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The Kansas City T-Bones swept a pair of games from Texas, winning game one 2-1 on a walk off no-hitter and game two by coming back late 4-3 on Thursday at CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas City, Kansas.
The Airhogs’ third baseman, Casio Grider, scored in the top of the seventh after stealing second, advancing to third on a wild pitch and then stealing home to put Texas up 1-0 while still being no-hit by the T-Bones starter Matt Sergey.
When it looked as if the Airhogs would get the first win of the doubleheader, one of Kansas City’s most recent signees, center fielder Cedric Hunter, doubled to left field bringing in two runs and giving the T-Bones the game one victory.
Despite the lone run from the Airhogs, T-Bones starter right-hander Matt Sergey secured the first no-hitter for Kansas City as members of the American Association. He allowed just two walks in the seven-inning game. Sergey notched his second no-hitter of his career, adding to his perfect game he threw in the Frontier League for the Washington Wild Things in 2014.
The Kansas City T-Bones swept the doubleheader against the Texas Airhogs, winning the second game 4-3, on Thursday night at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.
Designated hitter Denis Phipps took control of the game for the Airhogs, moving in runs in both the first and third innings. He advanced off a single to right field to open up the game and put Texas up 1-0.
The T-Bones didn’t let the Airhogs’ early lead affect them as they evened the score in the bottom of the inning. A double from T-Bones’ right-fielder Kyle Petty tied the game at 1-1 going into the second.
Advancing to first by way of a fielder’s choice, Phipps brought in two more runs to put the Airhogs up 3-1 in the third inning. The T-Bones were able to pull within one run thanks to an RBI single from third baseman Jordan Edgerton but it appeared as if the Airhogs had the momentum moving forward.
Although Kansas City remained scoreless for the following two innings, they came up big in the sixth to take the lead and sweep the doubleheader with the Airhogs.
Center fielder Cedric Hunter tied the game up at three runs each after singling to center field and bringing in newly signed catcher Zane Chavez. Kansas City followed with a sacrifice fly by Kevin Keyes to score designated hitter Leo Rojas for the 4-3 victory.
Right-handed pitcher, Calvin Drummond (5-2, 5.42) tossed the second win of the day for the T-Bones, while right-hander, Jared Mortensen (3-2, 3.65), suffered the loss. Cody Winiarski, a right-handed pitcher, threw the save for Kansas City, moving him into the American Association four-way tie for first with 13 saves.
Scott Carroll (5-3, 3.19) will start on the mound Friday night for the T-Bones with right-handed pitcher T.J. Bozeman (3-4, 3.12) pitching for the Airhogs.
The T-Bones (36-26) will continue a four-game series with the Airhogs (25-38) at 7:05 p.m. Friday night at CommunityAmerica Ballpark. It will be Christmas in July night, with a T-Bones Christmas ornament giveaway.
Tickets are available online, by calling 913-328-5618 or by visiting in person the Providence Medical Center Box Office.
– Story from T-Bones
by Jim McLean, Kansas News Service
For a while it appeared that the Republican effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act might come down to Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran’s vote.
He was one of a handful of Republican senators who broke ranks to oppose an initial version of the GOP repeal and replace bill. And it was his late-night tweet with Utah Sen. Mike Lee that forced Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to later call off a scheduled vote on a revised version of the bill.
But when the critical moment arrived early Friday, it wasn’t Moran’s vote that made the difference. It was John McCain’s.
The veteran senator from Arizona joined two other Republicans — Maine’s Susan Collins and Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski — in voting against a last-gasp effort by GOP leaders to make good on their promise to repeal and replace Obamacare.
The so-called “skinny repeal” bill they proposed would have taken only parts of the ACA off the books. But its passage would have given House Republicans something they could have quickly agreed to and sent to President Donald Trump.
The pressure was on. Republican leaders said it was time for members to close ranks.
Moran did just that, casting one of the final votes for the bill around 2 a.m.
But McCain — who made a dramatic return to the Senate earlier in the week after being diagnosed with a brain tumor the week before — joined Collins, Murkowski and chamber’s 46 Democrats and two independents in voting “no.”
He then issued a statement calling on congressional leaders to convene hearings to work on a bipartisan solution.
“We must now return to the correct way of legislating and send the bill back to committee, hold hearings, receive input from both sides of aisle, heed the recommendations of our nation’s governors, and produce a bill that finally delivers affordable health care for the American people,” McCain said. “We must do the hard work our citizens expect of us and deserve.”
Moran has not yet issued a statement explaining his vote. But in an interview with the Kansas News Service earlier in the week, he agreed with McCain’s call for a bipartisan approach.
“Trying to do something with one party alone is a mistake,” Moran said. “I’ve called for all 100 senators to be involved in the process by which we repeal and replace or we fix the Affordable Care Act.”
Moran said he opposed earlier versions of the GOP’s Obamacare repeal bill because, in his judgment, they wouldn’t have done enough to slow rising health insurance costs or protect people with pre-existing conditions. He said he also was concerned that the Medicaid cuts called for in the bills would have jeopardized rural hospitals and nursing homes in Kansas.
Based on those concerns, Kansans opposed to repeal thought Moran might also oppose the final bill.
“Actions speak louder than words,” said David Jordan, executive director of the Alliance for a Health Kansas, a pro-ACA advocacy group. “Senator Moran now has the opportunity to reject this harmful bill, start an open process and do what is right for Kansans.”
Kansas’ other senator, Republican Pat Roberts, has not wavered in his support of GOP efforts to repeal the ACA.
“Obamacare continues to fail,” Roberts said late Thursday on Twitter as the voting began. “Republicans prefer repeal and replace. Dems claim to support single-payer but not one supported it today.”
Roberts was referring to a vote on a “single-payer” amendment offered by Republican Sen. Steve Daines, of Montana, in an effort to force Democrats up for re-election in 2018 to show their cards on the issue.
The amendment failed 0-57 with most Democrats voting “present.”
Jim McLean is managing director of the Kansas News Service, a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio and KMUW covering health, education and politics. You can reach him on Twitter @jmcleanks. Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished at no cost with proper attribution and a link back to kcur.org.
See more at http://kcur.org/post/moran-roberts-vote-skinny-repeal-mccain-casts-deciding-vote-against-it.
