Month: June 2014

Bryan Sabatella has a dozen multi-hit games in 2014 but his biggest came Thursday night in Kansas City’s 11-7 win over Amarillo.

Sabatella tied a T-Bones club record with five hits — four singles and a double — as Kansas City split the four-game series with the Sox in Amarillo, Texas.

Sabatella and Kansas City jumped ahead early against Amarillo starting pitcher Dayne Quist (1-3). After Sabatella led off the game with a single, Vladimir Frias delivered one of his three hits in the game. Two batters later, Byron Wiley launched a deep sacrifice fly that allowed Sabatella to score one of his three runs in the game and give Kansas City a 1-0 lead.

The lead was short-lived, however, when T-Bones starting pitcher Rick Zagone allowed a two-run home run to Brandon Pinckney that gave Amarillo a 2-1 lead.

The bats returned for the T-Bones, which were swept in a doubleheader against Amarillo during this series, in a four-run second inning in which eight straight T-Bones reached base, giving Kansas City a 5-2 lead. The T-Bones added two more in the fourth and another four-run inning in the sixth.

Although he allowed 10 hits and six runs in 6 innings, Zagone (6-1) is now tied for the league lead with six wins. Pat Doyle picked up his first save of the season as he pitched three innings out of the bullpen, and allowed just one run on three hits.

Both teams hammered out 13 hits, led by Sabatella, who’s the first T-Bones player with a five-hit game since Keanon Simon got five in August 2011 — at Amarillo.
The T-Bones (19-21) split the four-game series with Amarillo (15-24) and now get set for a quick three-game homestand against Gary SouthShore beginning Friday night at 7:05 at Community America Ballpark. Tickets are available by calling the Providence Medical Center Box Office at CommunityAmerica Ballpark at 913-328-5618.

Box score: http://www.pointstreak.com/baseball/boxscoretext.html?gameid=177874

– Story from T-Bones

Amarillo completed a doubleheader sweep over Kansas City with a 9-2 win Thursday afternoon.

The Sox won the first game 4-0 Wednesday night and were leading the second game 6-2 when play was suspended shortly after midnight because of the American Association’s curfew rule.

Leading 6-2 when play resumed Thursday afternoon, Amarillo’s Brandon Pinckney and former T-Bones first baseman Kyle Nichols each homered in a three-run sixth inning against Kansas City reliever Chris Squires.

After losing the first game 4-0, Kansas City jumped on Amarillo starter Kellen Moen early in the nightcap, when leadoff hitter Bryan Sabatella hit his second home run of the season on the third pitch he saw. After the Sox tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the first, the T-Bones added another run in the top of the second when Robby Kuzdale singled in Nick Schwaner, who had doubled with one out.

That was Kansas City’s last lead of the doubleheader. Amarillo scored three more runs — two in the second and one in the fourth — against Derek Loera (0-1), who was making his first start for the T-Bones. The Sox scored two runs off Kansas City reliever Chris Squires in the fifth, which gave Amarillo a 6-2 lead, before the game was suspended shortly after midnight because of the league curfew rule.

Former T-Bones pitcher Kristhiam Linares pitched the last two innings on Thursday and picked up the win, his first since joining the Sox.

In the first game, Amarillo right-handed pitcher Derek Blacksher was looking for his first win and, unfortunately for the T-Bones’ offense, he got it Wednesday night in a 4-0 shutout for the Sox.

The T-Bones offense could muster only four total hits and six total baserunners against Blacksher (1-4), who went the distance with a 7-inning performance.

Kansas City starting pitcher Andy Noga (0-2) also pitched a complete game, but after giving up an RBI single to Nichols in the third, the Sox added three in the fourth. Noga allowed 10 hits and three earned runs through 6 innings.

Box score (Game 1): http://www.pointstreak.com/baseball/boxscoretext.html?gameid=177859

Box score (Game 2): http://www.pointstreak.com/baseball/boxscoretext.html?gameid=177866

– Story from T-Bones