STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

The RailRiders fought back from a four-run deficit to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth inning, but Jacksonville scored one in the seventh and three in the eighth to pull away from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, 9-6, on Wednesday afternoon at PNC Field.

The RailRiders (39-30) are two games behind Indianapolis (42-29), which beat Gwinnett, 6-5, on Wednesday afternoon, and 1½ games behind Rochester (41-29), which was scheduled to face Buffalo on Wednesday at 6:05 p.m., in the International League second-half standings with four games to play. Syracuse (39-30) is also two games back and was scheduled to play Lehigh Valley on Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. Worcester (38-30) is 2½ games back and was scheduled to play Durham on Wednesday at 6:05 p.m.

After Scranton/Wilkes-Barre tied the game at 5 in the bottom of the sixth, Jacksonville regained the lead in the seventh, as Brayden Taylor laced an RBI ground-rule double to right center for a 6-5 advantage.

In the eighth, Brendan Jones hit an RBI single to right, Brandon Compton grounded an RBI double down the right-field line and Jonathon Long grounded out to score Compton for a 9-5 advantage.

Marco Luciano lined an RBI single to right in the ninth to cut the deficit to 9-6, but Max Schuemann grounded into a double play and Tyler Hardman flied out to right to end the game.

In the top of the first, Taylor hit a sacrifice fly to right that scored Cam Cannarella, and Juan Matheus lined a two-run double to left to give Jacksonville a 3-0 lead.

In the bottom half of the inning, Jasson Domínguez crushed a home run 430 feet to left center to cut the deficit to 3-1.

The Jumbo Shrimp (30-40) answered in the second, as Cannarella hit an RBI ground-rule double to left center and Jonathon Long lined an RBI single to center to give Jacksonville a 5-1 advantage.

The RailRiders chipped away when Luciano’s sacrifice fly scored Domínguez in the third and Domínguez grounded an RBI single to right in the fourth. Then, Jarred Kelenic smashed a two-run homer to right to tie the game at 5 in the sixth.

The series continues Thursday at 7:05 p.m. with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s Kyle Carr (0-2, 5.06) and Jacksonville’s Jace Beck (1-2, 6.82) the probable pitchers.

— Staff report

Yanks reinstate Schmidt from IL

MINNEAPOLIS — The New York Yankees returned right-handed pitcher Clarke Schmidt from his rehabilitation assignment and reinstated him from the injured list Wednesday, aiming to integrate the 30-year-old into their bullpen for the postseason following his 14-month recovery from elbow surgery.

Schmidt had an internal brace procedure on his ulnar collateral ligament July 11, 2025, and began minor league rehab Aug. 29. The 2017 first-round draft pick was used exclusively as a starter since 2023, but with Cam Schlittler, Max Fried, Carlos Rodón and Gerrit Cole in the rotation, Schmidt will transition to relief.

“It’s been a long journey, a lot of work that goes into this. A lot of long days, early mornings,” Schmidt said before Wednesday afternoon’s game against the Minnesota Twins. “I’ve just been itching to come back.”

The Yankees designated popular multi-position player Oswaldo Cabrera for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Schmidt. Cabrera missed most of the 2025 season with a severe ankle injury.

“I’m blessed to have a lot of guys on this team that you just admire and respect and love doing the job with on a daily basis,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Oswaldo’s right there at the top of that list.”

— Associated Press