The T-Bones kept pace with St. Paul early, scoring four runs over the first two innings, but could not muster any offense past that point as the Saints won 5-4 on Wednesday night at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.
Neither team had trouble stringing hits together early in the game. Both Kansas City and St. Paul scored two runs in the first inning. The Saints surged to a 2-0 advantage with an RBI double by Ole Sheldon and an RBI ground out by Jose Hernandez, but the T-Bones tied the game in the bottom of the first when singles by Lee Cruz and Trevor Coleman each scored a runner.
After the Saints scored a run in the top of the second, Kansas City took its lone lead in the bottom of the inning, 4-3, when Cruz hit a two-run single. The lead did not last. The Saints tied it up in the third when Adam Frost walked, stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a ground out.
T-Bones starter Shaun Garceau (6-2) gave up five runs on six hits, walking three and striking out four. After allowing four runs in the first three innings, he held St. Paul scoreless for the next three innings, but then gave up the eventual winning run in the seventh on a single by Sheldon.
“These guys are a pretty good fastball hitting team, so if you can’t get strikes on the outer third of the plate, they’re going to beat you,” T-Bones manager Kenny Hook said. “We didn’t attack when we needed to attack, and maybe threw too many breaking balls to some of the guys who can’t really hurt you. Then, we got beat by some of their better hitters.”
Kansas City (35-30) continues its nine-game homestand on Thursday with the third and final game of the series against St. Paul (32-30) at 7:05 p.m. at CommunityAmerica Ballpark. Tickets are available by calling the box office at 913-328-2255.
