RailRiders edge Clippers 3-1 behind Brendan Beck's nine strikeouts
Brendan Beck struck out nine and the RailRiders opened a six-game set by beating Columbus 3-1, taking control late with a seventh-inning push.
The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders opened a high-profile road series by beating the Columbus Clippers 3-1 at Huntington Park, and they did it in a way that traveled well: with a starter missing bats, a bullpen protecting a one-run lead, and just enough offense to steal the opener. Brendan Beck delivered one of his sharpest Triple-A outings of the season, striking out nine as Scranton/Wilkes-Barre won its third straight in the first game of a six-game set that runs through June 21.
Beck’s night carried the tone of the game from the start. Columbus starter Austin Peterson matched him through the first three innings, retiring seven of the first nine RailRiders batters he faced on strikes, and Beck answered by keeping the Clippers quiet while the game stayed in balance. That duel mattered in a series that had added intrigue before the first pitch, because it was the first meeting between the clubs since 2023 and it came in front of Columbus’ largest crowd so far this season at Huntington Park.
Columbus broke through first in the fourth inning. Cooper Ingle doubled and Bo Naylor followed with a single to bring him home, giving the Clippers a 1-0 lead and briefly putting pressure on the visitors. The lead did not last long enough for Columbus to settle in, and the RailRiders kept the game within striking distance until their lineup finally found the opening it needed in the seventh.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre flipped the score in that frame with a sequence that looked built for Triple-A baseball in June. Tyler Hardman singled, moved to third on Jonathan Ornelas’ double, and scored on a fielder’s choice. Ornelas then came home on Kenedy Corona’s sacrifice fly, turning a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 RailRiders lead. They added enough cushion from there for Beck and the bullpen to finish the job against a Columbus lineup that had already shown it could create pressure.
The win also reinforced why Beck’s recent stretch has drawn attention inside the Yankees system. He was named International League Pitcher of the Week for June 1-7 just days earlier, and this outing gave that honor more weight. For a club built around constant movement and roster evaluation, a nine-strikeout start in a series opener is the kind of performance that stands out, especially with MLB Network set to televise Saturday night’s game from Huntington Park, the first Minor League game of the 2026 season to air on the network.
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