In a marathon night the Kansas City T-Bones just flat ran out of arms in a 14-inning 12-11 loss to the Winnipeg Goldeyes Saturday night at Shaw Park in Winnipeg, Canada.
A Matt Sergey (2-2) wild pitch on an intentional walk attempt brought out the water bucket celebration for Winnipeg as the walk-off winners, ending the longest game in American Association history at five hours and 25 minutes.
Sergey a right-hander, was pressed into action for Kansas City throwing left-handed. He was coming off a hard luck loss on Thursday, where he gave up one run in a 1-0 loss. He will throw right in his next scheduled start. Sergey entered the game in the bottom of the 14th with the game tied and Kansas City out of arms in their bullpen throwing left-handed.
Kansas City might have never been in extra innings if not for Tyler Horan in the top of the ninth. Winnipeg closer Ryan Chaffee followed up his one-pitch appearance from Friday night with a save chance in the ninth. With two outs, Kevin Keyes looked to hit a fly ball to right to end the game, but David Rohm dropped the ball to leave the inning wide open. Horan then hit his 4th long ball of the year to tie the game at nine.
The T-Bones took a 5-0 lead off Winnipeg starter Zach Nuding and looked to be rolling. Kansas City got three home runs in the top of the second – a solo shot from Kyle Petty, a two-run shot by Joe Jackson and another two-run shot by Chantz Mack.
Winnipeg got a seven RBI night from Andrew Sohn on an 8-for-6 night. The first pair of RBIs he picked up off Gabe Perez in the third on a two-run homer. The T-Bones would come back and extend the lead to 6-2 on a Leo Rojas double in the fourth and Joe Jackson driving in another home an inning later to make it 7-2 on an RBI ground out.
The Goldeyes chipped away with RBIs from Josh Romanski in the fifth and two more from Sohn in the sixth to cut the lead to 7-5 going into the seventh.
Luis Paula retired the first two batters he faced, but gave up a single to Shawn Pleffner, then walked back-to-back batters to load the bases. The T-Bones walked 10 in the nine innings of regular play and another four in extra innings with five on the walks eventually scoring.
With the sacks full the Goldeyes got a single from Mason Katz to tie the game and then a bad hope single that bounced over Jerome Pena’s head at short off the bat of Sohn gave Winnipeg a 9-7 lead.
The T-Bones would tie it in the ninth and take the lead in the 13th, with a bases loaded hit by pitch to Eddie Newton and a sacrifice fly RBI from Kyle Petty off eventual winner Mitchell Lambson (4-2). Petty also was pressed into action as a reliever and after working a scoreless twelfth, he was one out away from getting a relief win when Winnipeg tied the game on an RBI single from Romanski.
Kansas City has now lost three in a row and with the loss fell two games back of Lincoln in the Central Division. The game beat the old American Association record of game length by three minutes, when El Paso and Wichita played five hours and 22 minutes on May 20, 2011, a 15-inning affair.
The two teams wrapped up the series Sunday afternoon. Following the series in Winnipeg the T-Bones return home Tuesday, July 18, to open up a six-game home stand. Tickets are available online, by calling 913-328-5618 or by visiting in person the Providence Medical Center Box Office.
– Story from T-Bones