Category: Kansas City Monarchs

by Caleb Grizzle, Monarchs

Rosemont, Illinois — The Kansas City Monarchs (19-7) have been one of the hottest American Association baseball teams as of late, leading the league on the mound and at the plate as a team, winning nine of their last 10 games. This dominance continued into game two of three against the second best in the Association, Chicago Dogs (17-9) in their commanding 11-1 win Saturday night.

The best team in the American Association started the first frame with a two-out, solo blast from Gaby Guerrero to give the Monarchs an early, 1-0 lead.

Nick Belzer (2-2) received the start for the Monarchs and held the Dogs scoreless during his six innings pitched, only allowing two hits. The Dogs threatened in the first with a walk, a stolen base and a single but did not capitalize with a runner in scoring position.

The Monarchs continued to slowly add to their lead with a Jan Hernandez double to the right field corner with one out in the second inning.

Hernandez’s double set up Casey Gillaspie for his first of two RBI singles on the night. The Monarchs led 2-0 heading into the home half of the second.

The Dogs again were able to swipe a base after a single but were not able to steal a run.

Patience paid its dividends in the top of the third, as Darnell Sweeney battled in a 13-pitch at-bat to draw a two-out walk. Speedy Darnell Sweeney stole second, and following Guerrero’s walk, Matt Adams slapped an RBI single to left field against the shift.

The Monarchs closed the bottom of the third in nerve-racking fashion by putting the go-ahead run at the plate with two outs. Belzer retired the side and held the score at 3-0.

The Monarchs offense forced an early call to the bullpen to replace Dogs’ starter Johnathon Tripp with James Reeves.

Hernandez and Gillaspie teamed up again in the fourth inning to add to the Monarchs’ lead. Reeves was replaced in the fourth inning with Joe Cavallaro.

Hernandez started the inning with a double to right field and advanced to third after an error from the Dogs’ right fielder, Danny Mars. Gillaspie picked up his second RBI single to left field and brought Hernandez home to add to the lead. Hernandez contributed on defense in the bottom half of the inning, on a sliding catch on the right field line to assist Belzer in retiring the side.

The offenses stayed quiet on both sides in the fifth inning, as both teams were retired without recording a hit or any runners gaining scoring position.

Belzer brought his strong, scoreless outing to a close, retiring the Dogs in a one, two, three manner. Belzer finished with six innings pitched, no earned runs, three strikeouts, and two hits allowed.

Jordan Martinson replaced Belzer and shut down the Dogs in the seventh with a strikeout and diving stop at third from Thompson.

The Monarchs’ offense laid the knockout punch in the top of the eighth with a flurry of offense to add to their lead.

After a David Thompson single, Jan Hernandez got the ball rolling with a deep, two-run home run to center field to push the Monarchs lead to 6-0.

Casey Gillaspie’s walk provided Pete Kozma the opportunity he needed to pick up his first RBI of the night with a double.

Kozma’s double forced the Dogs to call on their sixth pitcher of the night, Tanner Shears. Shears was not able to prevent the Monarchs from adding one more. Kozma reached third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly from J.C. Escarra. The Monarchs led 8-0 heading into the bottom of the eighth.

Martinson was replaced by Matt Hartman to start the home half of the eighth and Hartman helped force a 4-6-3 double play to retire the side. In the final frame, the Monarchs piled on their lead with an RBI single from Matt Adams and a two-run home run from David Thompson.

Hartman allowed only one run in the ninth, striking out four batters in the ninth inning, following a dropped third strike to begin the inning. The Dogs were able to load the bases following a walk, single and a hit-by-pitch at bat.

Hartman closed the door with a strikeout to secure the 11-1 win for the Monarchs.

The Monarchs will play game three in Chicago at 3 p.m. Sunday, June 12. The game can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 2:30 p.m. and the video stream airing on aabaseball.tv.

Tickets to Monarchs games can be purchased by calling 913-328-5618 or by visiting monarchsbaseball.com.

• Information from Monarchs

by Kaitlyn Sanders, Monarchs

Rosemont, Ill. — It was the battle of the two No. 1 teams in the American Association, the Kansas City Monarchs (18-7) in the West and the Chicago Dogs (17-8) in the East.

After a slow start and the Dogs keeping a steady 1-0 through four innings, the Monarchs hit their stride, taking the first bite out of the Dogs with a final of 10-2.

Chicago got on the board early in the first inning with a lead-off double to left from Charlie Tilson, followed two batters later by a K.C. Hobson double to take an early 1-0 lead.

Chicago’s starting pitcher, left-handed pitcher Shane Barringer, dealt three consecutive one, two, three innings, leaving the Monarchs off the bases for the first 40 minutes of the game.

In the fifth inning, Matt Adams and Pete Kozma both drew walks to put runners at first and second. Alexis Olmeda then sent a ball down the third base line for a two-RBI double, allowing Kansas City to take the lead at 2-1.

Joel Booker kept the inning going with a single up the middle, bringing in Olmeda to extend the lead to 3-1.

Monarchs starting pitcher Matt Hall (4-1) helped keep the 3-1 lead in the fifth by striking out the side. Hall kept dealing in the sixth with two consecutive strikeouts, ending the inning with one more, bringing him to 10 Ks to end the night.

Gaby Guerrero hit a double, followed by a David Thompson single to start the top of the sixth inning. With two outs and a pitching change from Chicago, Casey Gillaspie launched a three-run home run off right-hander Ryan Clark to give the Monarchs an impressive lead at 6-1 in the sixth.

In the bottom of the seventh, Chicago’s Harrison Smith reached first base on a single to center before a Connor Kopach double brought in Smith, cutting into the Monarchs lead at 6-2. Monarchs left hander Jacob Lindgren escaped a bases-loaded seventh with a key strikeout.

Pete Kozma reached first base in the top of the eighth before Olmeda brought him in with an RBI double. Joel Booker booked it around the bases for an RBI triple. Guerrero ended the inning with an RBI single of his own, bringing the Monarchs lead to 9-2.

In the ninth, the Monarchs kept rounding the bases as Jan Hernandez got to first after a hit-by-a-pitch. Gillaspie walked before Pete Kozma hit one for a fielder’s choice, bringing in Hernandez for an RBI, making the final score 10-2.

Lindgren controlled the last two innings with a final line of 2.2 innings pitched, four hits, one run and five strikeouts.

The Monarchs will play game two in Chicago at 6 p.m. Saturday, June 11. The game can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 5:30 p.m. and the video stream airing on aabaseball.tv.

Tickets to Monarchs games can be purchased by calling 913-328-5618 or by visiting monarchsbaseball.com.

• Information from Monarchs

by Caleb Grizzle, Monarchs

Jon Harris was delivering strikeouts on Thursday night at Legends Field.

Harris recorded six scoreless innings, seven strikeouts, and three hits allowed. Harris’ strong start propelled the the Kansas City Monarchs (17-7) to a 4-2 win over the Winnipeg Goldeyes (11-12).

The finale of the two-game series with the Goldeyes started with a scoreless inning and a strikeout from the Monarchs’ Jon Harris.

In the bottom half of the first, walks, errors and RBIs from the two hottest bats in the offense provided the Monarchs with an early 3-0 lead.

Matt Adams recorded a sacrifice fly RBI following a Willie Abreu walk and a Kevin Santa single. An error from the pitcher and catcher aided in advancing the runners into scoring position. Kansas City continued to display patience at the plate, as David Thompson drew a two-out walk. With runners on first and third, Jan Hernandez roped an RBI double to the right field corner, bringing both runners home.

For an extended stretch, the only scoring occurred in the bottom half of the first frame. Harris struck out another in the second inning and his team had his back, as Pete Kozma helped turn a 6-4-3 double play to close out the top half of the second.

After a one-out single from Alexis Olmeda and another Abreu walk, the Monarchs’ scoring stayed quiet as they stranded two to close the second.

Harris fell into a rhythm on the mound with three strikeouts in the third to hold the Goldeyes scoreless and strand a runner in scoring position.

The Monarchs’ offense was knocking on the door again in the bottom of the third with a one-out blast from Thompson that bounced over the wall for a ground rule double. The Monarchs were not able to capitalize on Thompson’s impactful play; the Monarchs’ lead remained 3-0 after three innings played.

The fourth inning was scoreless for the Goldeyes and the Monarchs as each pitcher retired the side in a swift, one, two, three manner. In the fifth inning, the Goldeyes attempted to generate some offense with a walk and an error from Olmeda. With two runners on, Harris shut down the Goldeyes with two more strikeouts to add to his strong performance on the mound.

In the home half of the fifth, the Monarchs again put runners in scoring position with Gaby Guerrero’s one-out double. Thompson singled with two outs, but the Monarchs were not able to add any insurance runs with base runners at first and third.

The sixth inning nearly mirrored the fourth as Harris again retired the side in one, two, three fashion. Winnipeg’s relief pitcher, Travis Seabrooke, was not able to repeat Harris’ performance, giving up one single to Pete Kozma on his way to a scoreless inning pitched. After six innings played, the Monarchs held on tight to their 3-0 lead at home.

Entering the seventh inning, Harris remained on the mound looking to add to his strikeout total and to build upon his best start of the season to date. After facing one batter and allowing a leadoff walk, the Monarchs called upon Jordan Martinson to hold the Goldeyes at bay. Martinson joined in on the strikeout filled night by striking out two of the four batters he faced en route to securing Harris’ scoreless start.

In the bottom of the seventh, Winnipeg brought in Jhon Vargas to retire the Monarchs in order, keeping the deficit at three runs.

The top of the eighth started with another call to the bullpen, as Matt Blackham made his second relief appearance of the series. Blackham struck out the first batter he faced to push his total to five strikeouts in only 2.1 innings pitched.

Kevin Santa flashed his athleticism with a diving play at second to record the second out of the inning. The Goldeyes loaded the bases with two outs via a single, a walk and a hit by pitch at bat. With the bases loaded, David Washington brought in two runs with an RBI single to right field to cut into the Monarchs’ lead. Casey Gillaspie cut off the throw from right field to make a heads-up play and throw out the Goldeyes’ runner, Logan Hill, at third base.

The Monarchs held on to the narrow 3-2 lead headed into the bottom of the eighth. The Goldeyes brought in Erasmo Pinales from the bullpen to begin the eighth.

Thompson welcomed Pinales to the game by starting the bottom of the eighth with another blast into left center, this time, clearing the fence without a doubt. Thompson’s solo home run provided the Monarchs with a timely insurance run.

Pinales struck out Joel Booker, who replaced Jan Hernandez. After seven pitches for Pinales and two batters faced, he was replaced by Tasker Strobel. Strobel retired the next two Monarchs to keep the score 4-2 heading into the top of the ninth.

Jameson McGrane replaced Matt Blackham for the Monarchs, attempting to secure the save on back-to-back nights against the Goldeyes. McGrane allowed a leadoff single but was able to bounce back and strike out the next two Goldeyes at the plate. Raul Navarro reached first after an error from David Thompson, leaving runners at first and second with two outs.

With the go-ahead run at the plate, Mcgrane pushed the count to 2-2, Eric Rivera was then ejected by the home plate umpire. McGrane shut down the Goldeyes by striking out pinch hitter Deon Stafford Jr. and recorded his fourth save of the year.

The Monarchs will face the Chicago Dogs in the first game of a three-game road series Friday night at 7 p.m. The game can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 6:30 p.m. and the video stream airing on aabaseball.tv.

Tickets to Monarchs games can be purchased by calling 913-328-5618 or by visiting monarchsbaseball.com.