ST. PAUL, MN -- The Kansas City T-Bones (29-27) came into game three with the St. Paul Saints (37-21) hoping carry over the momentum from a Wednesday win over the Saints into a winning series but two longs balls and a leaky pen cost KC, losing 8-6 Thursday night.

St. Paul got on the board first in the bottom of the first. Brady Shoemaker hit a two-run home run off T-Bones starter Tommy Collier, scoring Chris Baker, making the score 2-0.

Later, in the bottom of the second, the Saints furthered their lead 5-0, with a single to left field by Dan Motl that scored Josh Romanski. Baker then hit a double to left field, scoring both Motl and Matt Morales.

The T-Bones, however, fought back when Christopher Colabello hit a double off Saints starter Benji Waite that scored both Dylan Tice and Roy Morales, making it 5-2 in the top of the third.

Kansas City’s Daniel Nava hit a home run, making the score 5-3 in the top of the fifth off Saints reliever Ryan Smith. However, St. Paul followed with another home run by Shoemaker, making the score 6-3 in the bottom of the fifth.

Casey Gillaspie got on board in the top of the seventh with a single to right field that scored Morales off the Saints Mike Devine. Then, Nava bounced into a double play that scored Colabello, making it 6-5.

The Saints increased their lead 8-5, in the bottom of the seventh. Kevin Hamann worked a scoreless sixth for Kansas City but ran into trouble in the seventh. Motl led off the inning with a single then Baker hit a double to left field that scored Motl. Nick Lee came into the game for KC and got a fly by out that moved Baker to third. Then, John Silviano hit a double that scored Baker and it was 8-5.

Kansas City kept fighting getting a run back, with single to left field by Colabello that scored Mars off Landon Beck, cutting the Saints lead to 8-6, in the top of the eighth, but it wasn’t enough. Todd Van Steensell gave us a one out single to bring the tying run to the plate but a fantastic diving catch by Motl in center field kept Kansas City from taking advantage of the opportunity.

The winning pitcher is Ryan Smith (2-0) for the St. Paul Saints and the losing pitcher is Tommy Collier (6-4) for the Kansas City T-Bones. Van Steensell go the save his 14th.

You can catch the Kansas City T-Bones again as they play the Winnipeg Goldeyes Friday, July 19th at 7:05pm at T-Bones ballpark. Hear all the action on the T-Bones Broadcast Network with a first pitch of 7:05 p.m. 

Half-season 2019 ticket packages as well as mini plans are on sale now online or by calling (913) 328-5618 or by visiting the Saint Luke's Box Office between the hours of 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Group ticket sales are also on sale now.

For additional information or interview requests, members of the media may contact the T-Bones Media Relations Department at (817) 739-3693. Stay tuned to www.tbonesbaseball.com and the T-Bones Facebook and Twitter pages for updates throughout the season.

Box Score