Category: Kansas City Monarchs

Monarchs take series from RailCats

The Kansas City Monarchs (9-10) are headed home on a two-game winning streak after winning their second road series in a row by defeating the Gary SouthShore RailCats (11-11) 6-1 Thursday night at the Steel Yard in Indiana.

The Monarchs got busy in the first inning with a lead-off double by Darnell Sweeney.

Jan Hernandez stepped up to the plate and followed with a double scoring Sweeney for a 1-0 lead. Hernandez stole second base while Gabby Guerrero was at bat.

Guerrero then advanced to first after a single to centerfield driving in Hernandez, putting Kansas City over Gary 2-0 after just the top of the first.

In the top of the second KC was rolling again. Monarchs’ newcomer Alexis Olmeda hit a single, then advanced to second thanks to a single to center field by Kevin Santa. With two outs, Ryan Grotjohn drove in Olmeda to punch the lead to 3-0.

The RailCats got on the board in the bottom of the second, cutting into the Monarchs’ lead, 3-1.

The Monarchs kicked up the energy in the top of the fifth, starting with a walk for Ryan Grotjohn. Grotjohn then stole second while Guerrero was at bat. Guerrero then reached base after an error by the RailCats catcher Jackson Smith that allowed Grotjohn to score and Guerrero to reach second.

Casey Gillaspie drew a walk on a check swing on a 3-2 count. RailCats manager Greg Tagert was ejected after arguing the call on the free pass.

Collin Willis singled to right to score Guerrero, picking up his third RBI of the series for a 5-1 lead.

Cody Mincey came onto the mound in the bottom of the sixth in relief of Justin Shafer (1-1). Shafer finished with five innings, three hits, and four strikeouts to pick up his first win of the season.

Mincey worked two scoreless innings, holding the RailCats hitless while striking out three before turning the ball over to new Monarchs left-hander Elroy Urbina. Urbina worked a scoreless eighth inning in his first outing for Kansas City.

In the top of the ninth with two outs on the board, Guerrero recorded a solo home run to center to put an exclamation point on the night for Kansas City, 6-1. In the bottom of the ninth Brian Ellington worked a 1-2-3 frame to finish off the RailCats including two strike outs.

The Kansas City Monarchs will travel home to face off against the Houston Apollos at Legends Field 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

Grotjohn, Sweeney lead Monarchs over Gary

After falling in extra innings against the RailCats on Tuesday night, the Monarchs bounced back with a 6-3 victory over Gary SouthShore on Wednesday night in Indiana.

Darnell Sweeney and Ryan Grotjohn tallied multi-hit games, and Jake Matthys picked up a quality start.

The start wasn’t ideal for Matthys, who was making his first start for the Monarchs this season. The RailCats tagged the right-hander for a run in the bottom of the first on a triple and an error, giving Gary an early 1-0 lead. An inning later, the RailCats notched a pair of runs on RBI-singles to make it 3-0.

Kansas City, however, rallied quickly. In the top of the third, the Monarchs tacked on a run thanks to an RBI-groundout from Jan Herrnandez.

In the ensuing inning, Kansas City battled back to take its first lead of the game. Newly acquired Alexis Olmeda singled to center to drive in Casey Gillaspie, and Ryan Grotjohn drove in two on a double to left field. It almost turned into three runs, but Sweeney was thrown out at the plate.

Back on the mound, Matthys settled into a groove. Following his shaky start, the right-hander proceeded to throw four consecutive scoreless innings. Matthys’ night was finished after six innings. He allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits with four strikeouts.

In the top of the seventh, the Monarchs were rewarded with an insurance run on an error by Gary. In the bottom half, Jameson McGrane came on in relief and dominated with two clean innings — allowing just one hit and recording three strikeouts.

Kansas City added one more insurance run in the ninth on a sacrifice fly from Hernandez. With a 6-3 lead, Carlos Diaz entered in the bottom of the inning and tallied his third save of the season.

The Monarchs will finish their three-game series with Gary Thursday and head home for a nine-game homestand that begins on Friday. First pitch on Thursday is slated for 7:10 p.m. The game can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 6:45 p.m. and the video stream airing on aabaseball.tv.

On Friday, comedian Rob Riggle will be the special guest at the Kansas City Monarchs game, with pre-game at 5 p.m. followed by the game at 7 p.m.

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

  • Story from Dan Vaughan, Kansas City Monarchs

Monarchs lose in 12th inning, 4-3

The Monarchs and RailCats were nip and tuck all night, but it was a 12th inning RBI single for Phil Caufield that sent the Monarchs down in defeat 4-3 Tuesday night.

The hard luck loss spoiled a Dylan Baker (2-0) quality start for the Monarchs, who recorded seven strikeouts, scattered seven hits, and allowed only three runs in seven innings pitched.

Things got going for the Kansas City offense in the second inning, starting with a double by Gabby Guerrero.

With Guerrero in scoring position, Colin Willis got hot at the plate with an RBI single to give the Monarchs an early 1-0 lead. Alexis Olmeda singled that same inning in his debut for the Monarchs. He ended his debut two-for-four with two singles and a walk.

Baker also heated up in the second inning, striking out all three batters he faced before giving up back-to-back solo homers in the third inning, allowing the RailCats to gain a 2-1 lead.


In the top of the sixth inning, Willis continued his success at the plate, hitting a solo home run to tie the game 2-2. The offense continued to take advantage in the seventh inning.

After back-to-back singles by Johnny Field and Jan Hernandez, Guerrero drove in Field with an RBI single to give the Monarchs a 3-2 lead.

The lead did not last long for Kansas City as Gary SouthShore tied the game, 3-3, with a sacrifice fly RBI. Baker ended his night by striking out his seventh batter.

The Monarchs had a chance to take the lead in the eighth inning as Olmeda walked with two outs, bringing up Morgan McCullough to the plate. McCullough doubled while Olmeda tried to advance home all the way from first on the hit, only to get thrown out at the plate, ending the top half of the inning.

Jameson McGrane (0-1) replaced Baker to start the bottom half of the eighth and struck out two.

Carlos Diaz (2-0) came in to pitch in the ninth inning. With a runner on second and with one out, Diaz struck out back-to-back batters to force extra innings in Indiana.

Kansas City had another chance to take the go-ahead lead in the tenth inning with runners on first and second, but McCullough struck out, ending the top half and leaving runners stranded.

Cody Mincey entered the game in the bottom of the tenth and pitched two innings, striking out three.

Brian Ellington (0-1) then entered the game to pitch in the bottom of the twelfth. He gave up a single, hit a batter with a pitch, and gave up a walk-off double by Phil Caulfield. The RailCats took the win 4-3 in game one of the three-game series.

The Monarchs have now lost two in a row and fall to 7-10 on the season. Kansas City looks to bounce back Wednesday night against Gary SouthShore at 7:10 p.m. The game can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 6:45 p.m. and the video stream airing on aabaseball.tv.

On June 11, the Monarchs return to Legends Field to take on the Houston Apollos. Tickets to all Monarchs games can be purchased by calling 913-328-5618 or by visiting monarchsbaseball.com.

  • Story from Dan Vaughan, Kansas City Monarchs