ApL Kingsport Axmen

K-Mets Fall to Astros 7-4

August 20, 2014 - Appalachian League (ApL)
Kingsport Axmen News Release


KINGSPORT, Tenn. (August 19, 2014) - The final official off day of the Appalachian League season is here, and the playoff race in the West Division couldn't be much closer.

With the Kingsport Mets' 7-4 loss to the Greeneville Astros Tuesday night at Hunter Wright Stadium, the four West teams still in the hunt for the division's two playoff spots are separated by 2 1/2 games combined. Kingsport (31-28) and Johnson City (31-28) currently are tied for second place, just 1 1/2 games behind Elizabethton. Greeneville, after beating the K-Mets back-to-back by a combined score of 19-7, has pulled within 2 1/2 games of first.

It sets the stage for a thrilling finish to the Appalachian League regular season.

One big inning spelled doom for Kingsport in this one. After the K-Mets plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the third after three straight one-out singles and a throwing error following a fielder's choice, Bristol erupted for five runs on five hits and two Kingsport errors in the fourth.

Greeneville erased the 2-0 lead in a span of four at-bats. Yonathan Mejia singled, stole second and scored on Ydraqui Marte's single. Bryan Muniz followed with a towering home run to left field, making it a 3-2 game in the Astros' favor.

Greeneville never looked back, building a 6-2 lead and holding on for the victory. Kingsport did threaten, plating two runs in the fifth and leaving two on base, but the K-Mets mustered just one base runner over the final four innings.

Zach Mathieu continued his strong August for Kingsport. The K-Met first baseman was 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and his second stolen base of the season. Mathieu has an .892 OPS in the month of August and has relished the everyday playing time he's been receiving since Pedro Perez got promoted.

Luis Ortega and Vicente Lupo also had two hits each for Kingsport.

The K-Mets hit the road starting Thursday for a three-game set at Bluefield, then return home on Sunday to begin the final home series of the season against the Johnson City Cardinals. Depending on what transpires over the preceding three days, that could be a huge series with regard to the playoff race.

K-METRIC: Jimmy Duff was a bright spot for Kingsport in relief. He came on in the fifth with two out and a man on first and escaped with a quick strikeout. Duff proceeded to throw almost lights-out over his 3 1-3 innings on the bump, allowing a single hit and two walks with four strikeouts.

NOTES: The playoff race is equally tight in the East Division, where first-place Danville Braves lead both the Princeton Rays and Pulaski Mariners by a half game. ... Four of the K-Mets' nine hits were doubles. ... Zach Davis(2-0) got the win for Greeneville out of the bullpen. The southpaw worked three scoreless inning over the minimum thanks to an Ortega double. He retired the final eight men he faced. ... Eric Peterson worked a perfect ninth for his fifth save. ... Mejia had three hits and Muniz finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs to lead the Astros, who had 11 hits as a team. ... This was the last head-to-head meeting between Kingsport and Greeneville this season.

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