Category: T-Bones

Kansas City saw its first lead of the series early Friday night but could not hold on in a 5-1 loss to the Sioux City Explorers at Lewis and Clark Park in Sioux City, Iowa.

After trailing the entire game Thursday, the T-Bones jumped ahead in the first inning Friday night when Tyson Gillies, who reached on a fielder’s choice, scored on a double by Jake Blackwood against Sioux City starter Jacob Kuebler. That was the only run Kuebler surrendered. In his first start of the season for the Explorers, Kuebler (2-2) went 5 innings, and allowed five hits and two walks.

Sioux City answered in the second by taking a lead it wouldn’t relinquish. Kansas City starter Jordan Cooper struck out lead-off batter Tim Colwell, but walks to Brennan Slattery and Tom Mendonca sandwiched a single by Ralph Henriquez and loaded the bases.

After Bryan Johns struck out, Cooper (3-3) allowed a two-run single to Derrick Robinson that gave Sioux City a 2-1 lead in the second. Cooper worked out of trouble and ended the inning by picking Robinson off at first, stranding a runner at third.

The Explorers added to their lead in the fourth, when Mendonca hit a two-run home run, his sixth of the season, over the right field wall against Cooper, who allowed 11 hits and walked three in 6 innings.

Leading 4-1, Sioux City added its last run in the eighth against T-Bones reliever Tyler Ybarra. Michael Lang reached on the fielder’s choice and proceeded to steal second and third with Nate Samson at the plate. It was Lang’s 20th and 21st swipes of the season. After Samson walked, LeVon Washington grounded out to third, scoring Lang and pushing the Explorers’ lead to 5-1.

It’s the T-Bones’ seventh consecutive loss. The last time they lost seven in a row was nearly a year ago, during Aug. 14-20, 2015. That streak started with four games at Sioux City.

Kansas City (29-41) continues the four-game series at Sioux City (36-35) with game three Saturday at 7 p.m. All of the action can be heard at TBonesBaseball.com.

– Story from T-Bones

Kansas City had the Goldeyes set up perfectly after home runs from its eight and nine hitters in the late innings, but closer Mark Haynes was unable to shut the door as Winnipeg beat the T-Bones, 5-4, on a walk-off hit in the ninth Saturday night at Shaw Park in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Sunday afternoon also was a loss for the T-Bones, who dropped a 2-0 game to the Goldeyes in Winnipeg.

On Saturday, trailing 2-0 after a first inning two-run home run by Reggie Abercrombie, the T-Bones got on the board for the first time in the fourth. With two outs in the inning and Anthony Gallas on first, Dalton Wheat singled, extending his hitting streak to eight games. Tyler Moore then reached on a fielder’s choice, but a bad throw by shortstop Maikol Gonzalez allowed Gallas to score, cutting Winnipeg’s lead to 2-1.

The T-Bones took the lead in the seventh. Wheat led off the inning with another base hit before Moore launched a home run over the left field wall that gave Kansas City a 3-2 lead. It was Moore’s first professional homer and second hit of the night.

After Kansas City starter Jordan Cooper retired the Goldeyes in order in the seventh and eighth innings, the T-Bones added an insurance run in the top of the ninth when the number nine hitter, Sergio Leon, who had been hitless in the series with three strikeouts, hit a home run off a flag pole beyond the left-field wall.

A 4-2 lead would seemingly be enough for Kansas City’s All-Star and one of the league’s best closers, Haynes. However, Haynes (1-1) was shaky from the get-go. He walked the first two batters in the ninth — Adam Heisler and Willie Cabrera — and then gave up an RBI single to Abercrombie. Two batters later, Haynes intentionally walked Casio Grider to load the bases. He got the second out of the inning by striking out Jacob Rogers. But then Haynes walked Ridge Hoopii-Haslam, which tied the game at 4-4, before giving up a base hit to Carlton Tanabe that scored Abercrombie. It was the second-consecutive walk-off hit for Winnipeg in this series, after they won Friday night, 16-15, on a base hit in the 11th.

Cooper left the game after the eighth inning, having thrown 99 pitches and giving up five hits and two runs.

On Sunday, in a game that didn’t feature the drama of the first two nights of the series, the Winnipeg Goldeyes completed a three-game sweep of the Kansas City T-Bones with a 2-0 win at Shaw Park.

After back-to-back nights of walk-off wins for the Goldeyes — 16-15 in 11 innings Friday and 5-4 in nine innings Saturday — Winnipeg got behind a strong pitching performance by starter Edwin Carl and handed Kansas City its season-high fifth consecutive loss.

The T-Bones, after getting 24 hits in the first two games of the series, struggled to get their offense going against Carl (6-5), who allowed only two hits, a first-inning single to Tyler Massey and a seventh-inning single to Dalton Wheat, which extended Wheat’s hitting streak to eight games.

The only time Kansas City really threatened offensively was in the fourth inning. The T-Bones loaded the bases with one out, thanks to an error by Winnipeg third baseman Wes Darvill that put Starlin Rodriguez on base, and then walks to Massey and Anthony Gallas. But Vladimir Frias grounded into a fielder’s choice that allowed first baseman David Rohm to force out Rodriguez at home, and then Wheat ended the inning with a strikeout.

In the bottom of that inning, the Goldeyes took a 1-0 lead. Josh Romanski reached on a one-out single and stole second, before Darvill knocked him in with a base hit off Kansas City starter Josh Hodges.

Winnipeg extended its lead in the sixth inning after Frias extended the inning with an error. Frias bobbled a two-out grounder by Rohm with Reggie Abercrombie at second. The next batter, Darvill, got his second RBI of the game as he roped a base hit to right center that scored Abercrombie and gave the Goldeyes a 2-0 lead.

Hodges (3-6) scattered seven hits and one walk, and allowed two runs (one earned) in 6 1/3 innings. Hodges also struck out seven. For Winnipeg, Carl struck out six, walked four and allowed the two hits in 6 innings. Eric Eadington pitched the final three innings and got his fourth save of the season.

Kansas City (29-39) is off until Thursday for the All-Star break. They’ll resume play with a four-game series at Sioux City. All of the action can be heard online at TBonesBaseball.com.

– Story from Matt Fulks, T-Bones

Kansas City spotted Winnipeg five runs in the first inning, only to come back and see an eventual six-run lead evaporate, as the T-Bones lost, 16-15, in a game that lasted 11 innings and nearly five hours Friday night at Shaw Park in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Kansas City pitcher Mike Kickham, who’s become somewhat of an ace for the T-Bones, had an un-Kickham-like start, as he faced nine batters in the first inning and allowed five runs. The first four batters of the game reached for the Goldeyes, with Maikol Gonzalez doubling, Josh Romanski walking, Willie Cabrera reaching on a fielder’s choice and Reggie Abercrombie delivering a two-run single that gave Winnipeg a 2-0 lead.

The Goldeyes extended their lead with a sacrifice fly by David Rohm and then an RBI single by Casio Grider. To continue with the unusual start for Kickham, Grider advanced to third on two wild pitches to Ridge Hoopi-Haslam. A base hit by Hoopi-Haslam scored Grider and put the Goldeyes ahead, 5-0.

The T-Bones, however, scored in each of the next six innings, including two four-run frames. The first four-run inning, the top of the third, is when Kansas City took its first lead. After scoring two in the second on an RBI fielder’s choice by Brian Erie and an RBI single by Starlin Rodriguez that scored Vladimir Frias and Erie, Kansas City sent nine to the plate in the third. The first six batters in the inning reached.

After Jake Blackwood singled, Winnipeg starter Mikey O’Brien loaded the bases by walking Gallas and Frias, for the second time. Dalton Wheat then got his second hit of the game, scoring Blackwood. On the play, the ball got away from shortstop Gonzalez, and Gallas raced home, cutting Winnipeg’s lead to 5-4. The next batter, Erie, roped a ball to center for a hit that scored Frias and Wheat, and gave Kansas City its first lead of the game at 6-5.

Kansas City tacked on a run in the fourth on a lead-off home run by Blackwood, his 12th of the season, against reliever Brandon Shimo. By the end of the game, Blackwood would get three hits and be on base for five of his six plate appearances.

The Goldeyes tied the game at 7-7 with two runs in the fourth against Kickham. With one out, Carlton Tanabe reached on a base hit to short right field that appeared to be bobbled and caught by the second baseman Wiley. The umpires conferred and decided Wiley dropped it. After Gonzalez walked, Romanski brought in Tanabe and Gonzalez with a double to left that went over the head of Rodriguez.

Kansas City seemed to take control of the game with another four-run inning. In the top of the fifth, with one out, Rodriguez got his second of three hits, which was followed by a Tyler Massey double. Winnipeg elected to intentionally walk Blackwood — his second free pass of the game. Gallas made the Goldeyes pay with a grand slam, his 11th homer of the year, that gave Kansas City an 11-7 lead.

The T-Bones added two more runs and went ahead 13-7 in the sixth, thanks largely to two Winnipeg errors, on consecutive batters, and a double by Rodriguez.

The Goldeyes stormed back with another five-run inning, this time against reliever David Holman, who started the sixth in place of Kickham. With one out, Romanski singled and went to second when Cabrera reached on an error by third baseman Sergio Leon. Abercrombie doubled, scoring Romanski. Two batters after Rohm reached on an error by shortstop Vladimir Frias, Casio Grider doubled home Abercrombie.

Johnny Shuttlesworth relieved Holman and proceeded to give up a two-run double to Hoopi-Haslam, who was thrown out by Wheat trying to stretch it into a triple. Nonetheless, Kansas City’s lead had dwindled to 13-12.

Kansas City got two of those runs back in the seventh after Gallas was hit in the head by a pitch leading off the inning. Frias and Wheat greeted relief pitcher Kyle Lotzkar with back-to-back singles, the second of which scored Gallas and was Wheat’s fourth hit of the game. Frias then made it 15-12 when he scored on a wild pitch by Lotzkar.

Winnipeg tacked on a run in the seventh on an RBI double by Cabrera against relief pitcher Tyler Ybarra. Ybarra’s struggles continued in the eighth, when he hit two batters, walked two walks and gave up a base hit, as the Goldeyes tied the game at 15-15.

After Winnipeg’s fifth pitcher, Cameron McVey (2-2), faced the minimum through the final 3 1/3 innings, the Goldeyes got the break they needed in the 11th. Evan DeLuca (2-3) hit Romanski, who went to second on a sacrifice by Cabrera. The T-Bones intentionally walked Abercrombie, who went to second on a wild pitch. DeLuca walked Rohm, setting up Jacob Rogers, who blooped a base hit to right that scored Romanski.

When it was all said and done, Kansas City and Winnipeg combined for 31 runs, 31 hits, six errors, 11 pitchers and a 4 hour, 43-minute game.

Kansas City (29-36) is scheduled to face Winnipeg (36-29) in game two of the three-game series on Saturday night at 7. All of the action can be heard online at TBonesBaseball.com.

– Story by Matt Fulks, T-Bones