Yankees Use 9th Inning Rally to Earn Series Win

The Yankees (26-12) used a 9^th inning rally to beat the Johnson City Cardinals (19-21) by a 6-5 score on Tuesday night. The pinstripers trailed 5-4 going into the bottom of the 9^th but Eric Wagaman homered to tie the game and Charles Vazquez scored the winning run on a wild pitch.
"He threw it right down the middle and I was able to put a good swing on it," said Wagaman on his game tying solo homer.
"I knew it had a good chance [to go out] especially with the wind blowing out," Wagaman added.
Johnson City closer Jacob Patterson (0-1) was charged with the loss and the blown save. Yankees closer Kaleb Ort (2-0) tallied the win after pitching a scoreless frame in the top of the 9^th.
The Yankees took an early 3-0 lead in the bottom of the 1^st and chased Redbirds starter Jacob Schlesener from the game after just 2/3 of an inning. Frederick Cuevas advanced to 2^nd on a wild pitch and to 3^rd on a passed ball. Jesus Bastidas lined a single past the drawn in the Cardinals infield to score Cuevas and make it 1-0.
Wagaman drove home Bastidas with a double down the leftfield line to score the Yankees' second run. Wagaman came around to score on a Leobaldo Cabrera single. 
The Yankees extended their lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the 2^nd. With two outs Brayan Emery sent a routine grounder towards Cardinals second baseman J.D. Murders but his flip to the bag at 2^nd for a force play was wide of the bag which allowed Bastidas to cross the plate.
Johnson City tied the game in the top of the 4^th. Murders opened the inning with a walk and Imeldo Diaz followed with a homer to make it a 4-2 game. Carlos Talavera singled up the middle and moved to 2^nd on a wild pitch.
Luis Bandes followed with a single to put runners on the corners before a passed ball allowed Talavera to score from 3^rd to cut the Cardinals' deficit to one. Carlos Rodriguez knotted the game at four apiece with an opposite field single that scored Bandes.
Talavera sent the first pitch of of the 5^th pitch over the centerfield wall to give the Redbirds a 5-4 advantage.
The game stayed put at 5-4 until the bottom of the 9^th when Wagaman's solo shot tied the game. Emery was then drilled by a pitch to put the winning run on base. Vazquez came in to pinch run and moved to 2^nd on a sac bunt from Cabrera. Victor Rey walked to put runners on 1^st and 2^nd and a passed ball allowed both runners to move into scoring position. A wild pitch allowed Vazquez to score the winning run.
The Yankees are off tomorrow but return to action on Thursday night at Calfee Park to begin a four-game set against the Bluefield Blue Jays. First pitch is set for 6pm on Thursday evening as part of a doubleheader.