Yankees Beat Vermont 5-3 Tuesday

STATEN ISLAND, NY --- Three Staten Island relievers combined for five scoreless innings to lead the Yankees to a 5-3 victory over the Vermont Lake Monsters in New York-Penn League action Tuesday night at Richmond County Bank Ballpark.

Vermont had taken a 3-2 lead in the top of the third with a pair of runs on a Bruce Maxwell RBI double and a Daniel Robertson groundout, but the Yankees took the lead for good with two runs of their own in the bottom of the third off Lake Monsters newcomer Cecil Tanner. Ravel Santana led off the third with a solo homer off Tanner, a 23rd-round pick in the 2011 draft who was making his 2012 debut in the Oakland Athletics minor league system.

The Yankees then took the lead as Tanner (0-1) allowed a single and walked two before giving up a two-out bases loaded infield single to Taylor Dugas, who went 2-for-2 and was hit by two pitches in the game. After the two runs, the game stayed 4-3 Yankees until the bottom of the eighth when Santana gave Staten Island an insurance run with a sacrifice fly to center.

The Lake Monsters had seven hits over the first four innings, but just two hits over the last five innings. Down a run in the eighth with Miguel Marte on first with two outs, Reynaldo Mateo lined a double off the leftcenter field wall just inches from a go ahead homer that advanced Marte to third before reliever Mariel Checo got Austin Booker to groundout to end the rally. Chris Bostick led off the ninth with a single and moved around to third, but Zach Woods struckout John Wooten and Maxwell to end the game.

Charles Basford (2-3) struckout three in two hitless innings of relief for the victory, while Woods collected his first save with the scoreless ninth. Claudio Custodio was 3-for-5 with two bunt singles for Staten Island (20-40), which has won four of its last five games after a six-game losing streak and losses in 16 of its previous 17 games.

Michael Ynoa allowed just one hit with two walks and five strikeouts in 2 2/3 scoreless innings of relief for Vermont (27-34), which has lost four of its last five games to fall seven games under the .500 mark for the first time this season. The Lake Monsters have also lost their last seven road games and are just 5-18 in their last 23 games away from historic Centennial Field.

The Lake Monsters and Yankees will play the second of the three-game series at Staten Island on Wednesday night beginning at 7:00 pm. Vermont is currently on a six-game roadtrip and return home to Centennial Field for a two-game series with Connecticut Monday and Tuesday.