BRISTOL, Va. — The sight alone was almost enough to make Kingsport pitcher Erik Turgeon throw up. But after watching his first pitch of the ninth inning sail off Justin Greene’s bat into DeVault Stadium’s cavernous right-center field, the right-handed closer didn’t turn green at all.
In fact, Turgeon went the opposite direction.
“I told myself that I was going to get the ball down,” said the reliever, who ultimately stranded Greene at third by responding with three definitive outs to preserve a 1-0 Appalachian
League victory Monday. “In pro ball, when you throw it up there, these guys are definitely going to hit it. But it’s good that it happened, because I learned from it.”
With Greene just 90 feet from a tie game, Turgeon struck out both Andrew Garcia and Juan Silverio on high heaters. The Kingsport closer then got Jorge Castillo on a slow grounder to record the rare rookie league shutout.
In a game that reeked of Major League Baseball timetables and scenarios, Monday’s game was certainly a departure from the league norm. Offense took a back seat in both lineups, with the Mets (3-4) curbing a Bristol lineup that had battered Burlington pitchers for 17 runs and 20 hits over the weekend.
“Unfortunately, our hitters struggled, and we were flat,” said Bristol manager Bobby Thigpen. “We just didn’t show up to hit tonight, that’s all. But you have to tip your hat to
[Kingsport]. Those guys were throwing the ball and changing speeds too.”
Were it not for a second-inning unearned run from the visitors, Sox starter Gregory Infante - who dropped his ERA to a paltry 0.90 behind six quality frames - would have left with a shutout like Mets’ counterpart Oscar Melendez, who surrendered just two hits through five.
Infante, meanwhile, scattered five hits while fanning six. Teammate John Doyle kept Bristol (3-3) in it by allowing just three batters to reach during the final three innings.
“I knew that our pitching was going to be good, especially after watching them in extended [spring training],” Thigpen added. “Our pitchers are able to go more from the get-go ... and
I don’t foresee us having many pitching problems this year.”
Sox outfielders Brandon Short and Misael Tavarez unleashed assists in the third and fifth, respectively, to cut down Mets’ left fielder Rafael Fernandez. Fernandez was trying to score off hits from Wilmer Flores and Ignacio Medrano (2-for-3).
Kingsport 010 000 000 - 1 8 3
Bristol 000 000 000 - 0 4 1
Melendez, Babin (6), Turgeon (9) and Doyle. Infante, Doyle (7) and Santos. W - Melendez (1-0). L - Infante (0-1). S - Turgeon (1). HR - None.
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