By Brian Bruce

GARY, Ind.-  The Kansas City T-Bones went to the bottom of the ninth inning with a 4-3 lead on Tuesday night at the U.S. Steel Yard, but ended up on the wrong end of a 5-4 final as former T-Bones player Sean Henry singled home Adam Klein, giving the RailCats the win.

The T-Bones fell behind early, as Gary scored two runs on two hits and one error in the bottom of the third against starter Devin Anderson. The big hit of the inning came off the bat of Mike Coles, who singled home Klein with a line drive to right-center.

But, just like Monday night when Kansas City won after rallying from a 6-0 deficit, the T-Bones had an answer on Tuesday. KC tied the game with two runs on three hits in the fourth, both runs scoring with two outs. Brandon Jones crossed the plate on an RBI single by Enrique Cruz, and Cruz scored on an RBI double by Liberty, Mo., Hunter Mense, which tied the game at 2-2. The T-Bones took the lead, 3-2, on an RBI single by Trevor Coleman in the sixth.

Meanwhile, Anderson was pitching well. He lasted seven innings against the RailCats, allowing only two earned runs on eight hits while walking two and striking out three. He dropped his ERA from 4.81 to 4.43 but came away with a no-decision.

Gary SouthShore tied the game at 3-3 when it scored one run on four singles in the bottom of the eighth against right-hander Matt Foust. The RailCats would have taken the lead in the frame but Jones threw out Craig Maddox at the plate from left field for the third out, on a base hit by Brian Kolb.

In the see-saw contest, KC again grabbed the lead in the top of the ninth. Jose Duran led off with a line drive triple over Henry’s head in center, and leadoff man Justin Bass followed by roping an 0-1 pitch to right center, scoring Duran and giving the T-Bones a 4-3 lead. The lead didn’t last.

Closer Jake Wiley came on in the bottom of the ninth with a chance to pick up his eighth save, but David Cooper led off with a single and then stole second. Klein doubled to left-center, which brought home Cooper and tied the game at 4-4. KC then intentionally walked Mike Massaro and Coles to load the bases with no outs. Wiley (1-4) struck out Ryan Babineau swinging, but Henry singled through the left side for the win.

Offensively, Enrique Cruz, the former major-league infielder whom the T-Bones acquired in a trade over the weekend, went two for three with a walk, an RBI and a run scored. Jones finished three for five for Kansas City and has now raised his average to .342 on the year.

The loss drops Kansas City to 20-18 on the year. Game three of the four-game set will begin at 7:10 on Wednesday. The T-Bones will send right-hander Brian Grening (4-2; 3.38 ERA) to the mound. Tune in to the KMBZ Business Channel 1660 AM and online at www.tbonesbaseball.com to catch the play-by-play action.