Tyler Hardman had already helped dig the RailRiders’ five-run hole when he stepped to the plate in the fifth inning with two runners aboard and the tying run at second. One swing changed the shape of his night — and finished one of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s biggest comebacks of the season.
Hardman drove Karson Milbrandt’s 1-1 pitch high toward left-center, sending the outfielder back to the warning track before the ball disappeared for a 388-foot, three-run homer. His 14th of the season erased the last of a 5-0 deficit and gave the RailRiders the lead for good in an 8-5 victory over the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp on Friday at PNC Field.
The comeback arrived quickly: three runs in the fourth, five in the fifth. Adam Kloffenstein made sure it held, replacing Xavier Rivas in the fourth and throwing six scoreless innings with five strikeouts and one walk.
Hardman’s decisive swing followed his throwing error in a four-run Jacksonville third. Rivas opened that inning with three straight walks, and the Jumbo Shrimp scored on Jonathon Long’s sacrifice fly, a wild pitch during Kemp Alderman’s strikeout and Brayden Taylor’s RBI double. Hardman then threw away Gage Miller’s grounder, allowing Taylor to score the run that made it 5-0.
The inning had nearly every ingredient for trouble: free passes, aggressive baserunning and a mistake in the field. Jacksonville needed only one hit to score its four runs.
RailRiders coach Raul Dominguez had talked before the game about what the organization watches when circumstances turn against a player or a team.
“How good they are as a teammate, how good they are in the clubhouse, and when the things are not going well in the game, how they react.”
— Raul Dominguez, RailRiders Coach
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s response began with Yanquiel Fernández in the fourth. After Marco Luciano walked, Fernández launched his 27th homer far beyond the right-field wall, an easy swing producing a towering drive that cut the deficit to 5-2.
The rally continued after two outs. Duke Ellis singled, Kenedy Corona reached on a strikeout and wild pitch, and Connor McGinnis pulled a ground ball under the first baseman’s glove and into right field. Ellis scored as McGinnis slid headfirst into second with his first Triple-A hit, an RBI double that brought the RailRiders within two.
Luciano kept the pressure on in the fifth. J.C. Escarra singled with one out, and Luciano grounded a double into left to score him. Fernández walked, bringing up Hardman with the tying and go-ahead runs aboard.
This time, there was no recovery for Milbrandt. Hardman’s drive completed the comeback at 7-5 and ended the Jacksonville starter’s night after 4 1/3 innings and seven earned runs. The RailRiders added another run before the inning ended, accounting for the final margin.
Dominguez, discussing how players are evaluated beyond the numbers, had offered a description that fit the RailRiders’ night.
“If they stay normal, if they keep playing, they keep with good attitude, or maybe they’re going down, they get frustrated, or they can turn the page on that night and be ready the next day.”
— Raul Dominguez, RailRiders Coach
Kloffenstein provided the calm after the comeback. Jacksonville put runners at first and third with one out in the fifth, but he struck out Taylor and Miller to preserve the two-run deficit before Scranton/Wilkes-Barre surged ahead.
The Jumbo Shrimp did not mount another threat until the ninth. Kloffenstein allowed a single and a walk in the final inning but induced Long’s game-ending groundout, completing his six-inning relief appearance and earning the win.
Luciano reached in all four plate appearances, going 3-for-3 with two doubles, a walk and an RBI. McGinnis added two walks to his first Triple-A double, while Ellis went 2-for-4 and stole two bases.
But the night belonged to the swing that completed the climb. Two innings after his error helped Jacksonville build its lead, Hardman sent that lead over the wall.