by G.M.W. Vaughan, Monarchs
On Francophile night in Canada, the Kansas City Monarchs (61-34) declared “victoire” against the Winnipeg Goldeyes (50-45) by a score of 3-2 Tuesday night at Shaw Park.
With Matt Hall on the “monticule” for the Monarchs and Freisis Adames for the Goldeyes, the Monarchs continued their winning streak — now seven in a row — as they marched closer the postseason.
While the first two innings remained scoreless, the Monarchs were first to get on board in the third inning. After a Kevin Santa base hit and a stolen a base, Santa then moved to third on a throwing error on catcher Deon Stafford Jr. After a wild pitch, Santa gifted the Monarchs with an early lead, 1-0.
The Goldeyes’ bats could not gain any traction off pitcher Hall or the Monarchs’ defense, but Mallex Smith’s solo home run off of Adames (the teams’ 160th) in the fifth inning kept the Monarchs’ power numbers inching higher. The Monarchs are now three shy of tying a franchise record of 162 home runs set in 2010 as members of the old Northern League.
In the seventh inning, Dylan Harris led off the inning with a single. With two outs, left fielder Logan Hill, who made a leaping catch at the wall to rob Ryan Grotjohn of a homer an inning before, dropped a fly ball off the bat of Smith. Dylan Harris raced around to score on the play, adding to the Monarchs’ lead, 3-0.
In the ninth inning, Jameson McGrane came in for the save, and the Goldeyes’ bats awakened, making the final half inning a bit of a nail biter for KC. A single by Kevin LaChance and a solo home run by Reggie Pruitt Jr. brought the Goldeyes within striking distance, 3-2, but McGrane and the Monarchs’ defense kept the Goldeyes from the steal, winning again in Canada, 3-2.
The Monarchs will play the final game of this three-game series against Winnipeg at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 31, in Winnipeg.
The game can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 6 p.m. and the video stream airing on aa baseball.tv.
Tickets to Monarchs games can be purchased by calling 913-328-5618 or by visiting monarchsbaseball.com.
