Yanks Avoid Sweep, Win in Extras 5-4

KINGSPORT, Tenn.- Kingsport dropped its sixth extra-inning ballgame of the season Wednesday night when Eduardo Torrealba singled in the game-winning run in the top of the 12^th inning as the Yankees narrowly avoided the sweep to take down the Mets 5-4 in Game 3 from Hunter Wright Stadium.
Kingsport (27-30) is now 1-6 in extra-inning ballgames this season while losing only its second game in the last 10 played. With Johnson City winning Wednesday night, Kingsport falls back to 4.5 games out of the second playoff spot in the Appalachian League West with nine ballgames remaining in the 2017 season.
Pulaski (38-20) avoids the sweep and will square off against Danville at home with a chance to clinch a spot in the 2017 playoffs while also eliminating the Braves.
After two scoreless innings of free baseball, Torrealba singled in the game-winning run off Marbin Montijo in the top of the 12^th inning on a base-hit to left field. The drive brought in Leobaldo Cabrera who led off the frame with a single. Prior to the leadoff single, Cabrera was 0-for-4 with four strikeouts at the plate on the night.
For the second-consecutive ballgame, Rigoberto Terrazas go the Mets on the scoreboard first in the opening-frame of play. This go around, it was an RBI groundout to the second baseman that brought in Hansel Moreno from third base for an early 1-0 lead after one inning of play.
Playing a note to a similar tune, Pulaksi tied the ballgame at 1-1 in the top of the third off another RBI ground out to the second baseman. This time it was Yankees catcher, Sal Torres, who delivered the run-scoring groundout as it brought in Ricky Surum from third base who walked to begin the inning.
The contest remained tied until the sixth when Eduardo Torrealba led off the frame with his first home run of the season to put the Yankees ahead by a 2-1 count. An inning later in the seventh, the visitors' lead increased to three runs thanks to an RBI triple from Fredrick Cuaves and a sacrifice fly from Surum.
Trailing 4-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning, Gavin Garay tied the game for the Mets with a two-run single that was driven well right up the middle of the field and into center. The single brought in both Moreno and Terrazas from second and third base. Prior to the game-tying, two-run single from Garay, Juan Uriarte brought in the second run of the game with another sacrifice fly.
After a scoreless ninth inning, the game headed to extra frames as no offense could muster anything in either the 10^th or 11^th frames. Not until the top of the 12^th did Pulaski finally break the tie ballgame when Torrealba recorded the game-winning RBI single to left field.
The defeat for Kingsport was the club's sixth extra-inning loss on the year as the K-Mets are only 1-6 in games that exceed nine innings.
The Mets tallied only four runs off eight hits in the ballgame while Anthony Dirocie, Angel Manzanarez and Moreno all recorded multi-hit days. Uriarte and Terrazas drove in one run apiece while Garay brought in two with the eighth-inning single. Pulaski, on the other hand, scored five runs off nine hits and benefited from a three-hit day from Cuevas, but it was a home run and the game-winning single by Torrealba that made the difference Tuesday night for the Yankees.
Marbin Montijo (3-2) took home the loss after surrendering the winning-run in the 12^th over the course of two innings of relief while Anderson Severino (1-0) picked up his first win of the season following a scoreless 11^th and 12^th innings on the mound.
Kingsport will remain at home Wednesday night as another dangerous team comes to Hunter Wright Stadium to begin a three-game series as the season continues to wind to a close. It will be the Mets and the Bluefield Blue Jays Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. with the Braden's Barbeque Pregame Show beginning at 6:15 p.m. on the Kingsport Mets Baseball Network.