Tatis goes 5-for-5 in Pulaski victory

It's safe to say Carlos Tatis has found his groove.
The Yankees prospect went 5-for-5 with a pair of RBIs, leading Rookie-level Pulaski to a 9-4 triumph over Bluefield on Sunday night at Bowen Field. 

Gameday box score
"He has really good rhythm at the plate," Pulaski manager Nick Ortiz said. "His timing was really good tonight. He was swinging at strikes. Sometimes he can chase pitches out of the zone, but he made adustments with the strike zone. He got really good pitches to hit, and some of them he had two strikes and he made adjustments then. He kept his eye on the ball and got some hits."
After going hitless in a three-game stretch earlier this week, Tatis is 9-for-16 in his last four contests, capped by the first five-hit game of his four-year career.
"He did a lot of work in the cage and on the field," Ortiz said. "He worked on the hitting. He came out of that stretch well. In that stretch, he was swinging at pitches that weren't really in the zone. I think he did a lot of work and he was more selective at the plate, and he did a good job with the pitches he got tonight."
The 21-year-old singled up the middle in the second inning against Blue Jays starter Claudio Galva (4-3), scoring Mickey Gasper and Nelson Gomez and putting the Yankees in front for good, 2-1. He lined another base hit to center off the left-hander in the fifth.
An inning later, Tatis followed Gomez's two-run homer by singling sharply to left against right-hander Mike Pascoe. Facing righty Josh Almonte in the eighth, he bounced another hit up the middle, then eclipsed his previous high for hits in a game by going to right with a single off right-hander Gage Burland in the ninth.
"It's a really positive sign for him, especially going up the middle," Ortiz said of Tatis hitting to all fields. "He really did that tonight. He took pitches early and was able to attack them. Every ball he hit was a hard-hit ball and he was able to spray the field all over."

The native of the Dominican Republic has raised his batting average 33 points over the last four games to .226, the highest it's been since July 15. Tatis has one homer and 16 RBIs in 45 games with Pulaski after spending the previous three seasons in the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League.
"It will be great for him to continue the way he did tonight [at the end of the season]," Ortiz said. "He has a better idea at the plate of the strike zone. He's done a good job when he's not too aggressive. He is doing a good job with what he's facing and he got pitches to hit. I saw him last year, and he had really good games and a good season. Hopefully, he finishes strong and we can get a look at the things he might really do well next year."
Gomez went 4-for-5 with a homer, two doubles, three runs scored and two RBIs, while Gasper homered and drove in three runs. Nelvin Correa (1-0) got the win in his Appalachian League debut, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks with three strikeouts over five innings.

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