The Kansas City Monarchs loaded their bus to Lincoln Tuesday to begin their Division Playoff series with newly named American Association Post Season All-Star starting pitcher Matt Hall.
It was the second award in two weeks for Hall, as he was named the Rawlings Pitcher of the Month last week by the American Association.
The Lee’s Summit, Missouri, native went 10-2 this season for the Monarchs in 14 starts with a 1.09 ERA in 82 innings. Hall notched 113 team-leading strikeouts and finished the year with five straight wins for Kansas City.
Hall, who also serves as the pitching coach for the club, yielded 10 earned runs and posted the lowest ERA for a single season in franchise history as well as the lowest opponents average against at .197.
The left-hander had an outstanding August, going 5-0 for the month in five starts, tossing five-of-six quality starts and going at least five innings in all of his starting nods. Hall threw 31 innings, giving up just three earned runs with 48 strikeouts. He had three games with at least 10 strikeouts and one on Aug. 20 in Lincoln, where he punched out 12.
Hall was named the Pointstreak Pitcher of the Week the first time this season for the week ending May 22 after making two starts and surrendering just one earned run in 11 innings with 12 strikeouts. Hall followed with three consecutive starts and with three consecutive wins, and he had his contract transferred to the San Francisco Giants on June 12.
Hall returned to the Monarchs on July 14 and allowed just three earned runs in 37 innings with 48 strikeouts while notching six quality starts in seven outings through Aug. 14. He was named the Pitcher of the Week for second time this season for the week ending Aug. 14. Hall went 2-0 for the week and tossed 14 scoreless innings, scattering five hits with 18 strikeouts.
Hailing from Lee’s Summit, Hall attended Lee’s Summit West High School and played collegiately at Missouri State University, where he was a sixth-round draft pick in the 2015 draft by the Detroit Tigers. Hall had his contract purchased on Sept. 11, 2018, and made his Major League debut on Sept. 15, 2018. He was traded after the 2018 season to Boston and appeared in four games for the Red Sox.
This season under Hall’s watch as pitching coach, the Monarchs had the lowest team ERA (4.40) in the league and set a franchise and American Association record for strikeouts (967) in a season.
The Monarchs will play the first game of the playoff series against the Lincoln Saltdogs at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday at Haymarket Park in Lincoln, Nebraska.
The game can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 6:35 pm and the video stream airing on aa baseball.tv.
Tickets to Monarchs games including any possible playoff games can be purchased by calling 913-328-5618 or by visiting monarchsbaseball.com.
- Story from Monarchs