The Kansas City T-Bones won their fifth straight Saturday evening, beating the Cleburne Railroaders 5-4 in front of an enthusiastic crowd of 6,180 at T-Bones Stadium.
Like Friday evening, the Railroaders started off with an active first inning, scoring two runs on four hits with a pair of RBIs from the Palmeiro father-and-son combo.
First, Patrick Palmeiro brought in K.C. Huth with a sac fly to right field, followed by Trevor Sealey scoring on a Rafael Palmeiro single to center field.
The RBI by Veteran Rafael Palmeiro was his eighth run batted in this season, proving the 53-year-old can play with those 30 years younger than he. Rafael Palmeiro went into tonight’s game, his 18th of the season, batting a cool .279.
In the top of the second, the Railroaders boosted their lead to 4-0 with a well-hit single to the left center field gap by Trevor Sealey that scored Alex Polston and K.C. Huth.
But the T-Bones would only wait an inning to begin their assault on Cleburne, with a two-run bottom of the second.
Dexter Kjerstad started with a lead-off single, and the next batter, Keith Curcio, was hit by a pitch, moving Kjerstad to second. Kjerstad then advanced to third on a wild pitch to Adrian Nieto.
Tucker Pennell lined the ball to the shortstop and was thrown out at first, but the play allowed Kjerstad to score for the T-Bones first run of the game. Curcio added to the board, scoring from third on a wild pitch to Mason Davis.
In the third, another multiple-run bottom of the inning saw the T-Bones take over the lead thanks to rough pitching from the Railroaders’ starting pitcher Patrick Young.
Tice started it off with a walk, then moved to second on a wild pitch to Todd Cunningham. As if déjà vu, the next batter Cunningham walked and then advanced on a wild pitch, putting runners in scoring position. Tice went on to score when Nick Torres hit a fielder’s choice to the third baseman.
Zach Walters then singled and advanced to second on an error by the center fielder, which allowed Cunningham to score for the fourth, and game-tying, run of the game. The T-Bones took over the lead, with two outs, when an RBI double to the right field corner by Keith Curcio scored Walters from second, making the score 5-4.
Kansas City’s starting pitcher James Buckelew held Cleburne scoreless from the third through the fifth innings and earned the win. Hunter Adkins came in the top of the seventh, followed with relief pitching from Francisco Gracesqui and Carlos Diaz.
The Railroaders sent their height to the mound, with 6-7 starting pitcher Patrick Young and 6-8 relief pitcher Josh Hodges coming in the top of the seventh, but their stature was no match for Kansas City’s bats. Young is recorded with the loss.
Season, group, mini-plans and nightly party suites are on sale and can be purchased by visiting the box office at T-Bones Stadium. Call the box office at 913-328-5618 or purchase and print at 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.
– Story from T-Bones