Category: T-Bones

The Kansas City T-Bones (37-20) offense was too much for the Cleburne Railroaders (19-36) Wednesday night in Texas, as KC completed the three-game series sweep by a final score of 8-3.

Todd Cunningham, the league leader in batting average, doubled with out to start off the game for Kansas City off Cleburne ace Jared Mortensen.

Two batters later, Noah Perio Jr. singled to center scoring Cunningham giving the T-Bones an early 1-0 lead. Taylor Featherston wasn’t satisfied with a one run lead, so he decided to rock the park himself with a two-run home run to finish out the first inning 3-0 KC.

Former T-Bone Angel Rosa was walked by starting pitcher Pasquale Mazzoccoli in the bottom of the first. Rosa then stole second before advancing to third on a single from Chase Simpson.

With one out, Mazzoccoli balked as it appeared that his spike caused him to stumble in his release, scoring Rosa while Simpson would advance to second base. Kansas City put the brakes on Cleburne’s offense ending the inning with a dominant strikeout from Mazzoccoli.

Rosa once again got the offense going for the Railroaders with a single to lead off the third inning. The duo of Rosa and Simpson combined for five hits Wednesday night.

Simpson then doubled which drove Rosa into scoring position. Rosa then scored off an RBI put out by Levi Scott to end the inning.

The top of the fourth inning began with a drop third strike followed by an error from the catcher that put Keith Curcio on second base. Dexter Kjerstad then singled, driving in Curcio to put the T-Bones lead at 4-2. Kansas City ended the inning leaving both Tice and Kjerstad on first and second.

In the bottom of the fifth, Angel Rosa continued his terror on T-Bones pitching by crushing a home run over the center field wall putting Cleburne back by only one run.

Jared Mortensen walked Keith Curcio to start the sixth inning. A single up the middle from Mason Davis put Curcio on second.

Todd Cunningham came in clutch for Kansas City, crushing a single to right field that scored both Curcio and Davis making the score 6-3.

Jackson Lowery, Nick Lee, Joe Filomeno, Ian Hardman, and Marcus Crescentini silenced the bats for the last three innings unlike the Railroaders’ closer John Menken.

Filomeno returned to the T-Bones bullpen tonight after his recent contract deal fell through with the Seattle Mariners.

In the top of the ninth, Todd Cunningham was walked to start off the long inning. He then stole second and was joined on base after Colin Walsh also drew a free pass.

Noah Perio Jr. smashed a single that then scored Cunningham. A Taylor Featherston single then drove in Colin Walsh putting the score at 8-3. Featherston recorded three RBIs on the night.

Kansas City’s Nick Lee (1-0) got the win Wednesday night in relief, while Cleburne’s Jared Mortensen (3-3) was credited with the loss.

The T-Bones will return home to Kansas City for a three-game series against Texas Friday night.

The first game of the series is on Friday night and first pitch is at 7:05 p.m.

Individual tickets, season, group, mini-plans and nightly party suites are on sale and can be purchased by visiting the box office at T-Bones Stadium or www.tbonesbaseball.com. Box office hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

The T-Bones’ games are airing on the T-Bones Broadcast Network, http://mixlr.com/t-bones-baseball/.

– Story from T-Bones

Breaking their own records, the T-Bones came out swinging in Cleburne against the Railroaders and won it all in extra innings by a final of 11-7.

Kansas City had five home runs in the night, their highest of the season, and they got 16 hits while fighting a fierce battle in Cleburne, Texas.

The T-Bones started hot, loading the bases with the first three batters.

Noah Perio Jr. came up to bat next and a fielder’s choice sent Dylan Tice running home to give the T-Bones the lead in the first inning 1-0.

Cleburne was not to be outdone, putting runners on all three bases with no outs. A sacrifice fly to right field sent Railroaders’ Trevor Sealey in to tie up the game. A double steal from the Railroaders put them in scoring position with runners on second and third.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Railroaders got a run on a ground out to short by Cam Monger, making the score at the end of the first inning, Cleburne 2, Kansas City 1.

Mason Davis kicked off the second inning with a homer to tie the game. In the bottom of the second, T-Bones pitcher Lucas Irvine finished off the inning, pitching two strikeouts in a row to send the Railroaders to the dugout.

The third inning was just as exciting, with Taylor Featherston hitting a triple that sent Colin Walsh running home and Curcio following up with a sacrifice fly to the left that put Featherston on the board, increasing the T-Bones lead to 4 – 2.

In the field, Keith Curcio caught former teammate Angel Rosa’s hit as it reached the wall, denying him what could’ve been a double or a home run in the third.

The Railroaders couldn’t score in the third, and the T-Bones didn’t score in the fourth. The Railroaders, however, did score, decreasing Kansas City’s lead to just one, making it 4 – 3.

In the fifth inning, Cleburne was plagued with errors, and in the sixth the Cleburne pitcher walked three T-Bones. Despite those advantages, the T-Bones weren’t able to score. After three innings without the T-Bones scoring, Cleburne would tie it as Monger hit a homer to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth to even the score at four.

The T-Bones were feeling the pressure, and with two outs Mason Davis hit a triple, but they weren’t able to convert it to a run.

Cleburne, on the other hand, used the pressure to score two runs. Kicking into gear, the T-Bones came back and tied it at six, thanks to a two-run home run from Noah Perio Jr. that sent both him and Walsh home to score.

A sacrifice fly from Angel Rosa gave the Railroaders the lead in the bottom of the eighth after three walks.

With two outs in the top of the ninth, Mason Davis was up to bat, the last hope for the T-Bones. With an 0-2 count he hit his second home run of the night and the game was tied at seven each.

In the bottom of the ninth, the T-Bones were hoping for extra innings. Thanks to three strikeouts from T-Bones pitcher Marcus Crescentini, they got their wish.

Todd Cunningham started the tenth inning off with a bang, hitting his first home run of the season.

Blowing it wide open, Keith Curcio hit a three-run home run, putting the score at Kansas City 11– Cleburne 7.

Ultimately, the Railroaders weren’t able to answer and the T-Bones walked away victorious after a long, tough battle. The two teams will play again at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday in Texas as the T-Bones hope to sweep the series.

Individual tickets, season, group, mini-plans and nightly party suites are on sale and can be purchased by visiting the box office at T-Bones Stadium or www.tbonesbaseball.com. Box office hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

The T-Bones’ games are airing on the T-Bones Broadcast Network, http://mixlr.com/t-bones-baseball/.

– Story from T-Bones

The Kansas City T-Bones announced today the Texas Rangers have purchased the contract of outfielder Nick Torres. He is the fourth T-Bone player in July, and the sixth this season, to be sold to an MLB organization.

Torres was a favorite of many Kansas City fans. As part of the T-Bones host family program, he, his wife Korrin and one-and-a-half-year-old golden retriever Scout were residents of The Piper Assisted Living Center.

Korrin and Scout were a common sight at games, often seen playing fetch on the grass berm just beyond the outfield fence at T-Bones Stadium. Korrin is the author of a popular blog titled The Baseball Gypsy, and Scout has more than 32,000 followers on Instagram at @lifeofscout_.

The 25-year-old Torres had not missed playing a game for the T-Bones in the 2018, making 55 appearances.

On June 26, he had five RBIs in the game against the Lincoln Saltdogs. He was the team leader in home runs, with five. His batting average was seventh in the American Association at .329 and he was sixth in RBIs with 43 on the season. In 231 at bats, he had 76 hits.

Torres was the fourth-round pick by the San Diego Padres in 2014 out of California Polytechnic State University. He spent 2017 with AA San Antonio in the Texas League where the right-handed batter hit .277 with 11 home runs and 61 RBIs.

He finished second on the club in RBIs and games played at 119. Torres went to spring training with San Diego in 2018 but was released on March 28. He appeared in one Big League Spring Training contest, going 1-for-1 with an RBI.

In 2016, Torres reached AAA El Paso in the Pacific Coast League playing in 36 games hitting six home runs with 18 RBIs and a .308 average but spent the bulk of his time at AA San Antonio hitting .282 with six long balls and 40 RBIs.

Torres’ 28 doubles tied him for the Missions team lead. In 2015 the Lakewood, California, native split time between High A Lake Elsinore and Low A Fort Wayne. In 77 games at Fort Wayne he hit .326 with two home runs and 40 RBIs while hitting .275 at Lake Elsinore with three homers and 30 RBIs. His 70 RBIs combined in 2015 are a four-year career high.

Torres began his career with one game with the rookie-level Arizona Padres in 2014 before hitting .254 in 43 games at Eugene in the Northwest League. Torres led the Big West Conference with 52 RBI in 58 games in his final season at Cal Poly.

Torres is the 36th Kansas City player, and the sixth this season, to have his contract purchased while with the T-Bones.

In May, the Washington Nationals purchased the contract of outfielder Adam Brett Walker and the New York Mets purchased the contract of right-handed pitcher Cody Martin. On July 3, the Cubs purchased the contract of left-handed T-Bones pitcher James Buckelew. On July 7, the Cincinnati Reds purchased the contract of left-handed pitcher Carlos Diaz. On July 13, the Seattle Mariners purchased the contract of left-handed pitcher Joe Filomeno.

The T-Bones have consistently held the second-place spot in the American Association and currently have a 35-20 record and a .636 winning percentage. The T-Bones take on the Cleburne Railroaders (19-34) in the second of a three-game series Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. in Texas. On Monday, KC defeated Cleburne 10-4.

Individual tickets, season, group, mini-plans and nightly party suites are on sale and can be purchased by visiting the box office at T-Bones Stadium or www.tbonesbaseball.com. Box office hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

The T-Bones’ games are airing on the T-Bones Broadcast Network, http://mixlr.com/t-bones-baseball/.

– Story from T-Bones