An early wake up call for an 11:35 a.m. game on Tuesday did not slow down the Kansas City T-Bones (19-17) as right-hander Tommy Collier (3-3) tossed seven strong innings, and Casey Gillaspie drove in three runs in a 9-1 win over the Chicago Dogs (17-17) in front of 5,557 in Chicago.
The Dogs scored in the home half of the first on an RBI single from Victor Roache, but that was the only run they would get off Collier and a pair of relievers. Collier took command and retired the next five batters into the third.
In the top of the third, the T-Bones loaded the bases against left-handed pitcher Austin Wright when Casey Gillaspie walked with the bases loaded and two outs to tie the game at one.
Wright then uncorked a wild pitch to score Danny Mars from third and another wild pitch with Taylor Sparks batting resulted in a dropped third strike and Dylan Tice racing home to make it 3-1.
In the top of the fifth, Gillaspie took Wright deep to left with a two-run home run to increase the KC lead to 5-1. Roy Morales, who turned 24 on Tuesday, celebrated with an RBI single after a pair of walks to increase the lead to 6-1.
Collier was steady for the T-Bones, retiring 10 of the next 12 batters he faced. He scattered five hits over seven innings with four strikeouts.
In the top of the seventh, the T-Bones added another run on an RBI single from Mason Davis. Both Forrestt Allday and Danny Mars had ninth inning RBI singles off Harrison Smith to close out the T-Bones scoring.
Jackson Lowery worked a scoreless eighth inning while Carlos Diaz came off the inactive list earlier in the day to toss a scoreless ninth. The winning pitcher was Tommy Collier (3-3), and the losing pitcher was Austin Wright (1-5).
The series continues at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday, June 26, at Impact Field in Chicago. The game will be on the T-Bones Broadcast Network at http://mixlr.com/t-bones-baseball/.
Right-handed pitcher Christian Binford (1-0, 3.64) will take the ball for KC to face left-handed D.J. Snelten (3-1, 3.75) for Chicago.
Full and half-season 2019 ticket packages as well as mini plans are on sale online or by calling 913-328-5618 or by visiting the Saint Luke’s Box Office between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Group ticket sales are also on sale.
- Story from T-Bones