ApL Kingsport Axmen

Blue Jays Hold off K-Mets, Win 5-4

Published on July 26, 2016 under Appalachian League (ApL)
Kingsport Axmen News Release


KINGSPORT, Tenn.-After scoring five runs in the first two innings of the ballgame Tuesday night at Hunter Wright Stadium, the Bluefield Blue Jays saw their lead slip away as the club desperately held on to take a one-run victory over the Kingsport Mets 5-4 in Game 2 of the series.

Rafael Ramirez, Ricardo Cespedes and Reed Gamache all grounded out in the bottom of the ninth inning to end the game. Prior to the groundouts, Kingsport came to the plate down a run with a chance to win in walk off fashion for the second-straight night.

The scoring got started right off the bat for Bluefield (15-16) as Kingsport (13-19) starting pitcher Chris Viall (0-1) walked both Reggie Pruitt and Nick Sinay to begin the day. Pruitt stole second base and then advanced to third base on a throwing error from catcher Dionis Rodriguez, and would later come around to score on a passed ball during Sinay's at-bat.

As Pruitt broke for the plate, Viall covered home as the ball skipped away to the right from Rodriguez after initially blocking the ball in the dirt. The runner would slide in safely at the plate but tripped up Viall in the process who went tumbling into the dirt.

After being checked on by both Manager Luis Rivera and athletic trainer Giovanni D'Onza, Viall elected to stay in the contest. The score was 1-0 quickly with still the second batter of the contest, Sinay, at the plate.

Sinay would eventually walk and advanced to third on the same scenario. The runner broke for second base and advanced an additional 90 feet as the high throw from Rodriguez skipped off the top of the glove of Yeffrey De Aza covering second base and into center field.

With a runner at third base, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., son of former Toronto great Vladimir Guerrero Sr., came to the plate and grounded out to Gamache at third-allowing Sinay to score the Blue Jay's second run of the contest.

Nash Knight, who leads the Appalachian League in batting average, would then crush a solo homerun over the right field wall a batter later. Another walk to Lance Jones would be all Viall could handle as the starter was lifted from the game still agonizing in pain over the play at the plate with Pruitt three batters prior.

Luis Correno was then summoned out of the bullpen to replace Viall as the right-hander was making just his second appearance for Kingsport since being called up from the Gulf Coast League Mets last week. Correno would yield a sacrifice fly to his first batter faced, Kalik May, before forcing Cameron O'Brien to pop out into foul territory to end the inning.

After the top of the first inning, Bluefield held a commanding 4-0 lead.

Making his first start for Bluefield since being called up from the GCL-Blue Jays, Joel Espinal (1-0) had a four-run cushion before even taking the mound. The right-hander would yield a run in the first inning as Walter Rasquin grounded into a 4-6-3 double play with runners at the corners. The double play would bring in Cespedes to score the first run of the ballgame for Kingsport after beginning the frame with a leadoff walk.

Bluefield would gain the run back in the top of the second inning as Levi Scott blasted a solo home run to left field to begin the inning. Scott's third round tripper of the season was the final run the Blue Jays would score on the night as the Blue Jays exited the top of the second inning holding a 5-1 lead over the home standing Kingsport Mets.

The K-Mets would then score another run in each of the two innings that followed as Jeremy Wolf singled in Jose Miguel Medina in the second inning and Jose Maria drove in Gamache on a base hit to left field in the third frame.

The 5-3 Bluefield advantage would hold court until the bottom of the seventh inning when Kingsport would score their fourth and final run of the contest. Gamache would smack his third hit of the day down the right field line and into the corner. The double plated De Aza from second base who led off the inning by reaching first base on a fielding error from Christian Cox on the mound.

Kingsport would threaten once more after both Medina and Wolf tallied back-to-back singles with two away in the eighth inning, however, both were left stranded when De Aza flew out to Pruitt in center field to end the inning.

In his Appalachian League debut for the Bluefield Blue Jays, Espinal took home the win after pitching five innings of five-hit baseball, yielding three earned runs and tallying three strikeouts with four walks. Cox brought in a hold after throwing two innings of one-run baseball and Angel Alicea was awarded the save following a scoreless final two innings of work on the mound.

For the K-Mets, Viall was hit with the loss after completing only one-third of an inning before exiting due to injury. The Mets 2016 6th Round selection out of Stanford surrendered three earned runs off one hit while walking three Blue Jays. Correno, Ronald Guedez, Kurtis Horne and Maxwell Kuhns combined to pitch 8.2 innings in relief, yielding one run off only two hits and while tallying four strikeouts total.

Guerrero Jr., Knight, May and Scott each tallied an RBI in the win for Bluefield as both Nash and Knight hit one solo home run apiece. Gamache led the way for Kingsport at the plate during the loss as the third baseman tallied three hits in the contest with an RBI. Wolf was 2-for-4 with an RBI and Maria drove in a run as well.

Kingsport out-hit Bluefield nine to three on the night while the K-Mets committed three errors compared to only one from the Blue Jays.

Adonis Uceta will take the hill for Kingsport Wednesday night as the K-Mets will go for the series win over Yennsy Diaz and the rest of Blue Jay's club at 7 p.m. at Hunter Wright Stadium. A live broadcast can be found on the TuneIn application beginning at 6:45 p.m., as well as kmets.com with Eric Cain bringing all the action. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.

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Appalachian League Stories from July 26, 2016


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