GAME NOTES 7/1707/17/2012 4:29 PM -
PROMOTIONS T-Bones Promotions for July 17-18
- T-Bones cap giveaway! (First 2,000 fans) - 20 oz. Tuesdays (20 oz draft beers for just $4)
- Chick-Fil-A Coupon Giveaway (first 1,000 fans) - Facebook Winning Wednesdays Ticket Special! Check our Facebook page for the exclusive offer for T-Bones fans ONLY! - Sizzle Autograph Session. - Food & Beverage Special: $1 Hot Dogs available with the purchase of any beverage. - Post-Game Catch on the Field by Coventry Health Care.
“It’s a huge win for the obvious reasons of not panicking and being able to score late like that. To have a slow start, not get early runs when we had chances, and then having a defensive meltdown, it’s huge to get that win. It’s a confidence builder to not play our best baseball but still get the win. Also, though, let’s face it, we’re doing some scoreboard watching to see what Wichita’s doing to see if we can make up ground. Since they lost and we won, we picked up a whole game. If both of us had lost, that would’ve been a missed opportunity for us.”
“He wasn’t as sharp as we’ve seen, but he kept battling and battling. His focus has been to keep the ball down. He traditionally gets into trouble when he leaves the ball up, and with his long stride, he has had a problem at times keeping the ball down. Last night he kept the ball down, but he didn’t get all of the calls he’s used to getting, so he had to change his focus. Being able to do that and give us quality innings shows his mentality and toughness. As a pitching staff, that’s an incredible, plus because if we had to take him out in the fourth or fifth inning, that would’ve been more work for our bullpen. That might not have hurt us last night, but it might’ve played into tonight’s game or even tomorrow’s game in terms of how ready and rested our relievers are.”
“He’s been great lately. That’s the only way to say it. His numbers are a bit inflated because early in the season, he was our only lefty in the bullpen and our starters weren’t going as deep into games, so he was working more. Since our starters are throwing more innings and he’s into the role he’s used to playing, which is more of a set-up guy, he’s throwing the ball past hitters, including right-handers, which is hard for lefties to do. Now, with the addition of (Brad) Furnish, another left hander in the bullpen, that’s going to help Kent so much.”
“So far he’s offered what I thought he would. Offensively, he can work the count and handle good pitchers. That’s evident from the at-bats he’s had. Defensively, he’s very smart, which we’ve seen, and he has great communication with our pitchers. He’s showing why we made the change and signed him.”
The T-Bones have shown a flair for the dramatic in their current four-game winning streak. It began with a 12-inning victory over the Wichita Wingnuts at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium on Thursday, July 12. Kansas City scored three in top of the 12th, including two on a single by Enrique Cruz, on its way to a 6-3 win.
In the first series this season between Sioux City and Kansas City, former T-Bones player Pete Barrows will sit in the opposing dugout at CommunityAmerica Ballpark as an Explorer. Barrows played 14 games with the T-Bones last year and batted .280 with seven RBIs. Barrows left Kansas City for Bridgeport before settling in Sioux City as an outfielder.
Shaun Garceau (5-1, 2.25) did not get a win in his seventh start of the season on Friday night, despite pitching seven solid innings and leaving the game with his team ahead 6-3, but his performance was recognized by an ERA that – despite growing slightly with each start – is the best in the American Association.
Righty Shaun Garceau has the lowest ERA in the league, but fellow Kansas City starter Luke Irvine is not far behind. Irvine, who recently entered the rotation after formerly pitching from the bullpen, is fifth in the American Association with an ERA of 2.73. Starter Brian Grening is fourth in the league in strikeouts with 60.
Kansas City signed two pitchers in the last two days, and both saw their first action in uniform during Monday night’s comeback win over Sioux City.
The T-Bones fell to Sioux City, 7-2, at CommunityAmerica Ballpark. The Explorers grabbed a 1-0 lead against Reid Santos in the first on an RBI single by Ray Serrano. Jim Fasano answered with a solo home run off Jason Jarvis – who will pitch on Tuesday for the Explorers - that tied the game in the bottom of the second. Jarvis allowed just one more run on an RBI single in the seventh inning. The right-hander took the win after allowing two runs on four hits over seven innings.
Kris Johnson allowed one run on five hits in a complete-game victory as the T-Bones defeated Sioux City, 2-1, at CommunityAmerica Ballpark. The Explorers picked up their lone run against Johnson in the top of the first inning when Kent Sakamoto hit an RBI single. Richard Salazar – who takes the mound for the Explorers tonight – retired the first 14 T-Bones he faced.
A bases-clearing triple by Keanon Simon in the bottom of the eighth inning highlighted a five-run frame as the T-Bones took the rubber match of their three-game series against the Explorers, 11-9, at CommunityAmerica Ballpark. Kansas City scored two in the third and added two more in the fourth. Matt Mitchell – who is still a reliever for the T-Bones – held Sioux City scoreless through four innings before the Explorers plated seven runs on five hits in the fifth to gain a 7-4 advantage. A three-run home run by Ray Serrano completed the scoring and chased Mitchell from the game.
The Sioux City Explorers came to CommunityAmerica Ballpark with a record of 26-30 on the season. The Explorers are fresh off of a series split with Sioux Falls, where the Pheasants won the first two games of the four-game series and the Explorers took the final two games.
With the season past its halfway point, the T-Bones are in the hunt for the Wild Card berth if they don’t catch Wichita in the division race.
Kansas City finished the regular season with a 48-48 record. Schaumburg eliminated the T-Bones in the first round, taking the best-of-five series 3-2. Eddie Pearson paced the T-Bones on the season, capturing the league’s MVP award.
The T-Bones celebrated a Northern League championship after defeating Gary SouthShore three games to one in the championship series. Kansas City (46-50) pulled the upset of the playoffs in the semifinals, when it swept one-seed Fargo-Moorhead after sneaking in the playoffs with a 46-50 record and being the last team to make the playoffs.
Gary SouthShore bounced the defending league champ Kansas City in the first round. The T-Bones qualified as the four seed, posting an identical regular season record as the previous year, 46-50.
Despite leading the Northern League throughout the 2010 season, a late-season fade found the T-Bones as the second seed in the playoffs. After Kansas City dispatched the Joliet Jackhammers in the semifinals, Fargo-Moorhead swept the T-Bones in the championship series.
On July 17, 2011, Kala Ka’aihue, who retired from the T-Bones in June, blasted two three-run home runs for the T-Bones as they defeated the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, 9-5, on Sunday afternoon to salvage a split in their four-game series at Newman Outdoor Field.
After a three-game series with Sioux City, the T-Bones hit the road for a four-game series with the American Association-leading Grand Prairie AirHogs. The AirHogs have a record of 37-19 and have a six-game lead over Amarillo in the South Division.
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