07/06/2004 12:53 PM - July 6, 2004

KANSAS CITY - Starting pitcher Tom MacLane cooled off the torrid T-Bones’ bats with seven strong innings and the RailCats’ offense turned it on late as Gary (12-32) beat Kansas City (17-26), 8-1, Tuesday night at CommunityAmerica Ballpark. The RailCats scored four ninth-inning runs to seal the victory, their first against the T-Bones this season.

MacLane (1-1) retired 10 straight batters from the third to sixth innings and struck out five in 6.2 innings of work. With the win, the RailCats snapped an eight-game losing streak. T-Bones’ starter Phil Thompson (1-2) was charged with the loss after allowing three runs in 4.3 innings.

Peter DeYoung drove in the go-ahead run in the third inning on a fielder’s choice that scored Matt Howe and broke a 1-all tie. Curt Lee gave the RailCats some breathing room in the fifth inning with a base hit to left that made the score 3-1. Gary added another run in the sixth and four in the ninth – highlighted by a three-run homer to left by Hipolito Martinez off of reliever Drew Oksen.

Kansas City took its only lead of the game in the first inning when Rick Prieto sent a sacrifice fly to center field that scored Chad Hill, who hit his first triple of the year to lead off the frame. The Railcats tied the score in the second inning when Anthony Iapoce drew a bases-loaded walk that pushed Lee across the plate.

The T-Bones and RailCats will conclude their three-game set Wednesday night at CommunityAmerica Ballpark. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Game Notes: T-Bones’ designated hitter Eddie Pearson left the game in the third inning with a quadriceps injury Pearson is thought to have aggravated the muscle while running from first to third on a double by Ray Brown in the first inning. He is listed as day-to-day… Hill went 2-for-4 with a double and triple. He has now collected at least two hits in four straight games and in nine of his last 13. He is currently riding a team-high seven-game hitting streak… When Gary took a 2-1 lead in the third inning, it was the first time the T-Bones had trailed the RailCats this season, a span of 46 innings. Kansas City is 5-1 against Gary in 2004… Kansas City is 2-6 at home against left-handed starters this season and 4-11 against southpaws overall.

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