Winnipeg, MB — For the first time this season, the Monarchs took a trip north of the border and opened their series with the Winnipeg Goldeyes at Blue Cross Park. After a postponed game due to rain, the teams played a doubleheader on Tuesday night and Kansas City split the set with the Monarchs winning game one, 12-0, and losing the second by a score of 11-3.

Game 1

KC came out swinging in the first seven-inning game with a dominant shutout win. They combined for 14 hits followed by a dozen runs to go with it. All Star, Austin Callahan opened up the second inning with a triple followed by an RBI single from Hudson Head. Trevor Boone collected his first hit of the night and Brady Lindsly brought in both runs with a double into left field. It was a quick three run advantage and the Monarchs wouldn’t look back.

Kansas City added four runs in the fourth to put the game to bed. Boone led off with a double and JD Davis ripped a line drive into right field to score Boone. The former Houston Astro had his best day as a Monarch with three RBI’s and runs. Saul Garza collected his only hit of the game and Callahan followed it up with a three-run homer to lift the Monarchs into a 7-0 advantage.

The only pitcher to toe the slab was right-hander Ryan Garcia. He went all seven frames and only gave up three hits the whole game. Garcia threw three strikeouts to earn his sixth win of the season which is tied for first on the team. It was another impressive outing from the California native.

In the sixth inning, the Monarchs posted another four-run frame. It started with a Davis double while Garza was hit by a pitch. With two outs, Boone cleared the bases when he crushed a ball into right field for his second double in the contest. Callahan, Davis, and Boone each tallied three hits and were responsible for nine of the 14 knocks. Kansas City added a run in the seventh on a solo shot from Davis. It was his first homer in a Monarchs uniform to cap off a blowout win.

Game 2

Kansas City would look to sweep the doubleheader and win the series, but Winnipeg had other ideas. The Monarchs picked up where they left off and produced three tallies in the first frame to take an early lead. Nick Martini singled and Garza reached on a fielder’s choice. This brought up the newly acquired and former St Louis Cardinal, Luken Baker, who officially made his presence known with a three-run bomb to left field. Unfortunately, this would be the only time the Monarchs would cross home plate in the second contest.

Winnipeg finally got the bats rolling as they put up a pair of runs in each of the first four of five frames. They scored all 11 hits and kickstarted the game with a triple from Ray-Patrick Didder. Ramon Bramasco reached base via error while Didder crossed home plate for the first Goldeye run of the night. Bramasco got all the way to third and was sent home on a fielder’s choice.

They took their first lead of the day in the second inning after a hit from Keshawn Lynch and an RBI single from TJ Schofield-Sam. It was the center fielder, Noah Marcelo who earned his first knock of the night with a ground ball up the middle to give the way for Schofield to score.

Jacob Gomez made his second start for KC and went 1.2 IP while allowing three hits and four runs. Jeff Hakanson came on in relief and led the bullpen with two strikeouts for the game. Former Padres product, Austin Krob, made his debut out of the pen and went two innings with a strikeout.

Just an inning later with the bases loaded, Schofield-Sam was at it again and produced a double that scored two more tallies to give Winnipeg a 6-3 advantage.

In the fifth frame and with runners on, Bramasco singled and Schofield-Sam scored. With runners at the corners, Marcelo reached base via fielders choice to score Patrick-Didder. It was an 8-3 lead.

There was relentless pressure from Winnipeg as they continued to pile on runs and posted three tallies in the sixth frame to even up the series. The rubber match will take place tomorrow night from Blue Cross Park to decide the winner of the series. Grant Gambrell (2-0, 1.64 ERA) is expected to make the start while Winnipeg will throw southpaw, Tasker Strobel (2-1, 6.35 ERA).

Sioux City, IA — It was a defensive battle at Security National Bank Field as the Monarchs were held to only two hits and dropped a 3-2 loss to the the Explorers.

This game only lasted two hours and 11 minutes as there were seven combined hits and base runners the entire night. Both teams were constantly getting it done on the defensive side, but two swings of the bat for Sioux City proved to be the difference.

KC cashed in on both runs in the third frame. Brady Lindsly walked and recent addition, Peyton Holt, collected his first hit for the Monarchs this season. Shortly after, Nick Martini lifted a sac fly into right field to bring home Holt. On the same play, there was an error on right fielder, D’Shawn Knowles and Lindsly scored to double the lead.

Four of the five runs were scored in the third with Sioux City adding a pair in the bottom half of the frame. The Explorers tied it up when Dillion Tatum walked and Zac Vooletich cranked a two run homer to notch the game at two apiece.

Austin Hansen made his eighth start on the bump and went six innings while giving up four hits, three hits, and threw a trio of strikeouts. Jeff Hakanson appeared in two innings and recorded one strikeout.

In the fifth inning, Zane Denton smashed the payoff pitch and the Explorers grabbed the lead for the first time in the game. Other than Holt, Austin Callahan was the only other Monarch to grab a hit as Kansas City couldn’t connect on pitches tonight.

In the two series these teams have played in, both of them have gone into a rubber match to decide the set. That will be the case tomorrow afternoon as KC is looking to open up the road trip with a series win. First pitch is at 4:05.

Kansas City, KS — It didn’t take long for the talented KC native to return to affiliated ball as outfielder, Marcus Smith signed with the Cincinnati Reds organization on Friday morning.

Since coming back to his hometown, Smith has shined in a Monarchs uniform. He led the team in three separate categories including RBI’s (26),  stolen bases (10), and OBP (.409). The leadoff hitter was second on the team in batting average (.306) and homers with seven.

Smith talked about his time with the Monarchs and said, “We are all very thankful to Joe Calfapietra and the Kansas City Monarchs for the opportunity to go out there and play.  This is what we all wanted to happen – Joe, myself, the Monarchs front office – we wanted to get an opportunity in affiliate baseball, and it happened very quickly. I want to extend my gratitude to everyone involved.”

The Pembroke Hill star will go back to the MiLB since his release by the Frisco Roughriders in November 2025.

This is the second player Calfapietra has sent to the Reds this season with the first being Steffon Moore. The skipper says, “As an organization, we are so excited for Marcus to get this opportunity with Cincinnati.  He has worked extremely hard and is ready for the next journey in his baseball career.”

Out of the 33 games he appeared in, there were only eight where he didn’t collect a hit and totaled 11 multi-hit games. Smith also drove in three or more RBI’s in four separate outings, including a seven RBI performance back on June 12th. He also tallied a six-game hit streak throughout the season. When asked about what this means, Smith replied, “Just go out there and play – keep going, give it a chance.”

With two players going back to the MiLB this season and with the recent MLB debut of Julian Garcia, the Monarchs continue a pipeline of players that return back to affiliated ball. This organization continues to redirect talent back onto the path of their ultimate goal.

Kansas City, KS — It was arguably the best outing of the season from KC as they took the first game of the series by storm with a 9-0 win over Sioux Falls.

The Monarchs jumped in front right from the get-go in the first frame as Marcus Smith walked and was sent home by a sac-fly from Austin Callahan.

KC really stepped on the gas pedal in the fourth inning with a two-out rally to drive in four tallies. The rally opened up with a Smith single and a Saul Garza walk. Callahan delivered once again with a liner into center field and Smith crossed home plate. Newly acquired and former big leaguer, JD Davis, stepped onto the scene and ripped an RBI single followed by an RBI from Sahid Valenzuela. Trevor Boone was back in action in a Monarchs uniform and drilled a grounder up the middle to bring in Davis to score. It was a 5-0 advantage after three frames.

Jimmy Endersby earned the nod on the bump and delivered his best performance of the season. He went seven innings while throwing four strikeouts and didn’t surrender any runs. It was a much needed outing from the California native. “At the end of the day, we wanted to attack hitters and be aggressive through the zone. Trying not to get behind (which) has been hurting me.”

Smith opened up the fourth frame with a single and then stole his third base of the night. For the third time in the game, Callahan brought him home. The third baseman finished the night going 2-4 with three RBI’s and one run. Callahan talked about his approach and said, “Just trying to see it as best as I can. We have been struggling as a team lately, but tonight was a good night for us to get back on track. Just trying to see the ball and put the barrel on it.”

It was Boone who officially announced his return doing what he does best in the fifth inning. He saw the 0-2 delivery and belted his 5th homer this season. The Oklahoma native played in his first game in 19 days and certainly came back with a vengeance. Nick Martini also collected his fifth home run this season in the seventh when he tacked on a two run bomb to right field to put the game to bed.

The Monarchs earned their 20th victory of the season and now stand two games ahead of Sioux Falls for first place in the west division. It is a quick turnaround for game 2 with an early first pitch slotted for 11:35 am tomorrow morning.

Kansas City, KS –– It was a Sunday afternoon matinee between two quality teams, but Milwaukee defeated Kansas City, 6-2, to give the Monarchs a series loss.

The Milkmen jumped in front right from the opening frame with three runs. Michael Hallquist led off with a double followed by an RBI single from Charlie Marion. Three batters later, Andy Blake registered an RBI single while Yordys Valdes drove in a run on a double. It was not the start the Monarchs were looking for and had to respond.

They did just that in the bottom half of the inning as Nick Martini started his day with a single. It was Saul Garza who stepped on the scene with an RBI double for his 25th this season.

Delvin Perez opened up his afternoon with a single and eventually crossed home plate for the fourth run in the second inning.

Austin Hansen made his seventh start on the bump for KC and threw eight K’s. After that first inning, he really settled into his zone and mixed up his slider and fastball extremely well.

Milwaukee would continue to add runs as Hallquist was at it again with an RBI single in the seventh inning followed by a RBI walk from Chase Waddell in the eighth frame. It was a 6-1 advantage for the Milkmen and KC was searching for any sort of life.

They got some energy back with a solo homer from the hometown kid, Marcus Smith, in the bottom half of the eighth. It was his seventh homer of the season and he said, “(It) was really just getting my foot down early. I chased the change-up, watched the slider, and got in the middle. Had a fastball that gets on you a little bit, so I was trying to calm myself down (and) not get too excited.  Just put something in play, wanted to get something going.”

Unfortunately the Monarchs were held to six hits and the Milkmen threw some timely strikeouts to give them another series win. The Monarchs have a big series coming up on Tuesday when they welcome the second place, Sioux Falls Canaries, to town. First pitch is scheduled at 6:35 at Legends Field.