100`000`111` &#8212;`4</strong></p><p><strong>Durham`000`000`000` &#8212;`0</strong></p><p>E: Robertson (1); PB: O&#8217;Connor (1); DP: RailRiders 1, Bulls 1; LOB: RailRiders 11, Bulls 5; 2B: Andujar (1), Payton (1), Cooper (1), Bauers (1).</p><p><strong>RailRiders`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO</strong></p><p>German (W, 1-0)`7.0`1`0`0`3`8</p><p>Gomez (H, 1)`1.0`1`0`0`0`2</p><p>Rumbelow`1.0`1`0`0`0`2</p><p><strong>Durham`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO</strong></p><p>Chirinos (L, 0-1)`5.0`3`1`1`2`1</p><p>Eovaldi`1.0`2`0`0`0`1</p><p>Cedeno`0.2`2`1`1`1`1</p><p>Wood`1.1`2`1`0`0`2</p><p>Venters`1.0`2`1`1`1`1</p><p>WP: German, Rumbelow.</p><p>HBP: Diaz (by Chirinos).</p><p>Umpires: John Bacon, HP; Dan Merzel, 1B; Jeremy Riggs, 2B; Jasen Visconti, 3B.</p><p>Time: 2:44; Att.: 4,553.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_ScrantonVsBullsG2-101-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">RailRiders starter Domingo German delivers a pitch Wednesday during Game 2 of the Governors&#8217; Cup Finals against the Durham Bulls in Durham, N.C. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_ScrantonVsBullsG2-101-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>RailRiders starter Domingo German delivers a pitch Wednesday during Game 2 of the Governors&#8217; Cup Finals against the Durham Bulls in Durham, N.C. </caption0><photoCredit0>Ben McKeown | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_ScrantonVsBullsG2-102-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Scranton/Wilkes-Barre shortstop Jonathan Diaz fields a ground ball against the Durham Bulls in Game 2 of the Governors&#8217; Cup Finals. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_ScrantonVsBullsG2-102-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Scranton/Wilkes-Barre shortstop Jonathan Diaz fields a ground ball against the Durham Bulls in Game 2 of the Governors&#8217; Cup Finals. </caption1><photoCredit1>Ben McKeown | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_ScrantonVsBullsG2-104-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Scranton/Wilkes-Barre third baseman Miguel Andujar fields a ground ball during Game 2 of the Governors&#8217; Cup Finals against the Durham Bulls. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_ScrantonVsBullsG2-104-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Scranton/Wilkes-Barre third baseman Miguel Andujar fields a ground ball during Game 2 of the Governors&#8217; Cup Finals against the Durham Bulls. </caption2><photoCredit2>Ben McKeown | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_ScrantonVsBullsG2-105-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">RailRiders designated hitter Garrett Cooper scores a run against Durham during the second game of the Governors&#8217; Cup Finals on Wednesday in Durham, N.C. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_ScrantonVsBullsG2-105-1.jpg</photo3><caption3>RailRiders designated hitter Garrett Cooper scores a run against Durham during the second game of the Governors&#8217; Cup Finals on Wednesday in Durham, N.C. </caption3><photoCredit3>Ben McKeown | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_ScrantonVsBullsG2-106-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders relief pitcher Anyelo Gomez makes a delivery during the eighth inning of a victory over Durham in Game 2 of the Governors&#8217; Cup Finals in Durham, N.C. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_ScrantonVsBullsG2-106-1.jpg</photo4><caption4>Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders relief pitcher Anyelo Gomez makes a delivery during the eighth inning of a victory over Durham in Game 2 of the Governors&#8217; Cup Finals in Durham, N.C. </caption4><photoCredit4>Ben McKeown | For Times Leader </photoCredit4></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_ScrantonVsBullsG2-107-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">RailRiders designated hitter Garrett Cooper awaits a pitch against Durham in the second game of the Governors&#8217; Cup Finals on Wednesday in Durham, N.C. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo5>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_ScrantonVsBullsG2-107-1.jpg</photo5><caption5>RailRiders designated hitter Garrett Cooper awaits a pitch against Durham in the second game of the Governors&#8217; Cup Finals on Wednesday in Durham, N.C. </caption5><photoCredit5>Ben McKeown | For Times Leader </photoCredit5></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_Scranton-3-CMYK.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">RailRiders pitcher Domingo German speaks with catcher Kyle Higashioka between innings of Game 2 of the Governors&#8217; Cup Finals against the Durham Bulls in Durham, N.C. on Wednesday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo6>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_Scranton-3-CMYK.jpg</photo6><caption6>RailRiders pitcher Domingo German speaks with catcher Kyle Higashioka between innings of Game 2 of the Governors&#8217; Cup Finals against the Durham Bulls in Durham, N.C. on Wednesday. </caption6><photoCredit6>Ben McKeown | For Times Leader </photoCredit6></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Series even at 1-1 heading to Moosic</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By DJ Eberle</p><p>djeberle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>T.L. EXPRESS</strong></p><p><strong>Today&#8217;s Game:</strong> The RailRiders continue their best-of-five series against the Durham Bulls. The series is tied 1-1. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. from Moosic.</p><p><strong>Probable Pitchers: </strong>SWB RHP Chance Adams (11-5, 2.89 ERA) vs. DUR RHP Brent Honeywell (12-8, 3.64)</p><p><strong>On Radio:</strong> The Game (1400-AM, 1440-AM, 106.7-FM)</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>HOW THEY SCORED</strong></p><p style="text-align: left;"><strong>RAILRIDERS FIRST: </strong>Donovan Solano works a walk. Miguel Andujar doubles to left, Solano to third. Mike Ford works a walk. Garrett Cooper singles up the middle, Solano scores, Andujar to third and Ford to second. <strong>RAILRIDERS 1-0</strong></p><p style="text-align: left;"><strong>RAILRIDERS SEVENTH: </strong>Mark Payton doubles to left. Mason Williams grounds out to first, Payton to third. Donovan Solano singles to center, Payton scores.<strong> RAILRIDERS 2-0</strong></p><p style="text-align: left;"><strong>RAILRIDERS EIGHTH: </strong>Garrett Cooper doubles to left, Kyle Higashioka singles to third. Cooper scores on a throwing error by DUR 3B Daniel Robertson, Higashioka to second.<strong> RAILRIDERS 3-0</strong></p><p style="text-align: left;"><strong>RAILRIDERS NINTH: </strong>Mason Williams reaches first on a bunt single. With Donovan Solano batting, a passed ball by Justin O&#8217;Conner, Williams to second. Miguel Andujar singles to left, Williams scores and Solano to third on the throw.<strong> RAILRIDERS 4-0</strong></p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach DJ Eberle at 570-991-6398 or on Twitter @ByDJEberle</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Cooper, German power RailRiders over Durham to tie Governors’ Cup Finals