The Kansas City T-Bones rode a solid pitching effort and timely key hits for a 5-1 win over the Gary SouthShore RailCats Thursday night at CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas City, Kansas.
For the third night in a row, the pitching staff was solid, holding Gary to three hits and only one run—the second run allowed in 27 innings.
Unlike the last two nights where the offense scored in the first two innings, tonight it waited until the third inning to strike. The T-Bones were batting as the visiting team because of a pre-game arrangement between the two clubs in a spring training twist.
Leo Rojas led off the top of the third with a single off RailCats starter Drasen Johnson. Rojas moved to second on a wild pitch then to third on a ground out to second by Brett Wiley. Jordan Edgerton then lined a triple to center to score Rojas, and the score was 1-0.
Next, the T-Bones’ Omar Garcia drove in Edgerton with a sac fly to center, and the lead was now 2-0. The move to visiting team was made to allow for the proper number of pitchers to get work, and they did just that.
Darin Gorski got the starting nod, and he went two scoreless innings. He was followed by Jeff Walters who retired the first seven batters he faced with four strike outs. Combined, the duo would sit down nine straight RailCats batters at one point in the game.
Gary scratched out their only run of the series in the seventh off of Anthony Usui. The right hander from Hawaii found himself in a tight spot with runners at second and third and two outs, but he was able to deliver the big strike out of Ryan Fitzgerald, making the score 2-1.
The T-Bones’ Rich Mascheri and Cody Winiarski each worked a shut-out inning in the sixth and eighth inning.
Kansas City then broke it open in the top of the ninth, scoring four runs off SouthShore reliever Conrad Wozniak. Kevin Keyes hit a one-out double off the warning track in left center to set the inning up. Donald Lutz then reached base on a dropped third strike by catcher Jaime Del Valle, when he elected to throw to second to attempt to get Keyes out at second rather than throw Lutz out at first. Chase McDonald then singled to left field to drive in Keyes, but the ball got under left fielder Jackson Glines on the play, moving the runners to second and third.
The T-Bones then got back-to-back singles from Patrick Brady and Joe Jackson off Wozniak to extend the lead to 5-1 and to secure the win for Kansas City and take the second game of the two game series.
The T-Bones will travel to play the Lincoln Saltdogs in Waverly, Nebraska, on Friday and then come home to play host to Winnipeg in a pair of games. The two teams will play Sunday at 1:05 p.m. and Monday at 7:05 p.m. at CommunityAmercia Ballpark in Kansas City, Kansas. Tickets are available online or by calling 913- 328-5618 or by visiting in person the Providence Medical Center Box Office.
The T-Bones will open the 2017 regular season at home on May 19 against Lincoln.
– Story from T-Bones