Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (3-0 win over Lehigh Valley) they lead the best-of-five first round series two games to none … one more win sends them to the International League Championship Series for the third straight season

1. CF Shane Robinson: 0-4 — 0-for-9 in the two games
2. LF Mark Payton: 3-4, 2 R, 1 3B — 4-for-8 with a triple and a (walk-off) homer in the series so far
3. SS Gio Urshela: 0-4, 1 RBI, 2 K — drove in a run with a ground out
4. 1B Ryan McBroom: 0-4
5. DH Mike Ford: 1-4, 2 K
6. RF Zack Zehner: 1-2, 1 BB, 1 K
7. 2B L.J. Mazzilli: 1-3
8. C Wilkin Castillo: 1-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 K — he hit two homers in 41 regular season games after signing out of an independent league
9. 3B Rey Navarro: 0-3
LHP Nestor Cortes: 8 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 13/2 GB/FB — 63 of 94 pitches were strikes (67%) … he lost the no-hitter with one out in the eighth on a ground ball single back up the middle … total dominance by Nasty Nestor … what a performance
RHP Chance Adams: 1 IP, zeroes, 2 K, 1/0 GB/FB — nine of 12 pitches were strikes … he was on the schedule to pitch tonight, so Cortes wouldn’t have come out for the ninth even if the no-hitter was still intact

Double-A Trenton Thunder (10-4 loss to New Hampshire) they’re down two games to none in the best-of-five first round postseason series, so it’s win or go home time

1. 2B Gosuke Katoh: 1-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 K — led the game off with a homer … it was all downhill from there
PH Jeff Hendrix: 0-0, 1 RBI — pinch-hit sac fly
2. 3B Angel Aguilar: 0-5
3. 1B Brandon Wagner: 1-4, 1 K — 1-for-7 in the series so far
4. LF Trey Amburgey: 0-3, 1 BB — 0-for-7 in the series so far
5. SS Kyle Holder: 2-4, 1 R — 5-for-7 with a walk in the two games
6. RF Dom Thompson-Williams: 1-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 K — led the farm system with 22 homers during the regular season … he joined Trenton for the postseason after spending the regular season in Tampa and Charleston
7. DH Jorge Saez: 2-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K
8. CF Rashad Crawford: 1-2, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K
PH Wendell Rijo: 1-1, 1 2B
9. C Chris Rabago: 1-3, 1 2B, 1 BB
RHP Nick Green: 1.2 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR, 1 HB, 4/0 GB/FB — fourth time in his last six starts that he allowed at least five runs
LHP Phil Diehl: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 4/0 GB/FB — 24 of 36 pitches were strikes (67%) … including the regular season, he’s at 111/23 K/BB in 77.2 innings
RHP Jordan Foley: 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HB, 2/2 GB/FB — 29 of 42 pitches were strikes (69%) … 2014 fifth rounder finished the regular season with a 2.98 ERA and 67/35 K/BB in 66.1 innings
RHP Chase Hodson: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 0/2 GB/FB — 20 of 39 pitches were strikes (51%)
LHP Justin Kamplain: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 0/1 GB/FB — seven of 13 pitches were strikes … allowed both runners he inherited from Hodson to score … Green wasn’t good, but the bullpen allowed five runs in 6.1 innings to let the game get out of hand

The season is over for the High-A Tampa Tarpons, the Low-A Charleston RiverDogs, the Short Season Staten Island Yankees, the Rookie Pulaski Yankees, and the two Rookie GCL Yankees affiliates. None of those teams qualified for the postseason.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (3-2 win over Lehigh Valley, walk-off style) they lead the best-of-five series one game to none

1. CF Shane Robinson: 0-5, 2 K
2. LF Mark Payton: 1-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB — walk-off solo homer
3. SS Gio Urshela: 3-4, 1 2B, 1 E (throwing) — good game at the plate, but the error contributed to the game-tying two-run rally in the sixth
4. DH Mike Ford: 0-3, 1 BB, 2 K
PR-DH Quintin Berry: 0-0 — seems like the Andrew McCutchen trade took him out of the running for a September call-up
5. 1B Ryan McBroom: 1-4, 2 K
6. 3B Bruce Caldwell: 0-3
7. RF Zack Zehner: 1-2, 2 BB
8. 2B L.J. Mazzilli: 1-4, 1 R
9. C Francisco Diaz: 2-4, 1 R, 1 K — 5-for-10 in his last three games
RHP Erik Swanson: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1/1 GB/FB — 35 of 56 pitches were strikes (63%) … his velocity was reportedly down 2-3 mph, though I don’t know if that contributed to the early exit … he’s already set a new career high in innings and might’ve been capped at 50-ish pitches … UPDATE: Conor Foley says Swanson left the game with a sore groin, so there you go … he missed time with a groin injury earlier this year
RHP Brady Lail: 2 IP, zeroes, 1 K, 2/2 GB/FB — 20 of 34 pitches were strikes (59%)
LHP Justus Sheffield: 1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 2/0 GB/FB — 14 of 22 pitches were strikes (64%) … using him for one inning tonight probably means they can bring him back as soon as Game Three on Friday
RHP Raynel Espinal: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 1/1 GB/FB — 23 of 35 pitches were strikes (66%) … had a 3.09 ERA with 95/26 K/BB in 67 innings during the regular season
RHP Joe Harvey: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 2/0 GB/FB — ten pitches, eight strikes … he’s their closer and their best late-inning guy, plus he’s not really a prospect, so I imagine he’ll be available again tomorrow after throwing only ten pitches tonight

Double-A Trenton Thunder (8-0 loss to New Hampshire) they trail the best-of-five series one game to none

1. 2B Gosuke Katoh: 1-5, 2 K
2. DH Dom Thompson-Williams: 0-4, 1 K– promoted from Tampa for the postseason after hitting .299/.363/.546 (157 wRC+) with a farm system leading 22 homers in 100 regular season games … I thought OF Estevan Florial would get bumped home for the postseason, but it’s DTW instead … Florial is presumably heading to Instructional League before the Arizona Fall League season begins next month
3. 1B Brandon Wagner: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 K
4. LF Trey Amburgey: 0-4, 1 K
5. SS Kyle Holder: 3-3, 1 BB, 1 CS — 6-for-11 (.545) in his last three games
6. RF Jhalan Jackson: 0-3, 1 BB, 3 K
7. CF Rashad Crawford: 0-3, 1 BB, 2 K
8. C Jorge Saez: 2-4, 2 K
9. 3B Angel Aguilar: 3-4, 1 K — 28-for-82 (.341) with six homers in his last 21 games
RHP Brian Keller: 7 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 1 HB, 13/1 GB/FB — 59 of 80 pitches were strikes (74%) … big ground ball night for a guy who had a 39.3% ground ball rate during the regular season
LHP James Reeves: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 1/0 GB/FB — 15 of 31 pitches were strikes (48%) … he’d been out since August 21st with a mystery injury
RHP Hobie Harris: 0.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 1/0 GB/FB — only six of 15 pitches were strikes (40%)

The season is over for the High-A Tampa Tarpons, the Low-A Charleston RiverDogs, the Short Season Staten Island Yankees, the Rookie Pulaski Yankees, and the two Rookie GCL Yankees affiliates. None of those teams qualified for the postseason.

RHP Mike King has been named the Triple-A International League Pitcher of the Month for August, the league announced. He had a 1.09 ERA (3.24 FIP) with 22.9% strikeouts and 3.4% walks in five starts and 33 innings last month. King is the first Scranton pitcher to win the IL Pitcher of the Month award since Brandon Duckworth back in 2001, when they were the Red Barons and affiliated with the Phillies. (Duckworth is a scout with the Yankees now.)

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (3-2 win over Pawtucket) the win clinched the wild card spot, so they’re going to the postseason … their regular season ends tomorrow and they’ll play Lehigh Valley (Phillies) in the first round

• SS Gio Urshela: 1-4 — 15-for-46 (.326) with two doubles, one triple, one homer, two walks, and only four strikeouts in his last ten games
• 1B Ryan McBroom: 0-4, 2 K
• DH Mike Ford: 1-4, 1 K
• C Wilkin Castillo: 1-3, 1 3B, 2 RBI — had the go-ahead two-run triple in the fifth inning
• RHP Adonis Rosa: 3.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 2/3 GB/FB — 43 of 68 pitches were strikes (63%)
• LHP Justus Sheffield: 2.1 IP, zeroes, 4 K, 3/0 GB/FB — 17 of 25 pitches were strikes (68%), and it is notable that he entered the game in the middle of an inning for the first time … it’s not quite Jonathan Holder striking out eleven in a row to clinch a postseason spot in 2016, but Sheffield went seven up, seven down in his best relief appearance so far … finishes the regular season with a 2.48 ERA and 123/50 K/BB in 116 innings, which is pretty excellent for a 21-year-old who spent most of the season in Triple-A … now that Scranton is in the postseason, I suspect Sheffield will stay down here a little longer rather than get called up to the big leagues … we’ll see

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3B Dermis Garcia and RHP Frank German jumped into MLB.com’s top 30 Yankees prospects list after IF Abi Avelino and RHP Juan De Paula were sent to the Giants in the Andrew McCutchen trade. The scouting report notes German, this year’s fourth rounder, has already seen his velocity jump from 90-95 mph in college this spring to 94-98 mph with the Yankees this summer. Huh. Avelino and De Paula ranked as the team’s 23rd and 26th best prospects the trade, respectively.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (3-1 win over Pawtucket)

• 3B Gio Urshela: 1-4, 1 RBI — 12-for-32 (.375) in his last eight games
• RF Ryan McBroom: 1-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 K
• 1B Mike Ford: 1-4, 1 RBI
• RHP Erik Swanson: 6.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 1 HR, 2/5 GB/FB — 57 of 92 pitches were strikes (62%) … finishes the regular season with a 2.66 ERA and 139/29 K/BB in 121.2 innings … enough to land him on the 40-man roster over the winter? not sure

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In case you missed it earlier, the Yankees are sending RHP Domingo Acevedo, IF Thairo Estrada, OF Estevan Florial, RHP Jordan Foley, RHP Hobie Harris, IF Steven Sensley, and RHP Matt Wivinis to the Arizona Fall League this year. They’ll be on the Glendale Desert Dogs with Dodgers, Indians, Orioles, and White Sox prospects. The 30-game AzFL season begins Tuesday, October 9th.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (3-2 win over Syracuse, walk-off style)

• 2B-SS Tyler Wade: 1-3, 1 K, 1 E (fielding) — he was ejected in the sixth inning for arguing after being called out on a would-be infield single
• C Gary Sanchez: 0-4, 2 K — he is expected to join the Yankees tomorrow and be activated Saturday … he went 3-for-19 (.158) with two homers in five rehab games
• 3B-SS Gio Urshela: 2-4, 1 R, 1 3B — 13-for-35 (.371) in his last nine games
• DH Mike Ford: 0-4
• SS Abi Avelino: 0-0 — left the game in the second inning … he’s been dealing with a nagging shoulder problem, so I assume it has something to do with leaving early … manager Bobby Mitchell told Conor Foley that the team was told to remove Avelino from the game, so something is afoot
  
• 1B Ryan McBroom: 2-3, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB — game-tying single in the ninth
• LHP Ryan Bollinger: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 WP, 7/3 GB/FB — 44 of 69 pitches were strikes (64%) … up here starting with LHP Justus Sheffield and RHP Chance Adams now in the bullpen
• LHP Justus Sheffield: 1 IP, zeroes, 2/1 GB/FB — 12 pitches, six strikes … first appearance since missing a few games with an illness
• LHP Stephen Tarpley: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 0/1 GB/FB — 12 of 20 pitches were strikes

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