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Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority will collect interest payments on former train station property

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Little League: Mountain Top advances in D16 major softball bracket

MOOSIC &#8212; All rise.The 10,000 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders fans at PNC Field rose out of their seats after New York Yankees outfielder socked a mammoth home run to right field in the team&#8217;s 8-4 win over the Norfolk Tides Tuesday night.Judge, continuing his rehab from a strained left oblique injury, dazzled in right field and at the plate.&#8220;His timing was better, he saw the ball better,&#8221; RailRiders manager Jay Bell said of Judge&#8217;s performance. &#8220;He handled himself a lot better. His posture was there tonight. It was an improvement over what we saw in Durham. It was encouraging.&#8221;Judge made two stellar plays, including a charging, shoestring catch in right in the fourth, allowing him to throw out Tides designated hitter Cedric Mullins after he started heading to third base.&#8220;He did a nice job running back and making the catch against the wall and doubling Mullins up,&#8221; Bell said.Judge also credited center fielder Mike Tauchman for helping him make the tough plays.&#8220;We were constantly chatting,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We played together in New York.&#8221;With the 2017 MLB Home Run Derby champ batting in the two-hole, the RailRiders (40-28) channeled their inner Aaron Judge, belting three home runs in the top of the first inning. The recently demoted Tauchman obliterated a three-run shot to right-center off Harrisburg native Tyler Herb in between homers by Mike Ford and Kyle Higashioka.After jumping out to a five-run lead in the first inning, Randall Delgado (1-2, 5.19 ERA) cruised along until he gave up three runs in the top of the fifth inning.The Yankees All-Star answered back with a towering blast that impressed Bell.&#8220;There was a little heavier air, but you don&#8217;t see righties go that far,&#8221; Bell said of Judge&#8217;s home run. &#8220;It&#8217;s just different coming off his bat. To watch him on TV is really enjoyable, but it&#8217;s much more enjoyable watching him in person.&#8221;Judge was a bit dismissive of his 400-foot-plus home run that drew him a standing ovation from the crowd.&#8220;It&#8217;s just like any other day,&#8221; the slugger said. &#8220;I got one over the plate. Those guys got good stuff, they like to make it seem like it&#8217;s over the plate and nibble at the corners. I had to wait. Take the pitches on the corners and swing at the ones in the strike zone.&#8221;&#8220;It felt good to see some pitches. If I&#8217;m swinging at the right pitches, I feel that good things will happen. I was happy to add another run to the RailRiders. Man they were on fire today.&#8221;Outfielder Trey Amburgey added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth inning, scoring second baseman Thairo Estrada to extend the RailRiders lead 8-3.Lefty Stephen Tarpley (4-0, 1.99 ERA) worked two-and-two-thirds innings in relief but got in trouble late in the ninth inning.After allowing two base runners with two outs, Norfolk catcher Jesus Sucre smoked a single to right field scoring ex-RailRider center fielder Mason Williams. Bell saw enough, signaling for Caleb Ort to finish the game.After a lengthy 10-pitch at bat, Ort (3-0, 2.04 ERA) hung a fastball down the middle causing Tides third baseman Zach Vincej to foul out to Judge on the right field line. Ort earned his third save of the season.During the post-game, Judge said that he feels like he&#8217;s been ready.&#8220;I told them (New York) I&#8217;m ready to go, but they told me to get two games in a row in the outfield,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I do whatever they tell me.&#8221;Bell on roster movesBell expects Clint Frazier to report to the RailRiders Wednesday, since players have 72-hours to report after being optioned down.&#8220;He&#8217;s played a lot the last three months,&#8221; Bell said of Frazier before Tuesday&#8217;s contest. &#8220;It&#8217;s probably a good idea that he takes a couple days off so he can get back in the swing of things. I&#8217;m certain he will come in here with an attitude that he knows he belongs in the big leagues.&#8220;He&#8217;s a huge part of the success we&#8217;ve (Yankees organization) have had at the big league level. He belongs there. Defensively he&#8217;s going to play center field for me. It gives him an opportunity to see the field from that perspective. He will get time at the corners too.&#8221;With the organization releasing Drew Hutchison on Monday, Bell still hopes he latches on to another ball club.&#8220;He did a great job while he was here and hopefully a major league team picks him up and brings him up,&#8221; Bell said. &#8220;We didn&#8217;t have any room for him in New York. He had an out and I think his performance speaks for itself.&#8221;Despite going 2-1 with a 2.50 ERA in the month of June, Hutchison owned a 5-4 record with a 5.14 ERA and 61 strikeouts.Brody Koerner (3-1, 3.25 ERA) to the mound for a 7:05 p.m. start against Tom Eshelman (2-1, 2.45 ERA).RailRiders 8, Norfolk 4Tides`AB`R`H`BIMullins dh`4`0`2`0Smith Jr. lf`4`0`0`0Mountcastle 1b`4`0`1`0Peterson ss`3`0`2`0Hayes cf`4`1`1`0Williams rf`3`2`1`0Bostick 2b`3`0`1`1Sucre c`4`1`2`2Vincej`4`0`1`1Totals`31`4`11`4RailRiders`AB`R`H`BIFord 1b`5`1`1`1Judge rf`2`2`1`1Valera 3b`4`1`1`0Tauchman cf`4`1`1`3Higashioka c`4`1`1`1Wade ss`4`0`2`0Estrada 2b`3`2`2`0Morrison dh`2`0`1`1Amburgey lf`4`0`1`1Totals`32`8`11`8Tides`000`030`001 &#8212; 4RailRiders`500`110`010 &#8212; 82B &#8212; SWB Wade, Estrada, NF Hays, Sucre, Vincej ; HR &#8212; SWB Ford, Tauchman, Higashioka, JudgeTides`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SOHerb, L`4.1`8`7`7`2`3Flaa`2.2`1`0`0`2`3L. Gonzalez`1.0`2`1`1`1`0RailRiders`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SODelgado, W`6.0`7`3`3`1`3Tarpley`2.2`7`3`3`1`3Ort, SV`0.1`0`0`0`0`0<style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Dan Stokesdstokes@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Dan Stokes at 570-991-6389 or on Twitter @ByDanStokes</shirttailMeta></div>

Judge homers in return to PNC Field, helps RailRiders turn back Tides