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It couldn\u2019t have been scripted any better.<\/p>\n
Spencer Jones, the No. 2 prospect in the New York Yankees organization, was promoted to Triple-A on Friday. In his first at-bat with the Scranton\/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, the 6-foot-6 left-handed slugging outfielder hit a home run. It was part of a 1-for-5 day in the RailRiders\u2019 4-2 victory over the Worcester Red Sox at PNC Field in northeastern Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n
Jones found out he was being promoted Thursday night, shortly after he had the game-winning single in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Double-A Somerset Patriots a 4-3 victory over the Erie SeaWolves, affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. His call-up was announced in front of his teammates, who were already in a celebratory mood after the walk-off.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was pretty sweet. They did kind of a production, it was pretty fun,\u201d Jones said. \u201cIt was a team meeting, they had cameras in there. It was pretty special, got to share it with my teammates.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen (Friday) was awesome. Got up early, headed over here. I get here and see a lot of people who are excited to have me. It\u2019s just been awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n
Starting in center field and batting third, Jones got to get in the game right away. Worcester\u2019s Corey Rosier hit the first pitch from RailRiders starter Sean Boyle into shallow center. Jones ran in and made a sliding catch.<\/p>\n
\u201cOff the bat, I didn\u2019t read it well. Kind of tough to see,\u201d Jones said. \u201cJust tried to do some makeup speed at the end and do a little sliding play. Some of the guys were giving me some (stuff) for that in the dugout. They thought it was funny. It was cool. The ball always finds you.\u201d<\/p>\n
With two outs in the bottom of the first, Jones came up against Worcester right-hander Tyler Uberstine. He worked the count full, then hit a pitch out to straightaway center field, over the 408-foot sign, for a home run that cut the RailRiders deficit in half, 2-1. It was 109.9 mph off the bat.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe guys helped me out with a scouting report before the game, so I knew what I was going to get,\u201d Jones said. \u201cI was looking for something I could handle. Felt like I was on his fastball, so I went for it and put a good swing on it.\u201d<\/p>\n
RailRiders manager Shelley Duncan was impressed with Jones\u2019 at-bat.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was 3-2, he was battling up there, got a pitch that he wanted and absolutely tattooed it to the deepest part of the ball park,\u201d Duncan said. \u201cIt was a lot of fun, an exciting moment for him, but also a weight off his chest. I look forward to seeing him a lot out there this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jones\u2019 second at-bat came in the bottom of the third after Jesus Rodriguez had drawn a leadoff walk. Jones hit a dribbler in front of the pitcher\u2019s mound that Uberstine fielded and threw to first for the out. However, it acted almost like a bunt as Rodriguez advanced to second. He wound up stealing third and scoring on a throwing error by the catcher to give the RailRiders a 4-2 lead.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere in the scoring, Jhostynxon \u201cThe Password\u201d Garcia had hit a two-run home run for Worcester the top of the first inning, but Jose Rojas\u2019 two-run home run in the bottom of the second put the RailRiders ahead, by one.<\/p>\n
In the bottom of the fifth, Jones led off against Jordan Hicks, the veteran right-hander who came over from the Giants in the recent Rafael Devers trade and is on a rehab assignment; Hicks struck him out swinging on five pitches. In the sixth, Jones came to the plate with two on and two outs against righty Wyatt Mills and fouled out to catcher Seby Zavala on the first pitch. In the eighth, with one on and one out, he struck out against righty Alex Hoppe.<\/p>\n
Still, it was a successful debut for Jones.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I noticed more than anything was his comfort from the moment he walked in this clubhouse,\u201d Duncan said. \u201cHe was doing his thing, his preparation, his work, fit right in with the dudes and was part of the group right away. Everybody on the club is excited he\u2019s here, not so much for the player he is, but for the person. He\u2019s an awesome teammate, an awesome guy and we\u2019re excited he\u2019s on our squad now.\u201d<\/p>\n
This season at Somerset, Jones batted .274 (48-for-175) in 49 games; he missed all but five games in May due to an intercostal injury. He led the Eastern League with 16 home runs, and also had 8 doubles, 32 RBI, 10 stolen bases, and 42 runs. Jones also struck out 70 times in 208 plate appearances, a 33.7-percent strikeout rate that ranked third-highest in the EL.<\/p>\n
However, in the last 15 days at Somerset, Jones was on a tear, batting .415 (17-for-41) in 11 games with a double, 5 homers, 11 runs, and 11 RBI. He was named Eastern League Player of the Week for June 16th-22nd, his last full week at the level prior to his promotion<\/p>\n
Jones joins the RailRiders (42-34) at a time when they are playing excellent baseball. They have started the second half of International League play 4-0, won six straight and 19 of their last 25 and have captured 10 in a row at home at PNC Field.<\/p>\n
\u201cVibes are great from what I can tell. The guys are playing well, having fun,\u201d Jones said. \u201cI\u2019m just going to be here and be a sponge and learn. I\u2019m going to do what I need to do to continue to get better and grow as a baseball player.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A live report from New York\u2019s No. 2 prospect homering in first at-bat with the RailRiders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":74326,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-74325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n