The Kansas City Monarchs took the series from the Chicago Dogs on Saturday night, as the South division leaders used a strong outing from Justin Shafer to win, 4-1.
It was Kansas City’s 31st victory at Legends Field this season.
After a rough outing against Houston on Monday, Shafer was in search of his fifth win of the year. In the top of the first, he cruised used only 10 pitches.
However, the Dogs tagged him for a run on a solo shot by K.C. Hobson in the second.
The Monarchs (44-22), though, answered back in the home half of the inning.
Colin Willis, who missed the last two games, clubbed his 11th homer of the year to knot things up at one. The home run gave Kansas City its league-leading 89th long ball of the season.
Back on the mound, Shafer dominated Chicago hitters. Following the solo homer, Shafer tossed three consecutive innings.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Monarchs grabbed their first lead of the night on a second solo bomb by Morgan McCullough. It was the shortstop’s second homer in as many nights.
One inning later, Daniel Wasinger opened a three-run lead on a two-out, RBI-double that scored two more runs. With a 4-1 advantage, Shafer came back for the seventh inning. The right-hander faced a jam with one out and runners on the corners, but he induced an inning-ending double play. When Gillaspie caught the ball on the throw from McCullough, Shafer pounded his chest and let out an emphatic roar.
After Shafer’s night ended with seven innings of one-run ball, Justin Donatella came on in relief to keep the three-run lead intact. The big right-hander had two runners in scoring position but wiggled out of it and held the Dogs (40-28) scoreless.
Without an established closer, manager Joe Calfapietra turned to Jacob Lindgren to close. The left-hander got the first two batters, but an infield single by Cosimo Cannella got the Dogs a runner on first.
Dalbert Siri was then brought in to get the final out. Siri gave up a double to Johnny Adams and walked Grant Kay but the right-hander got Harrison Smith to fly to right to end the game and notch his second save. The win gave Kansas City its South division-leading 44th win.
Kansas City will finish its homestand against Chicago at Legends Field on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. with the gates opening at noon. The game can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 12:35 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.
- Story by Jack Johnson, Monarchs
