Things started out right for the Kansas City T-Bones Thursday night at Wichita.
The team took a 2-0 lead through four and looked to have the making of a nice night to end a three-game losing streak. Then came a pair of walks and an 11-run fourth inning and the team never recovered in a 11-5 loss to the Wichita Wingnuts.
Starting on four days rest, left-hander Billy Waltrip issued back to back walks to Brent Clevlen and T.J. Mittelstaedt in the fourth. Richard Prigatano then loaded the bases with an infield single. Zac Fisher singled to bring in two runs to tie the game at two. A passed ball on T-Bones catcher Zane Chavez and throwing error to third by Chavez gave the Wingnuts a 3-2 lead.
The Wingnuts then got a single from Brennen Salgado to increase the lead to 4-2. Wichita sent another 10 batters in the inning scoring seven more runs to chase Waltrip from the game. Jackson Lowery came in to get out of the inning but the damage was done.
The T-Bones got the lead on an RBI single off Tim Brown in the first from Kevin Keyes scoring Chantz Mack, who led off the game with a double. The second run came an inning later on a sacrifice fly from Paul Hendrix, giving Kansas City a 2-0 lead.
Mack hit a sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh and Marcus Lemon hit a solo home run to right to cut the lead to 11-4 off Brown. Jordan Edgerton drove in the final run for the T-Bones with a double in the eighth. Rookie Dylan Porter tossed four shutout innings in relief, but the Wingnuts had already built the 11-2 lead when he came into the game.
Brown (3-3), who came into the game with an ERA of 7.84, picked up the win. He went seven innings while giving up four runs while Waltrip (1-6) suffered his second loss as a T-Bone since being acquired from Texas Aug. 11.
The T-Bones hold a slim half-game lead in the American Association Wild Card race over Gary SouthShore, who saw their six-game winning streak come to an end Thursday night at home against Sioux Falls. Kansas City (47-36) trails Lincoln in the Central Division by 4.5 with Gary 5.0 behind the Saltdogs. Wichita (50-33) still holds a comfortable 13-game lead over Cleburne in the South Division of the American Association and a magic number of five.
The T-Bones return home for a six-game home stand Friday night and play host to Gary SouthShore in a crucial matchup of the top two Wild Card contenders. The T-Bones will start newly signed right-hander Alex Blackford, who pitched at AA and AAA this season for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim organization, while Gary will send out left-hander Jeff McKenzie (2-3, 4.05).
The game can be heard online on the T-Bones Broadcast Network at tbonesbaseball.com and on the Bones MixLR Channel as well as the MixLR app. All home game also video stream live on AmericanAssociation.TV. The pregame begins at 6:45 with “The Top Step with Manager Joe Calfapietra.” The post-game complete with audio highlights follows each game online on the audio side.
Tickets for all T-Bones games are available online or by calling 913-328-5618 or visiting in person the Providence Medical Center Box Office.
– Story from T-Bones