The T-Bones scored five runs in the final two innings and beat the Sioux City Explorers in 10 innings, 6-3, Saturday night at Lewis and Clark Park in Sioux City, Iowa.
After Sioux City broke a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the eighth inning with two runs, Tyler Massey led off the ninth for the T-Bones against reliever Connor Overton with a lead-off double.
Overton (5-1) forced the next two batters to fly out before Jimmy Mojica launched the first pitch of his at-bat over the left field wall, tying the game at 3-3. That was Mojica’s first home run since 2014. The runs were equally rare for Overton, who’d given up only four runs in 28 appearances this season, and only one run in his last 15 appearances.
Mark Haynes shut the Explorers down in the ninth and pushed the game to extra innings. In the 10th Kansas City kept the momentum. Overton hit the lead-off batter, Steve Swingle, with a pitch before Vladimir Frias sacrificed and reached on an error by Sioux City third baseman Tom Mendonca. Brett Wiley then hit the ball off the wall in left field and scored Starlin Rodriguez, who pinch ran for Swingle.
Kansas City added insurance runs, though. After Tyson Gillies reached on a single that loaded the bases, Jake Blackwood brought two in with a single, giving him five RBIs in this series, and extending the T-Bones lead to 6-3.
Haynes (2-1) was tasked with shutting down the Explorers in the bottom of the 10th. A walk to Nate Samson was his only mistake in the inning, but it was sandwiched between two strikeouts.
Josh Hodges got the start for Kansas City and was in a pitching duel with Sioux City starter Bryan Escanio. Hodges went 7 1/3, allowing seven hits, three runs and striking out five. Escanio found similar success going 7 with four hits and one run surrendered. He struck out five, also.
This victory ends the T-Bones’ losing streak at seven games, which was the club’s longest since August 2015.
Kansas City (30-41) concludes the four-game series with Sioux City (36-36) Sunday afternoon at 2, before returning home for a seven-game homestand. All of the action can be heard at TBonesBaseball.com.
– Story from Matt Fulks, T-Bones