GIL, REDMOND, LOTT GO DEEP VS. BRISTOL

JOHNSON CITY - Mateo Gil, Chandler Redmond and Todd Lott all went deep, but the Johnson City Cardinals fell in another close contest vs. the Bristol Pirates 10-8 Sunday. The game was the final of the regular season at TVA Credit Union Ballpark. 2,134 came through the turnstiles on Fan Appreciation Night.
Gil and Redmond each homered in the first to put the Cards up 2-0. The blast was the seventh of the year for Gil and the 11th for Redmond. Gil added a 2-RBI single with two outs in the second to extend the lead to 4-0.
Francisco Justo got the start for the Cardinals. He went 3.2 innings, allowing six hits and seven runs (five earned). The Bucs tagged him for five runs in the third and combined for three more in the fourth vs. Justo and relief man John Witkowski to take an 8-4 lead.
Gil picked up an RBI and a run scored as part of a three-run bottom of the sixth. Lott went deep in the seventh to even the score at 8-8. His homer was his fourth of the season.
Reliever Tyler Peck put together two scoreless innings in the sixth and seventh before giving the ball to Will Guay with two aboard in the eighth. The Pirates scored twice with Guay on the mound on a squeeze bunt and a sacrifice fly. Both runs were credited to Peck (2-3), who suffered the loss.
Yordi Rosario (3-0) earned the win after allowing just the solo homer by Lott in 2.1 innings of work. Samson Abernathy earned his seventh save by inducing a double play with two aboard in the bottom of the ninth.
The Cards (33-32) now trail the Bucs (33-31) by 0.5 games in the chase for first place in the Appalachian West. The Cards are tied for second with Kingsport (33-32). Elizabethton sits fourth in the division, two games out of first. 
Johnson City will close the regular season with a pivotal three-game series in Kingsport beginning Monday at 6:30. Starters for both teams are TBA. The Cards are 5-1 vs. the Mets this season. 
ABOUT THE JOHNSON CITY CARDINALS
The Johnson City Cardinals are the Rookie affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. Members of the ten-team Appalachian League, Cardinals baseball has been entertaining families and fans of America's national pastime in the East Tennessee region for over 50 years. To learn more about the Johnson City Cardinals, visit www.jccardinals.com.
[STORY PHOTO BY ROBERT KELL]