Pulaski Yankees drop series opener with Johnson City

PULASKI, Va. – Reigning Appalachian League Player of the Week Alexander Vizcaino took the mound for the Pulaski Yankees, but a four-run third inning led the Johnson City Cardinals to a 9-3 win on Tuesday night.  
 
Johnson City opened the scoring within their first two batters of the night. Brandon Riley doubled off the wall in right field followed by a RBI single by Donivan Williams to make it 1-0. The Yankees answered back in the bottom half in similar fashion to tie the game. Oswald Peraza led off the bottom of the first inning with a walk, and circled the bases to score in the next at bat after a double by Ezequiel Duran.  
 
Later in the first, Carlos Narvaez singled home Duran on a base-hit to left field to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead. But in the third frame, the Cardinals rattled off four runs after a pair of 2-run homers. Kevin Woodall Jr. bombed his ninth homer of the season to deep right center field after a single by Williams. 
 
After Nolan Gorman singled, he scored on a long homer into the residential streets of Pulaski by Leandro Cedeno to deep right field, opening up a 5-2 cushion.  
 
Evan Alexander cut the Yanks' deficit to two runs in the fourth inning after a run scoring ground out brought home Narvaez. In the seventh, Cedeno added his third RBI of the night with a single to score Williams once more to restore his club's three-run advantage.  
 
Cedeno added his third RBI of the night in the seventh inning on a RBI single in the seventh before Johnson City tacked on three more runs of insurance in the ninth inning to open an eventual 9-3 lead. In the ninth, Michael Perri doubled home two runs followed by a Moises Castillo RBI single to round out the scoring.  
 
Pulaski's record dropped to 15-19 on the season after the defeat, 7-9 at Calfee Park, and 0-10 when scoring three runs or less in a game. Daniel Bies is slated to take the mound for the Yankees in the second match of a three-game set on Wednesday, followed by Luis Medina's second home start for the series finale on Thursday. 
 
The Pulaski Yankees return to Motor Mile Field at Calfee Park tomorrow, July 25 for the second of three against the Johnson City Cardinals. It's Christmas in July presented by Gay and Neel, Inc. As part of Calfee Gives: Christmas in July, toys will be collected for local families and children in need. The first 100 fans who bring a toy donation will receive a GA ticket good for any remaining 2018 Pulaski Yankees home game. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. and gates open at 5:30. Ticket information is available on the web at pulaskiyankees.net.