Cardinals capture opener against Reds, 7-2

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. -- LF Edwin Yon continued his recent hot streak - clubbing a solo home run and an RBI triple - but the Johnson City Cardinals crept past the Greeneville Reds, 7-2, in front of 2,235 fans at Pioneer Park on Friday night.
With the loss, Greeneville falls to 27-36 on the season. Johnson City's victory breaks a tie with the Redlegs for fourth place in the Western Division and improves their mark to 28-35.
Scoreless after one, the Cardinals broke up the tie in the second. 1B Dariel Gomez (1-3, R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, SO) walked and 3B Liam Sabino (2-5, 2B, SO) followed with a double to left-center. Two hitters later, C Zach Jackson (1-3, RBI) lofted a sacrifice fly to right, giving the Redbirds a 1-0 advantage.
Johnson City broke the game open in the third. CF Luis Flores (1-4, R, 2B) led off the inning with a double and came around to score on a single to center by SS Michael Perri (2-4, 2 R, 2B, RBI). RF Leandro Cedeno (2-5, R, HR, 2 RBI, 2 SO) then clobbered a 2-0 pitch off the top of the right-field wall and over for a two-run home run. The blast - his 13th of the year - put the Cardinals up, 4-0. After a pair of walks and a single by Jackson, DH Sanel Rosendo (0-3, RBI, BB, SO) drew a bases-loaded free pass to make it 5-0.
Thanks to Yon (2-4, R, 3B, HR, 2 RBI, SO), Greeneville broke up the shutout in the fourth. The 20-year-old hammered a pitch over the scoreboard in left field for a solo shot. His fourth homer of the year cut the Reds deficit to four, 5-1.
In the ninth, the Cardinals put men at second and third courtesy of a hit-by-pitch, a walk, and a wild pitch. Gomez stretched the visitors' edge to six, 7-1, with a two-run single to right.
The Redlegs managed to scratch a man across in the bottom of the frame, but that's as close as they would get. 1B Rylan Thomas (1-4, R, SO) hit a bloop single to right to leadoff and came all the way around to cross the dish on a triple into the right-center field alley by Yon.
RHP Dionis Zamora (8.0 IP, 4 H, R, ER, BB, 7 SO) hurled his best start of the year for Johnson City. The 22-year-old surrendered just one run over a season-long eight innings to earn his second win of the season.
After a strong first, RHP Lyon Richardson (2.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 3 SO) struggled with his command and was saddled with his fifth defeat of the year. RHP Eduardo Salazar (4.1 IP, 3 H, 6 SO) was magnificent in relief, striking out six over 4.1 scoreless innings for Greeneville.
The series shifts to Johnson City on Saturday night, as RHP Alexis Diaz (3-3, 3.40 ERA) is expected to toe the rubber for Greeneville in game two. The Cardinals are projected to counter with Appalachian League All-Star RHP Tommy Parsons (5-1, 3.24 ERA).
The G-Reds Pre-Game Show will kick off the broadcast at 6:45 p.m. ET, leading up to the 7:00 p.m. ET start at TVA Credit Union Ballpark. Saturday evening's contests can be heard on GreenevilleReds.com or via the TuneIn Radio and MiLB First Pitch apps. 
Greeneville returns home to wrap up the three-game series against Johnson City on Sunday afternoon. It will be a Sunday Funday at the ballpark with first pitch scheduled for 5 p.m. ET.
Single-game tickets are still available and can be purchased online at GreenevilleReds.com or by calling the Reds' Ticket Office at (423) 609-7400