Espinola goes six strong, Yanks win finale vs. Rays

Pedro Espinola used his second double-digit strikeout performance of the season to lead the Yankees to a 3-2 win over the visiting Princeton Rays Thursday night. Pulaski salvaged a victory in the series finale to avoid the sweep in advance of their 2018 home finale Friday.

Espinola earned his first win of the season after six innings pitched in which he allowed just two hits and surrendered only one run. He struck out 10 – one shy of his season high of 11 Ks – and walked two.

Four of the game’s five runs came in the first inning, with Princeton jumping out to a 1-0 lead by way of a Wander Franco RBI single in the first frame. Pulaski answered with three runs in the bottom half of the inning to take a 3-1 lead that would hold up until a late Princeton run in the eighth inning cut the score to 3-2.

The Yankees will host the Bluefield Blue Jays in their 2018 home finale Friday at 7pm. Gates open at 5:30pm for a Lee Landers King of Baseball bobblehead giveaway to the first 300 fans, and a pre-game ceremony honoring Landers will begin at approximately 6:30pm. The iconic Goodyear Blimp will fly over Motor Mile Field at Calfee Park from 6 to 8pm as part of Thompson Tire’s 50^th Anniversary celebration.