T-Bones starting pitcher Casey Barnes threw seven-plus shutout innings and Aaron Baker finished things off as Kansas City shut out Gary SouthShore, 4-0, Wednesday night at CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas City, Kan.
After giving up a combined 18 runs in the first two games of the series, the T-Bones shut out the RailCats in back-to-back games, the first time they have done that this season. Barnes (3-3) had a strong outing, giving up six hits and no walks, while striking out three, in 7 1/3 innings.
The T-Bones, who are now 26-4 when scoring first, manufactured their first run of the game in the second inning.
Vladimir Frias led off the second inning with a single and stole second. Then, with Kyle Richards at the plate, Frias stole third. When the throw from catcher Jaime Del Valle got away from third baseman Roger Bernal, Frias headed home for the 1-0 Kansas City lead.
Kansas City added two more runs in the fifth inning. With Brian Erie already on base, Ryan Cavan hit an RBI single up the middle that scored Erie from third base, giving Kansas City a 2-0 lead.
Cavan and Frias led Kansas City with three hits apiece. After a stolen base by Cavan, the next batter, Nate Tenbrink, singled to left field and scored Cavan, giving the T-Bones a 3-0 lead.
The T-Bones struck again in the seventh inning, adding one more run to their lead after Cavan scored from third on a sacrifice fly by Jake Blackwood, giving the T-Bones a 4-0 lead.
Baker pitched a perfect 1 2/3 innings for the T-Bones, getting his second save of the season.
With the four-game split against Gary SouthShore, Kansas City has not lost a series in its last 12, dating back to June 4, when the T-Bones won two-out-of-three against Amarillo.
The T-Bones (31-22) will begin a home four-game series against the Winnipeg Goldeyes (24-33) starting Thursday night at CommunityAmerica Ballpark with the first pitch at 7:05. Tickets are available by calling the box office at CommunityAmerica Ballpark at 913-328-5618.
– Story from T-Bones