Show Caption

1 of 2

RailRiders’ Jeimer Candelario runs the bases after hitting a home run during the game at PNC Field in Moosic on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

Expand

Following a loss to the Worcester Red Sox on May 29, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders had a record of 23-28.

From that point on, however, the team went 64-32. It opened International League second-half play winning 17 of its first 20 games, then withstood the challenge of the Syracuse Mets down the stretch to clinch the second-half title.

Now, the RailRiders will try to bring home a league championship when they face the first-half champion Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp in the best-of-3 final series starting Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. Game 2 is Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. and, if necessary, Game 3 is Thursday at 7:05 p.m. All three games are at Vystar Ballpark in Florida.

This is the 17th time in franchise history that Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has qualified for the playoffs and its ninth appearance in the final. It won International League crowns in 2008 and 2016.

Manager Shelley Duncan was a member of the 2008 title team. He sees one big similarity with the current squad.

“You had a blend of veterans and young guys. That team, that was a fun group of veterans,” Duncan said. “The clubhouse chemistry was the most important thing. That 2008 team, we were extremely close. That’s how I feel this group is.”

It took a little while, however. Duncan said the second-half surge was a by-product of several factors: getting some players back from early-season injuries; bringing in veterans like Carlos Carrasco and Jeimer Candelario; and a lighter travel schedule.

“These Triple-A teams are hard to get into a groove. Some organizations like ours pulls in a lot of minor league free agents who have never played together. You’ve got some who play years together coming up through the minor leagues,” Duncan said. “We’re all getting accustomed to each other. New coaching staff, new group of guys. It’s going to take a while and it did. But once they started getting comfortable with each other, starting building relationships, the locker room started growing, things really took off.

“We knew the talent was there. It was just a matter of coming together.”

Jacksonville (89-61, .593) finished one percentage point ahead of the RailRiders (87-60, .592) for the best overall record in the International League. It is making its first postseason appearance since 2017 when it was a Double-A team in the Southern League. It was a Triple-A team from 1962-68, a Double-A team from 1970-2020, then became a Triple-A team again in 2021 when Major League Baseball restructured the minor leagues.

The teams did not play each other this season. The RailRiders lead the all-time series, 9-3, splitting six games at PNC Field in 2023 and sweeping six games in Jacksonville in 2024.

Nine of the Top 30 prospects in the Miami Marlins organization according to MLB Pipeline are on the Jumbo Shrimp roster, including a trio of lefthanded pitchers. No. 1 prospect Thomas White (0-0, 3.86 ERA) was promoted to Triple-A on Sept. 2 and has made two starts for Jacksonville. No. 4 Robby Snelling was promoted from Double-A Pensacola on July 10 and is 6-2 with a 1.27 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 63.2 innings in 11 starts with Jacksonville. No. 13 Dax Fulton has made four starts since being brought up from Pensacola on Aug. 26 and is 0-1 with a 5.51 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 16.1 innings over four starts.

Other top prospects include No. 3 Joe Mack, a catcher batting .250 (91 for 364) with 18 home runs and 53 RBIs in 99 games; No. 10 Kemp Alderman, an outfielder who was promoted from Pensacola on Aug. 31 and is batting .303 (23 for 76) in 20 games with seven home runs and 17 RBIs; No. 21 Victor Mesa Jr., an outfielder batting .301 (46 for 153) with seven home runs and 30 RBIs in 42 games; No. 22 Deyvison De Los Santos, a corner infielder batting .241 (96 for 399) with 12 home runs and 54 RBIs in 106 games; No. 23 Maximo Acosta, a shortstop batting .224 (92 for 410) with 13 home runs and 50 RBIs in 115 games; and No. 29 Matthew Etzel, an outfielder acquired at the trade deadline from the Tampa Bay Rays batting .275 (28 for 102) with two home runs and 13 RBIs.

“Being a three-game series, it’s a little different,” Duncan said. “Sometimes in a (longer) series, you start really getting a feel for teams around Games 3 or 4. But this, you’ve got to be ready Pitch 1. There is no get-to-know-the-team phase. As soon as you get to know who they are, the series is over.”

Led by Jacob Marsee, who finished second in the International League with 47 steals, Acosta (33 steals) and Jacob Berry (27 steals), the Jumbo Shrimp ranked second in the league with 305 stolen bases. Their pitching staff was first in earned-run average at 3.73 and fifth with 1344 strikeouts.

To be successful in the series, Duncan feels the key offensively for the RailRiders is to have quality at-bats and not chase pitches.

“Sometimes against really good arms, you have a tendency to want to go get the at-bat and be overaggressive early,” Duncan said. “These lefties, we want to be able to drive up their pitch count, get them out of the game and get to the bullpen. If I was a fortune teller, I think our success is going to be with their bullpen. We’re just going to have to grind through these starters. Defensively, we’re going to have to do our best to limit their run game as much as we can. Just play fundamentally sound baseball and not give away anything.”

Righthander Brendan Beck (8-3, 4.44 ERA, 71K, 77 IP) starts Game 1 for the RailRiders against Snelling for Jacksonville. Righthander Allan Winans (12-1, 1.63 ERA, 105K, 99.1IP) goes in Game 2 against White for the Jumbo Shrimp. Neither team has announced a starter for a possible Game 3, although Duncan said you likely will see Sean Boyle (9-9, 4.61 ERA, 120K, 134.2 IP) and Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz in the mix.

Rodriguez-Cruz, the No. 5 prospect in the New York Yankees system according to MLB Pipeline, is a combined 11-8 with a 2.58 ERA across three levels this season. His 176 strikeouts in 150 innings lead active minor league pitchers; Jonah Tong had 179 before being called up to the majors by the New York Mets. Rodriguez-Cruz made his Triple-A debut Saturday in a loss at Buffalo.

“I was impressed by his stuff,” Duncan said. “Overall in his first Triple-A start, the command wasn’t there early in the counts, so he never really had a chance to get ahead and use his stuff like he’s comfortable using. It’s hard for him to set up pitches if he’s falling behind or missing wildly with breaking balls or other stuff. But what I saw was impressive and I really look forward to seeing him throw again.”

Winner of the International League Championships Series advances to the Triple-A National Championship Game on Saturday at 10 p.m. in Las Vegas against the winner of the Pacific Coast League Championship Series between the Las Vegas Aviators and Tacoma Rainiers.

Originally Published: September 22, 2025 at 6:30 PM EDT