PNC Field - Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

Syracuse Mets (NYM) @ Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (NYY)

May 26, 2024

Mets 10, RailRiders 2

W: Jose Butto
L: Will Warren

HR: Rylan Bannon (SYR), Carlos Cortes (SYR), Luis Torrens (SWB)
Attendance: 4,157
Time of Game: 2 hours, 53 minutes

Stadium Facts

Location: Moosic, PA
Opened: 1989
Capacity: 10,000
Level: Triple A
League: International

Amusingly, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders don't play in Scranton or Wilkes-Barre.  PNC Field is located in Moosic, just South of Scranton.  I made the relatively short drive up from Allentown on Sunday morning for an early afternoon game between the two New York MLB teams' AAA affiliates.

PNC Field might be the most scenic ballpark I have visited so far this year.  Nestled right up against Montage Mountain, natural rocks make up the outer perimeter of the stadium in right field.  A large cliff rises above the stadium in the outfield with a hotel at the top of that cliff overlooking the park in center.  The stadium opened in 1989 but was essentially rebuilt in 2013.  So it has a quite modern feel inside despite technically being 35 years old, on the older side of current stadiums.  The layout is quite similar to Lehigh Valley with an expansive lower seating bowl and a spacious concourse circling the entire park.  Luxury boxes make up most of the second level.  There is perhaps a bit less variety in concessions compared to Lehigh Valley.  On the whole though, it is a tough call on which of these two Eastern PA AAA parks I prefer.  There was certainly a much smaller crowd on hand for this game in SWB though, despite it being a bit of a rivalry game for New York baseball fans and a beautiful holiday weekend afternoon.

Besides DJ LeMahieu making what wound up being his last rehab appearance for the RailRiders, probably the most notable player in this game was Mets' infielder/outfielder Luisangel Acuna, brother of Robert Acuna Jr, acquired from the Rangers in last year's Max Scherzer trade.  Luisangel is considerably smaller than his brother, so it is unrealistic to expect him to ever have the same kind of power.  He can certainly fly though.  Acuna played second base in this game, recorded one hit and scored three runs.  Unfortunately, his brother suffered a season-ending knee injury with the Braves while this game was going on.  This game was decided pretty early.  One of the Yankees more advanced pitching prospects, Will Warren had a rough afternoon.  Most of the damage against him was done in the third inning when the Mets sent 10 men to the plate on their way to scoring six runs.  After a pair of leadoff walks, shortstop Rylan Bannon hit a three run homer to right.  By the end of the frame, it was 7-0 Syracuse.  On the flip side, Mets starter Jose Butto had a great afternoon.  In his five innings, he gave up just a pair of singles and no runs.  The RailRiders didn't score until the seventh, after which they apparently decided a six run deficit was insurmountable and went with two different position players on the mound for the final two innings.  That's certainly not something that would ever happen in a six run game with two innings left in a MLB game.  Josh VanMeter had the first opportunity on the mound and got tagged with three runs on a three run homer by Carlos Cortes.  Luis Torrens, who hit a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth, moved from catcher to pitcher for the ninth and somehow pitched a scoreless frame.  Interestingly enough, Torrens was traded from the Yankees to the Mets not long after this game.  Maybe the Mets were looking for an extra bullpen arm in addition to a backup catcher?  Anyway, the game mercifully ended in a 10-2 Mets win.

That wrapped up my fun Memorial Day weekend trip.  Three unique parks, all of which I would highly recommend checking out if you are ever in Eastern Pennsylvania during baseball season.

Photo Album

Next ballpark:  UPMC Park in Erie, PA