Even with a final attempted comeback with a run in the ninth by Lee Cruz, Kansas City couldn’t match Winnipeg’s offense and lost the final game of the three-game series, 8-4, on Thursday night at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.

Cruz scored off of Ray Sadler’s RBI single, but it wasn’t enough to come back from a four-run deficit in front of 5,330. It wasn’t only the Goldeyes’ hitters that kept the T-Bones at bay —Winnipeg’s starting pitcher Matthew Rusch kept Kansas City hitless until the sixth inning.

 

“Any time you've got a guy who can throw all pitches on any count, and nothing's over the middle of the plate, or the heart of the plate, and everything has movement, it's tough to square the ball up,” T-Bones manager Kenny Hook said. “You're basically kind of in a two-strike approach mode from the get-go because you really don't see anything that's straight. He's a great pitcher.”

 

Winnipeg was off to an early start after a run and a hit in the first inning, when Price Kendall scored off of one of starting pitcher Luke Irvine’s wild pitches. After two scoreless innings, the Goldeyes scored another with a solo homerun by Josh Mazzola, his second of the series. Two more runs in the fifth by Winnipeg’s Kendall and Chris Roberson secured Winnipeg’s lead.

 

The T-Bones got their first hits of the game in the sixth inning with a pair of singles by Hunter Mense and Devin Goodwin. Kansas City first crossed the plate when Mense scored off of Justin Bass’ RBI single. The sixth inning brought another run for the T-Bones when Brandon Jones scored Goodwin, bringing the score to 4-2. With two left on base, Cruz hit into a double play, ending the inning.

 

The loss drops Kansas City to 39-33 on the year. The T-Bones start a nine-game road trip playing the Canadian-American league tomorrow against Rockland at 6:05 p.m. CT.