Cardinals top Yankees in pitcher’s duel, win series

New York Yankees’ fifth-best ranked prospect Luis Medina tossed four masterful innings, but the Johnson City Cardinals topped the Pulaski Yankees, 2-1, on Thursday night at Motor Mile Field in Calfee Park.

In Luis Medina’s seventh start of 2018, he worked a scoreless start for the first time this season. Medina departed after four innings allowing only one hit, two walks and five strikeouts with his fastball topping out at 100 miles per hour on the radar gun. Although it was Medina’s first scoreless start of the year, he did not allow a single earned run on two separate occasions earlier in the season. 

Unlike the previous night, the Pulaski Yankees drew first blood against the Cardinals. Griffin Garabito doubled on a fly ball to right field to score Jordan Scott. Johnson City answered back in the sixth frame with a pair of RBI doubles of their own to grab a 2-1 lead. First, Kevin Woodall Jr. doubled for the ninth time this season, scoring Jonatan Machado. Next on a 1-2 count, Carlos Soto Jr. sent a fly ball to center field off the tip of Robert Javier’s out-stretched glove to score Woodall. 

Both Cardinals’ runs were charged to Jhonatan Munoz after allowing three hits, walking one and striking out three. Bryan Blanton worked a scoreless fifth inning in relief of Medina, and Ron Marinaccio worked a scoreless seventh, eighth and ninth innings. 

The Pulaski Yankees’ record drops to 16-20 through 38 games of the 2018 season. The Yankees return to action on the road today, Friday, July 27 for the start of a three-game set against the Greeneville Reds. Pulaski and Greeneville last battled during the Opening Week of the current Appalachian League season at Calfee Park. First pitch from Greeneville is slated for 7 p.m.