The fans of the Kansas City T-Bones had a big helping of pork Saturday night as the Texas AirHogs beat the Kansas City T-Bones 5-3 in game two of their three-game series in front of an expectant crowd of 4,977.
Kansas City scored first in the bottom of the second. Christian Correa hit a home run, scoring Christopher Colabello and Casey Gillaspie, making the score 3-0.
The AirHogs fought back, however, when Li Xuhong hit a sacrifice bunt to first base that scored Luo Jinjun. Then, Jonathan Moroney hit a single scoring Yang Jin, getting on the board 3-2 in the top of the third.
Texas took the lead, 4-3, in the top of the fourth when Luo Jinjun hit a double, sending Chen Junpeng to home. Then, Stephen Haviar pinch hit for Li Xuhong and hit another double, scoring Jinjun. The AirHogs furthered their lead 5-3, with a double to left center by Stewart Ijames that scored Moroney in the fifth inning.
Erik Manoah was traded to Texas on July 5 and was making his second start for the AirHogs. The former T-Bone made the most of the opportunity.
After giving up the three-run home run to Correa and a triple to Ramsey Romano, he would go on to retire the next eight batters. In the sixth he would walk two with one out and have runners at the corners but would strike out Casey Gillaspie and Daniel Nava to end the threat. He threw 112 pitches and gave us just five hits while walking three and striking out five.
The T-Bones attempted to turn up the heat to sizzle in the bottom of the sixth when Shawn O’Malley advanced to first on a walk, then stole second base, and advanced to third on an error by the catcher, Stephen Haviar. Then, after Colabello got a walk, with nothing to follow, neither of the runners scored. The T-Bones continued to struggle to bring runners home.
In the bottom of the eighth, O’Malley advanced to first on a fielder’s choice. Then, Colabello hit a single, advancing O’Malley to second. Colabello stole second base, and O’Malley stole third base, but again, no one brought them home to score.
The winning pitcher is former T-Bone Erik Manoah (1-1) for the Texas AirHogs, and the losing pitcher is Christian Binford (2-2) for the Kansas City T-Bones.
The Kansas City T-Bones and the Texas AirHogs will play their final game of the series at 1:05 p.m. Sunday, July 14. The game will air on the T-Bones Broadcast Network.
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