Perez and Ortega Lead K-Mets Past Pulaski
July 9, 2014 - Appalachian League (ApL)
Kingsport Axmen News Release
KINGSPORT, Tenn. (July 8, 2014) - For the Kingsport Mets, Tuesday night's 6-4 victory over the Pulaski Maringers hinged upon two consecutive pitches in the sixth inning.
Pedro Perez and Luis Ortega hit back-to-back home runs on back-to-back pitches in the sixth, and they provided the two deciding runs for Kingsport in the rubber game of this Appalachian League series at Hunter Wright Stadium.
The K-Mets (9-10) have won three of their past four and two straight. Pulaski (10-9) now has dropped two in a row.
Kingsport finished with 10 hits, and three of them left the park. Oswald Caraballo lined a home run to left field in the first inning.
Caraballo and Ortega each finished 3-for-4, with Caraballo adding a double to his line for the night. Branden Kaupe reached base safely three times hitting out of the leadoff spot, and Leon Canelon hit a two-run single with two out in the fourth inning that gave Kingsport a short-lived 4-3 lead.
Matt Blackham (1-0) showed plenty of grit to tally his first professional win. Blackham came on in the fifth with two out and the possible go-ahead run on base and struck out Estarlyn Morales, who homered earlier in the game, on three pitches. Blackham also worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh, again fanning Morales on three pitches for the final out.
Ismael Tijerina pitched around a leadoff single in the ninth to pick up his third save.
Kingsport now hits the road for six straight, starting with a three-game set against the Elizabethton Twins that begins Wednesday at Joe O'Brien Field.
K-METRICS: Kingsport had three home runs in a home game for the first time since July 18, 2013, when they belted three dingers in the opener of a doubleheader against the Danville Braves. That evening, Jeyckol De Leon, Richie Rodriguez and Jon Leroux all homered during a 12-2 K-Met victory.
NOTES: Originally scheduled for a 7 p.m. Start, Tuesday's game was delayed until 8:05 p.m. because of rain. ... Christian Montgomery lasted 4 2-3 innings in the start for Kingsport and, after giving up three runs in the first inning including the Morales homer, he allowed one run on two hits over the remainder of his outing. ... Pulaski stranded 11 runners on base, and left them loaded in both the seventh and eighth innings.
Appalachian League Stories from July 9, 2014
- Braves off the Schneid, Take Game One in Pulaski - Danville Otterbots
- Perez and Ortega Lead K-Mets Past Pulaski - Kingsport Axmen
- Braves/Rays Suspended - Danville Otterbots
- Mets Utilize Long Ball to Defeat Mariners - Pulaski Mariners
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