K-Mets Take Two of Three in Johnson City

Following a sweep in the opening series of the year, Kingsport continued their impressive start with a series victory on the road at Johnson City this weekend.
In game one of the series, Kingsport used a solid start from Noah Nunez and a five-run fourth inning to pull away from Johnson City to the tune of a 9-4 victory. Nunez tossed 5.1 innings of one-run ball, and the Kingsport pen pitched effective in relief. Shervyen Newton and Luis Santana continued their hot starts to the season, with three hits apiece in the win.
 
On Saturday in game two of the set, the Mets' bats continued their torrid pace as they tallied three runs in the third and seven runs in the fourth en route to a 12-2 victory against the Cardinals. Garrison Bryant got the start and threw 4.1 innings of two-run ball. Ivan Jean got the win in relief, throwing 1.2 scoreless innings. Raul Beracierta and Mark Vientos connected on their first homers of the year, both coming in the fourth inning. Vientos, the Mets 2017 second-round pick finished the evening with four RBIs.
On Sunday, the Mets dropped their first game of the year with a 12-9 decision to the Cardinals. The K-Mets staff, which had been exceptional through the first five games, had its first setback of the year by walking 12 Cardinal hitters. On the positive end, Anthony Dirocie had a breakout game, going 3-3 with 3 RBIs and a HR. Phil Capra, a 15^th round pick this year our of North Salem, NY also belted his first professional home run. Mark Vientos also had an exceptional game at the plate in the loss, going 3-4.
The Mets will travel to Greeneville for a two game set against the newest Cincinnati Reds' minor league affiliate. Then following an off day on Wednesday, Kingsport will return home for a six-game home stand against Johnson City and Pulaski.