T-Bones shelled 17-8 by Gary

TBonesbaseball.com

The Kansas City pitchers struggled mightily in a 17-8 loss to the Gary SouthShore RailCats on Wednesday night, giving up 20 hits and walking nine batters, two more than they’d walked in the first three games of the season combined.

With Kansas City trailing 2-0 in the second inning, starting pitcher Nick Singleton hit one batter, allowed five consecutive hits and then walked another batter, a stretch in which the RailCats racked up five runs and gained a 7-0 lead.

“He was just off,” T-Bones manager Kenny Hook said of Singleton (1-1). “They came out more aggressive than they did the first two nights of the series. I think that caught Nick a little by surprise. They took a lot of pitches the first two nights, but they jumped on the ball (Wednesday) early in the count.”

Kansas City made up a little ground in the bottom of the second inning, as recently acquired third baseman Devin Goodwin blasted a home run with Beau Stoker on base, bringing the T-Bones within 7-2.

Then, after Gary SouthShore added a run in the top of the third, former Missouri standout Trevor Coleman, who signed with the T-Bones on Tuesday, hit a solo homer to right, cutting the RailCats’ lead to 8-3.

“We saw exactly what we had been told about Coleman being able to hit like that,” said Hook, “and watching Goodwin in batting practice it’s obvious that he has some pop in his bat.”

After the RailCats (4-3) scored in all but two innings and took a 17-3 lead, the T-Bones put together a mini rally in the bottom of the ninth, scoring five runs, including two on an inside-the-park home run by Jose Duran.

The T-Bones (2-5) now head out of town for their first road trip of 2012. They will face Grand Prairie tomorrow, Friday and Saturday. Kansas City returns to CommunityAmerica Ballpark on Friday, June 1, for a three-game homestand against Amarillo.