Rijo’s tosses six frames, Yankees take three of four over Bucs

Luis Rijo took the hill for the Pulaski Yankees and tossed six sensational innings leading to an 8-1 win over the Bristol Pirates on Friday night. The victory gave the Yanks a series win over Bristol, taking three of four games to kick off a seven-game homestand.

Max Burt tripled for a second consecutive night and did so in the first inning with one out. Next batter, Everson Pereira singled to left field to open the scoring. Later in the frame, Carlos Narvaez singled on a line drive to center field to score Pereira. Similar to the night prior, Pulaski pulled away in the middle innings to take a commanding lead.

In the fifth frame, Carlos Tatis found the gap in left center field to score both Pereira and Ezequiel Duran, making it 4-0 Yankees. With two outs and a full count, Mickey Gasper delivered on a base hit to open the cushion to five. In the top of the sixth, Rijo fought through danger and limited the damage to one run courtesy of a Mason Martin sacrifice fly after three Bristol hits in the inning.

But in the bottom half, Pulaski struck back with three more runs. Burt continued to swing a hot bat by lacing a RBI double to left field to score Oswald Peraza. Pereira followed with his second RBI hit of the game to score Burt once more, and Carlos Tatis drove in Pereira on a base hit up the middle of the diamond to open an 8-1 advantage. In the bullpen, Gilmael Troya finished the game throwing three scoreless innings to complete the series win.

The Pulaski continue their seven-game homestand Saturday with the start of a three-game set against the Princeton Rays. It’s “Meme Night” at Calfee Park! On Pulaski Yankees’ Meme Night, we celebrate memes and all their internet glory. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. and gates open at 5:30. Ticket information is available on the web at pulaskiyankees.net.