By CHUCKIE MAGGIO
Adrian Sanchez’s flare fell weakly on a hop to shortstop Andrew Velazquez, a fitting end to a night the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders pitching staff was nearly untouchable.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre righthanders Luis Gil, Reggie McClain and Stephen Ridings tossed the team’s first no-hitter since 2006 in front of 3,828 elated fans at PNC Field on Wednesday night. Sanchez and Jakson Reetz were the only Rochester Red Wings to reach base in the 8-0 defeat, walking in the first and sixth innings, respectively.
Gil struck out nine batters in six innings, fanning the side in the second frame. He neutralized the leadoff base-on-balls to Reetz by inducing two forceouts and striking out Sanchez on a full count to end his 84-pitch outing.
The 23-year-old, who began the season at Double-A Somerset, entered the night carrying a 5.09 ERA and departed with a 4.03 mark.
McClain struck out two of the six hitters he faced, while Ridings polished off the milestone by drawing a Carlos Tocci groundout and Rafael Bautista flyout before Sanchez’s final out.
While the RailRiders recorded the first no-no in Scranton since their franchise was known as the Red Barons, the Red Wings have now been no-hit in two consecutive seasons. Buffalo fireballer T.J. Zeuch accomplished the feat solo at Frontier Field in August 2019.
Tyler Eppler allowed just four hits in his five innings, but Socrates Brito blasted a home run into the trees in right field to take the lead in the fourth and Frederick Cuevas drove in Matt Pita with a groundout in the fifth. Eppler, who completed five frames in just 54 pitches, was saddled with his seventh loss in eight decisions.
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