The Kansas City Monarchs (33-17) slugged home runs number 103, 104, and 105 on the season in a close call on the road against the Lincoln Saltdogs (25-24). Casey Gillaspie played a huge factor in the game with his glove and his two-home-run night.

The Saltdogs jumped out in front in the Monarchs fourth consecutive road game on Friday night with a run in the bottom of the second inning.

The Monarchs offense was able to easily combat the early 1-0 deficit with three consecutive innings with one run in each the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings. Catcher J.C. Escarra drove in the Monarchs first run in the fourth inning on a single that scored Willie Abreu. The next two innings were both long-ball innings for Kansas City. Jan Hernandez mashed his 20th homer of the season to give the visiting Monarchs a 2-1 lead. A few minutes later Casey Gillaspie would add a moonshot of his own to add to the lead (3-1).

After surrendering a run in the second inning, Monarchs starter Matt Hartman would go on a tear by throwing up four scoreless frames in a row. The righty showed the entire Lincoln crowd just why he was selected to compete in the American Association All-Star game next week in Chicago. Hartman would finish the game with 6IP, 1R, 3BB, 7K, and just two hits.

A lead, especially on the road, can never be too safe, and the Monarchs offense knows that. It was only right that Casey Gillaspie would go deep again for Kansas City, making it his second homer on the night, and it gave his team a larger lead at 4-1.

The “salty dogs”, however, would make things extremely interesting in their last call during the bottom of the ninth inning. Jameson McGrane was called on out of the Monarchs bullpen to seal the deal, but the first three Lincoln hitters reached base before Kansas City could get an out. Hunter Clanin would shoot a single into the outfield to cut the Monarchs lead down to 4-2. With runners on and still nobody out, the Monarchs needed a stop. The man for the job was Casey Gillaspie, continuing his terrific evening. The left-handed first baseman would make the biggest defensive play of the evening by recording a 3-6 double play. The very next batter would be sat down on strikes by Jameson McGrane to complete the series opener victory over the Lincoln Saltdogs (4-2).

The Monarchs will continue their series with the Saltdogs tomorrow evening up in Lincoln  with game time at 7:05 p.m. The game can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 6:35 p.m. and the video stream airing on aabaseball.tv.

Tickets to all Monarchs games can be purchased by calling 913-328-5618 or by visiting monarchsbaseball.com. For additional information or interview requests, members of the media may contact the Monarchs Media Relations Department at (817) 739-3693. Stay tuned to monarchsbaseball.com. and the Monarchs Facebook and Twitter pages for updates throughout the season.

WP: Hartman (4-2)

LP: Delano (2-2)

S: McGrane (8)

Boxscore

By: JAXSON WEBB

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While not as big of a boom as last night’s ending, Jan Hernandez once again brought late fireworks over the Fourth of July weekend as his late-game heroics propelled the Monarchs (31-16) to a win, defeating the Cleburne Railroaders (15-32) in game one of the away series. The matchup was a back-and-forth dogfight all the way through, with only one inning with no runs scored, but Kansas City came out on top late, 10-9.

The Monarchs struck early in this holiday showdown as Darnell Sweeney led off the game with a walk from Cleburne starter Garrett Alexander; then he would reach second base three pitches later on a fly ball to left field off the bat of Kevin Santa to put a Monarch in scoring position in the first. Third baseman David Thompson would then capitalize on Sweeney’s efforts with an RBI double, giving the Monarchs an early lead. Gaby Guerrero would then step in and smack an RBI single, scoring Thompson and setting the score at 2-0 Monarchs before the turn of the inning. In the bottom half, Monarchs starting pitcher Akeem Bostick would allow the first two Cleburne batters to reach base, but he would then retire the next three without allowing a run, capping the inning off with a four pitch strikeout.

The Monarchs stayed on Alexander in the second, as shortstop Pete Kozma led the inning off with a double before moving to third base, thanks to a single from the next man in the order, Chad De La Guerra. Darnell Sweeney continued his hot streak when he came to the plate and hit a two-RBI double, scoring both Kozma and De La Guerra. The next batter in the order, Kevin Santa, would hit a single to the left that would allow Sweeney time to round the bases and make it home, bringing the score to 5-0 in the second inning. In the home half, the Railroaders began to head down the right track. Bostick allowed a single to each of the first three batters, loading the bases for Nick Shumpert, who promptly became the fourth batter to hit a grand slam off of a Monarchs pitcher this season, cutting the Kansas City lead to one. Bostick would then strike out two of the next four batters, retiring three of them and escaping the inning without any more damage.

In the third, back-to-back one-out walks from Casey Gillaspie and Pete Kozma and a single from Chad De La Guerra would load the bases for Kansas City, but then back-to-back punchouts would leave them that way. In the bottom half, back-to-back singles would put runners at the corners for Cleburne. Hunter Wolfe then bounced into a double play but Hill Alexander would score from third, tying the game at five.

The fourth also proved eventful, as the Monarchs’ half yielded an RBI double from Gaby Guerrero that scored Kevin Santa, giving KC the lead once again, 6-5. In the bottom half, an unorthodox triple to center field from Edwin Arroyo would put him in scoring position, and he would score two pitches later on a wild pitch, tying the game once more. Later in the inning, a walk and a stolen base from Zach Nehrir would put him in scoring position at second base, and Kacy Clemens would capitalize with an RBI single, giving Cleburne their first lead of the game with the score 7-6.

The Monarchs wouldn’t allow the lead to change for long, however, as Chad De La Guerra would lead the top half of the fifth off with a solo home run to knot the score at seven. In the bottom half, Akeem Bostick would call it a night as Justin Donatella would enter at the beginning of the half inning and record the first 1-2-3 inning of the contest, which would be followed by six more straight outs in the sixth.

In the top half of the seventh, a Pete Kozma walk broke the streak of 1-2-3 innings, but the Monarchs were unable to cash in. For the Railroaders, a trio of singles would plate Kacy Clemens and give the Railroaders an 8-7 lead.

In the eighth, the Monarchs would get two on the bases but Cleburne reliever Austin Fairchild would keep them stranded, holding the one run Railroaders lead as the teams headed to the bottom of the eighth. Offensively, the Railroaders’ Edwin Arroyo would draw a leadoff walk, and then steal both second and third. This allowed Chase Simpson’s single to score Arroyo, giving Cleburne a much needed insurance run late, as the Railroaders now held a two-run 9-7 lead.

To begin the ninth inning, Railroaders closer Nick Gardewine would enter in and walk the first two batters he faced, giving Kansas City the go-ahead run at the plate with no outs. After a flyout and a pinch hit strikeout, Darnell Sweeney stepped up and was hit by a pitch, loading the bases for Kevin Santa with two away. Santa drew a 3-2 walk to score one and bring none other than Jan Hernandez to the plate, just a day after his electrifying walkoff grand slam. Similarly to the night before, Hernandez drew the count to 3-2 with 2 outs and the bases loaded with himself as the last chance for the Monarchs. Also similarly to the night before, Hernandez delivered. This time, with a two-RBI single that gave the Monarchs a 10-9 lead heading to the bottom of the ninth. In the bottom half, Jameson McGrane came on to slam the door, and after a Hunter Wolfe single, he was helped out by a great play at the warning track by left fielder Darnell Sweeney to save extra bases and a run. The next batter, Jan Hernandez would fittingly catch the final out in center field, sealing the win for the Monarchs in the ninth.

The Monarchs take on the Railroaders again tomorrow (7/4) for game two of the series. The Monarchs look for the series win with the first pitch at 7:06 p.m. and can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 6:36 p.m. and the video stream airing on aabaseball.tv.

Tickets to all Monarchs games can be purchased by calling 913-328-5618 or by visiting monarchsbaseball.com. For additional information or interview requests, members of the media may contact the Monarchs Media Relations Department at (817) 739-3693. Stay tuned to monarchsbaseball.com. and the Monarchs Facebook and Twitter pages for updates throughout the season.

WP: Hill (1-0)

LP: Gardewine (3-3)

S: McGrane (7)

Boxscore

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By: ADAM COOK

Kansas City Monarchs’ All-Stars, Matt Hartman and Matt Adams, led the Monarchs to a dominant, 10-3 victory over the Gary SouthShore Railcats. Hartman and Adams led the way with their respective nine strikeouts and two home runs. Adams’ two home runs on the night brought his total to four in the past four games and added to his league leading total of 19 on the year.

In the first inning, Matt Hartman, the All-Star pitcher who received the start for the Monarchs, held the Railcats scoreless in the first frame. Hartman picked up two of his nine strikeouts on the night in the top of the first. Nick Garcia, the All-Star pitcher for the Railcats, dealt a scoreless first inning and only faced three batters, recording two strikeouts. Darnell Sweeney reached first with a hard hit single but was caught stealing following a Casey Gillaspie strikeout.

Hartman continued his strong performance on the mound in the top of the second by retiring the side in one, two, three fashion. In the bottom of the second the fireworks started early at Legends Field. Matt Adams kicked off the July 4th weekend celebrations with a deep blast over the left field wall to give the Monarchs a 1-0 lead, his first of two home runs on the night. Gaby Guerrero reached first base with a fielders’ choice following a David Thompson walk. With Guerrero on first, Chad De La Guerra roped a hard hit between the Railcats shortstop to put two runners on with only one out. Pete Kozma brought home Guerrero with an RBI double to right field. Alexis Olmeda stepped to the plate to provide the grand finale for the second inning with a crushed, three-run home run over the left field wall. The Monarchs led 5-0 heading into the third inning.

In the third inning, Hartman once again added to his strikeout total, striking out two of the four batters he faced and holding the Railcats hitless. In the home half of the third, Garcia surrendered three more runs to the Monarchs. Jan Hernandez reached first to start the inning with a single, and after recording one out, Garcia walked the next two batters he faced to load the bases. Kozma, following a lineout from De La Guerra, poured on the runs with a bases clearing RBI double that snuck past the right fielder to the corner. Garcia escaped the inning by securing a pop out from Alexis Olmeda, leaving the Monarchs up 8-0 after three innings played.

Hartman and Garcia both recorded one strikeout in the fourth inning on their way to their respective one, two, three innings on the mound. In the fifth, Hartman continued his quick efforts on the mound, striking out two of three en route to another scoreless inning. In the bottom of the fifth, the Monarchs added to their lead with the American Association home run leader and All-star, Matt Adams, blasting another solo shot, this time over the right field wall. Garcia allowed one more run in the inning via a sacrifice fly from Pete Kozma, following two singles from Thompson and De La Guerra. The Monarchs pushed their lead to 10-0 heading into the top of the sixth behind Kozma’s fifth RBI of the night.

In Hartman’s final inning of work, the Railcats finally found their way across the plate. Following Daniel Lingua’s hit by pitch at-bat, Victor Nova hit a two run home run to right field. Hartman picked up his eight and ninth strikeouts on the night and brought the inning to a close with the Monarchs leading 10-2. Hartman finished the night with six innings pitched, three hits allowed, nine strikeouts, 2 walks, and two earned runs. In the bottom of the sixth, Garcia slowed the Monarchs offense down and held them scoreless, retiring three out four and allowing no hits in his final inning of work. Garcia finished with six innings pitched, ten hits allowed, five strikeouts, three walks, and ten earned runs.

In the seventh inning, the Monarchs made a plethora of defensive substitutions, replacing Pete Kozma with Kevin Santa, and Willie Abreu replacing David Thompson. Darnell Sweeney moved to third base while Abreu filled in in left field, and on the mound Brock Gilliam replaced Matt Hartman. Gilliam allowed a one-out, solo home run to Chris Burgess before settling in and retiring the side. The Monarchs looked to add to their lead in the seventh following a one-out double from Gaby Guerrero. Kansas City was not able to capitalize with a runner in scoring position on the Railcats’ reliever, Ryan Campbell. Campbell forced a flyout and groundout to end the inning and hold their deficit at eight heading into the eighth.

In the top of the eighth, Brock Gilliam retired the Railcats in order, ending the inning with back to back strikeouts. In the bottom of the eighth, the Railcats’ Campbell held the Monarchs’ scoreless in spite of a leadoff walk from Darnell Sweeney.

Kansas City called upon Cam Hill, from the Swope Health bullpen, to close the door on Gary SouthShore in the top of the ninth. Hill struck out two of the first three batters he faced and retired the side in one, two, three fashion to secure the series win.

The final game of the three game series against the Gary SouthShore RailCats is tomorrow afternoon (7/3) at 3:00 p.m. The game can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 2:30 p.m. and the video stream airing on aabaseball.tv.

Tickets to all Monarchs games can be purchased by calling 913-328-5618 or by visiting monarchsbaseball.com. For additional information or interview requests, members of the media may contact the Monarchs Media Relations Department at (817) 739-3693. Stay tuned to monarchsbaseball.com. and the Monarchs Facebook and Twitter pages for updates throughout the season.

WP: Matt Hartman (3-2)

LP:  Nick Garcia (5-1)

S: N/A

Boxscore

By: CALEB GRIZZLE