BY NASH ARMSTRONG

Sports Writer

The Greeneville Astros and Johnson City Cardinals started off the first game of a season-long nine-game "11-E Series" Monday night at Pioneer Park. The Cardinals took a 1-0 advantage in the series, beating the Astros 13-1.

According to Greeneville manager Rodney Linares, one bad play led to an early advantage, one that was hard for any team to come back from.

"It's one bad play, then they score seven runs," he said. "They still battled, and the guys were hitting the ball on the nose; we just couldn't find the holes."

Linares was referring to the seven run third inning the Cardinals put together to take the lead. After forcing the first batter to ground out, Greeneville pitcher Henry Villar saw Cardinal center fielder Travis Mitchell drag bunt for a single, becoming Johnson City's second base runner of the night.

The Cardinals then went on an offensive tear, putting three consecutive singles in play and scoring their first run. Villar then walked in the second run with the bases loaded, and faced Johnson City catcher Ivan Castro.

Castro knocked a three-run double to the fence, putting the Cardinals up 5-1. The double dropped in front of Astro center fielder Devon Torrence, who had trouble seeing the ball, according to Linares.

"It's simply one bad play," he said. "(If we) catch that ball in left center it's a 2-1 game with two outs, but instead we were down 10 runs in the fourth. It's hard to come back from that."

The Cardinals continued their offensive barrage when first baseman Osvaldo Morales knocked a two-run dinger over the left field fence, putting the Cardinals up 7-1.

The Astros lone run came in the second inning. Greeneville third baseman Dionel Montas started out the bottom of the inning with a lead-off walk. After a hard liner for an out, Federico Hernandez knocked a hit to right field, moving Montas to third.

Greeneville shortstop Jorge DeLeon then put a fielder's choice in play to score Montas and give the Astros an early lead, 1-0.

The Cardinals put together two more big innings in the fourth and sixth to go up 13-1, while the Astros could not find the offense and provided no other threats on the night.

One bright spot of the contest for the Astros came in the form of middle reliever Colton Pitkin. Pitkin, a 41st round pick in the 2007 draft from Baytown, Texas, came in to pitch in the seventh inning. While loading the bases twice during the night, Pitkin escaped the jams unscathed, allowing no runs to cross the plate.

"(Pitkin) has extended himself this year," Linares said of the middle reliever. "He is a ways away from where he was last year. He's still young and he's still learning, but he still goes out there and gives you the best he's got."

Pitkin pitched three full innings, holding the Cardinals scoreless and giving up only two runs with three strikeouts.

In the bottom half of the seventh, the Astros received a bit of a scare. Shortstop DeLeon limped off the field after sliding awkwardly into second on a fielder's choice, injuring his ankle. Trainers were still evaluating DeLeon's condition after the game, Linares said.

Linares noted how the team played hard despite the score.

"I'm gonna tell the guys we played nine hard innings, and that's all you can do," the Astros manager said. "When you're down 10 runs, its hard to bunt and run and do all that other stuff."

The Astros were led offensively by second baseman Jose Altuve, who had two singles. Three other Astros recorded hits.

Greeneville and Johnson City will face off again tonight at 7 p.m. at Pioneer Park in the second game of the "11-E Series." Tonight will be "Dollar Dog Night," with all hot dogs one dollar, along with "Ripley's Believe It or Not" night.