KANSAS CITY, Kan. –Kansas City outlasted Amarillo on Wednesday night in a 7-6 victory at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.
The T-Bones took an early lead in the second inning of what would turn out to be a back and forth ballgame. Following a Ray Sadler single, Bryan Sabatella wasted no time extending his 13-game hitting streak, shooting a double to deep center field and scoring Sadler. With his hit, Sabatella matched Robby Kuzdale for the longest hitting streak on the club this season.
The T-Bones tacked on three more runs in the third. Vladimir Frias led off the inning with a triple and later scored when Danny Richar grounded out. Matt Padgett and Ray Sadler then hit back-to-back solo home runs, extending the Kansas City lead to 4-0.
Amarillo stormed back in the fifth, scoring five runs on Kansas City starter Joe Van Meter (1-1). Former T-Bones player Kyle Nichols put an exclamation point on the frame, crushing a three-run home run to left field and putting the Sox in front, 5-4. It was the 200th career home run for Nichols, who spent part of 2013 with the T-Bones.
Kansas City took the lead right back in its half of the fifth. T.J. Mittelstaedt led off with a walk and then scored when Richar doubled to left field. Sabatella grounded into a fielder’s choice later in the inning, scoring Richar and putting Kansas City back in the lead. The T-Bones tacked on another run before the inning came to a close with Kansas City in the lead, 7-5.
Van Meter’s only hiccup was Amarillo’s five-run fifth. He tossed 6 innings and picked up his first win with Kansas City. Ryan Rogers (1-1), who came on in relief in the fifth and only threw seven pitches, took the loss. Kris Regas allowed the tying run to reach third base in the ninth, but managed to secure his 18th save.
With the win, the T-Bones move to 40-48 on the season, while the Sox fall to 31-55. Kansas City begins a four-game series at Gary SouthShore (47-42) Thursday night at 7:05 p.m. The game can be heard on 1660-AM or watched live online at tbonesbaseball.com.
