Category: Kansas City Monarchs

After right-handed pitcher Justin Shafer was transferred to the Chicago Cubs’ organization and right-handed pitcher J.J. Hoover was traded to Lexington for cash, the Monarchs added a pair of arms to their pitching staff.

Left-handed pitcher Jacob Lindgren, 28, and right-handed pitcher Jose Taveras, 27, became the newest additions to Kansas City’s roster on Saturday.

Lindgren, a former second-round pick of the New York Yankees in 2014, last pitched this season for Triple-A Charlotte in the Chicago White Sox’s organization. The left-hander struck out eight and walked 15 in eight innings of work for the Knights.

Lindgren has appeared in the major leagues before in 2015 with the Yankees. He appeared in seven games and allowed four runs in seven innings for New York (5.14 ERA). Across all levels, Lindgren showcases a 2.79 ERA with 336 strikeouts and 109 walks in 251 ⅓ innings.

Taveras doesn’t have major league experience but reached as high as Triple-A in the Philadelphia Phillies’s organization. The right-hander last pitched for the Adelaide Giants in the Australian Baseball League in 2019 — where he posted a 5.40 ERA in 10 innings.

Taveras was signed by the Phillies on November 10, 2013. He spent the better part of six seasons in Philadelphia’s farm system — working a 2.96 ERA in 105 games with a 1.096 walks and hits per inning pitched.

The Monarchs lost Friday night’s game with the Winnipeg Goldeyes, 14-8.

The Goldeyes got 17 hits, including 13 singles, in the game. The Monarchs are now 15-11, with the Goldeyes 11-14.

Jan Hernandez hit two home runs, while Colin Willis and Morgan McCullough had one each for the Monarchs.

It was in the seventh inning when McCullough and Hernandez hit home runs, coming within one run of the Goldeyes, but the Goldeyes scored four runs in the eighth inning and one more in the ninth to win the game.

The Monarchs square off against the Winnipeg Goldeyes in Game 2 of 3 on Saturday night. First pitch is slated for 7:05 p.m.

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

Kansas City (15-10) defeated Gary SouthShore (13-15) 4-0 Thursday night, led by a dominating pitching performance by right-handed pitcher Nick Travieso (2-4) to complete the series sweep.

The Monarchs struck first and took the lead early in the first inning with an RBI double by Jan Hernandez that hit the left field wall in the deepest part of the ballpark that drove in Ryan Grotjohn to put Kansas City up 1-0.

Travieso got off to a great start by striking out three batters in the first three innings. He would run into some trouble in the third inning by giving up back-to-back singles that resulted in runners at first and third for the RailCats with no outs.

Travieso then struck out the next batter and catcher Alexis Olmeda threw out the runner stealing second and getting two quick outs to get out of the jam. Travieso then struck out the very next batter, preventing any damage.

The Monarchs’ offense caught fire in the fourth inning: Casey Gillaspie started the action with a double, followed directly by an RBI single from Charcer Burks, driving in Gillaspie for the Monarchs to take a 2-0 lead.

The hitting clinic continued with Johnny Field up next, hitting an RBI double, driving Burks, and putting the Monarchs up 3-0.

Travieso controlled the game in his entire performance. He completed his outing, pitching six shutout innings earning a quality start. He struck out six while only giving up four hits and two walks.

Manager Joe Calfapietra praised Travieso for his dominant performance: “It was big time, he pitched awesome, got ahead in the count, and when he got down in the count, he came back and made pitches. Just a really good outing,” Calfapietra said.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Field started off the inning with a single and then stole second, putting himself in scoring position for the Monarchs. Morgan McCullough hit a deep ball all the way to the center field wall that was caught by Jesus Marriaga of the RailCats at the warning track, but the speedy Field tagged and scored from second to put the Monarchs up 4-0.

Right-handed pitcher Cody Mincey pitched the seventh and eighth inning while left-handed pitcher Carlos Diaz pitched the ninth, taking care of business and striking out all three batters.

The Monarchs got the shutout win 4-0 and swept the RailCats. Kansas City has now won eight in a row.

The Kansas City Monarchs will continue their homestand in a new series against the Winnipeg Goldeyes at Legends Field on Friday night. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. with the gates opening at 5 p.m. The game can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 6:35 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 from Dan Vaughan, Kansas City Monarchs