Unfortunately for the Mets, it was the Reds who righted their ship.
Greeneville struck early and eventually worked its way to a 6-0 win in an Appalachian League game Monday night at Pioneer Park.
The last-place Reds (7-13) moved within a game of Kingsport (8-12) in the West Division.
It was just the sixth shutout of the Appalachian League season, and Greeneville owns three of them.
Neither teams plays Tuesday, a night off for the Appy League in deference to Major League Baseball’s All-Star game.
FIRST-INNING WOES
Things started on the shaky side for the Mets.
With the bases loaded, Cristian Olivo hit a potential double-play grounder. The Mets got an out at second base, but the throw went awry. Two runs scored on the play for a 2-0 Greeneville advantage.
Cameron Warren and Garrett Wolforth followed with RBI singles to push the Reds’ edge to 4-0.
Kingsport manager Rich Donnelly said the first inning was the difference.
“We had three errors,” said Donnelly. “I don’t know if the runs were unearned, but they are unearned in my book. You take away those four runs and we’ve got a game.”
PITCHING CHART
It was a rough go for Mets’ starter Christofer Dominguez, who endured the shaky defense and several bloop hits. He gave up seven hits, five earned, in three innings of work.
Reliever Benito Garcia was a different story. He crushed it, striking out seven batters with one walk in three hitless innings. In his fourth inning of work, Garcia got nicked for a run thanks in part to a leadoff walk.
“We needed him,” said Donnelly. “He had a couple of shaky outings, so we put him in the piggyback role. He got a little tired at the end, but he gave us three-plus innings. That was a good shot in the arm for us.”
Greeneville starter JC Keys worked three innings, pitching around two hits and three walks with six strikeouts. Alec Byrd followed with three scoreless frames, allowing a hit and a walk. Byrd (2-0) was credited with the win.
HITTING REPORT
Warren led the way for Greeneville at the plate. He finished 3 for 3 with two RBIs. Wolforth added two hits to go along with his RBI.
Kennie Taylor totaled two hits for Kingsport.
