Mets and Royals Split Thursday Double Header

KINGSPORT, Tenn.- The Mets battled both the rain and the pesky bats of the Royals to hold onto split Thursday night's double header as Burlington took the first game 5-1 and Kingsport won the second contest 8-7 to kick off a four-game series at Hunter Wright Stadium.
The double header was in order because of a postponed contest all the way back on June 24 in Burlington, N.C. That game was scheduled to be the third contest of the season but was pushed back due to rain.
Kingsport (14-20) split the day of action scoring a combined nine runs off 19 hits while Burlington piled on a combined 11 runs off 17 hits. Rigoberto Terrazas had three extr-base hits on the day including a home run and two doubles while three hits and a triple.
Game 1: Burlington 5, Kingsport 1
Kingsport starting pitcher Carlos Hernandez was off to the races in his seventh start of the season by facing the minimum through his first even faced with four strikeouts. However, with one gone in the third inning, Burlington began to rally by plating a run off three consecutive hits in the frame.
It was Jose Marquez who singled in Benji Cash from third base with a hard-hit ball down the right field line that handed Burlington an early 1-0 lead through two innings and a half.
Burlington went back to work in the two innings that followed-scoring two more runs off two hits in the fourth. Sebastian Rivero singled in the first run of the frame while a wild pitch allowed the second to cross the plate. In the fifth Cal Jones tripled in a runner while Reed Rohlman grounded in another.
Midway through five innings, the Royals led by a score of 5-0.
Kingsport finally got on the board in the bottom of the sixth inning by taking advantage of back-to-back hits with two outs. Hansel Moreno singled up the middle to begin the rally, stole second and then came around and scored on the second double of the day from Rigoberto Terrazas. The Mets still trailed however entering the final inning by four runs at 5-1.
The score held true as Nathan Webb (3-3) became the first Appalachian League pitcher in the 2017 season to go the distance, albeit a seven-inning game, completing all seven innings on the mound surrendering only a run off five hits with four strikeouts. His counterpart took home the loss, Kingsport's Hernandez, after surrendering four runs, two earned, off eight hits in five innings of work.
Terrazas drilled two doubles with and RBI while Paulino's triple was the only other extra-base hit on the day for the Mets. The duo was the only two Mets to record a multi-hit day.  
Game 2: Kingsport 8, Burlington 7
Contrary to the first game, Kingsport's bats exploded out of the gates early on as the club tallied three runs in the first off four hits in the frame. It was the blast from Uriarte the travelled over the fence in left field that drove in the three runs for the Mets as the catcher's fourth home run of the season as also the third against the Royals in the 2017 campaign.
Burlington countered with a right hook, however, in the top of the third inning as the visitors plated four runs off only two hits while taking advantage of a costly error in the inning when short stop Hansel Moreno missed a flip from second baseman Angel Manzanarez on what could have been a potential inning -ending 4-6-3 double play.
Dennicher Carrasco singled in a pair of runs while the other two runs in the inning came from a wild pitch and on an error. Midway through three innings, the Royals held a 4-3 lead.
Kingsport responded right away to tie the game in the bottom of the frame when Victor Moscote drove in Gavin Garay who singled prior in the inning. The game was then tied at four runs apiece. An inning later in forth, Terrazas drove his second home run of the season over the left field wall to hand Kingsport a two-run lead at 6-4.
An inning later, Moscote drove in another with an RBI single to right field while Manzanarez followed with his fourth hit of the night that happened to be an RBI triple. After five innings, Kingsport led by a score of 8-4.  
Burlington scored three more runs unanswered-two in the sixth and one more in the top of the seventh-but it was mac Lozer who held strong to pick up the save and the one-run victory for Kingsport Thursday night in the nightcap of the twin billing.
Marbin Montijo (1-1) picked up the win while Lozer took home the save. Messier was charged with his fifth loss of the season for the Royals. Five players for the K-Mets recorded multi-hit days while Terrazas and Uriarte homered, Manzanarez collected a four-hit day and Moscote drove in two runs.
Game 3 of the series is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. Friday evening. Coverage of the contest can be heard live on the Kingsport Mets Baseball Network with the Braeden's Barbeque Pregame Show beginning at 6:15 p.m. with Eric Cain behind the microphone.