Kansas City, KS — The Monarchs scored eight runs in the first four innings and that was all that was needed as Kansas City took down Lincoln with an 8-4 win on Thursday night.

It was Lincoln who jumped in front in the opening frame with three runs as Cary Arbolida led off with a base hit and then it was followed by a double from Jairo Pomares. The next batter, Tanner O’Tremba, blasted a three-run bomb for the second game in a row to give the Saltdogs an early 3-0 advantage.

The Monarchs wasted no time illustrating a response in the bottom half of the inning as the former Royal, Tyler Gentry, opened up the game with a triple. He was brought home on a base hit from Austin Callahan and then Luken Baker kept the line moving with a single. Shortly after, Grant Richardson lined a ball up the middle to bring home the second Monarch run. Kansas City would not stop there when Sahid Valenzuela roped a ball into left to bring home both Baker and Richardson. In the blink of an eye, the Monarchs had a 4-3 lead.

Richardson continued his exceptional play at the dish when he belted an opposite field homer in the third to build on the KC lead.

Platte City native, Sawyer Allen, made his first start on the bump and threw four punch outs while giving up three runs and six hits in six innings of work. After that fist frame, he really settled in and went 9 up and 9 down through three frames. There were four different Monarch pitchers out of the bullpen tonight including newly acquired, Michael Reed. He impressed in his debut and went 1-2-3 in the eighth inning.

KC continued to steamroll ahead in the fourth frame as Gentry was hit by a pitch, Callahan singled, and then Baker was right on cue with his 19th homer of the season on a straightaway shot to center. The Monarchs put together eight unanswered and would cruise the rest of the way.

Lincoln tallied a run in the seventh on a solo homer from Griffin Everett, but the Monarchs were in total control throughout the game.

This win completes the fourth series sweep of the season and Kansas City is victorious in five of the past six. They will look to carry this momentum into an upcoming 10 game roadtrip, starting with a three-game series with the Sioux Falls Canaries tomorrow night. First pitch is at 7:05 at The Birdcage.

Kansas City, KS — It was a defensive battle on Tuesday night as Lincoln took an early lead, but the Monarchs scored three unanswered including the winning run in the ninth to win 3-2.

The Saltdogs wasted no time in the opening frame as Nick Shumpert started off with a one out knock and Cary Arbolida brought him home on a liner into left field. The very next batter, Connor Bagneiski drove a grounder into center and Arbolida scored to double the lead. Just like that it was 2-0 advantage and the Monarchs had work to do.

It took three innings, but the Monarchs found the answer in the fourth frame. Luken Baker, Grant Richardson, and Sahid Valenzuela each recorded a knock to load up the bases with one out. JD Davis saw the first pitch and then lined a ball up the middle to score a pair of runners. Davis says, “I told myself not to do too much and hit a line drive up the middle. He’s a good crafty lefty, he pitched all three pitches, and could locate them well. For me it was to try to stay balance and stay in my legs and shoot one up the middle.”

Jimmy Endersby made his 13th start on the bump and was dealing he strikes all over the place. He finished the night with six punch outs in seven innings of work including 12 up and 12 down in four frames. It was another rock solid performance from the Anaheim native.

This was a defensive duel, but the bottom of the ninth came around and the Monarchs were doing playing games. Hudson Head grabbed his only hit of the night on a grounder into center field. He was advanced to second on a sac bunt from Onix Vega. Tyler Gentry made his debut at Legends Field and after going 0-4, he came up with the biggest swing of the night on a liner up the middle and Head raced home.

It was a storybook ending to what was a defensive night and that was the third walk off the Monarchs have put together at home. This was a much needed win and Kansas City will look to win the series tomorrow night with a 6:35 first pitch.

Milwaukee, WI — Kansas City scored seven runs in the final two frames and cruised to a 12-6 win over the Milwaukee Milkmen behind a 15-hit night.

This game worked quickly as only 28 minutes had gone by and it was the bottom of the third. The Monarchs started to settle in and found the breakthrough in the fourth inning when Saul Garza hit a solo smash to jump into the lead. The league leader in triples, Hudson Head, recorded his ninth triple and then was brought home on an RBI double from JD Davis. Shortly after, Tyler Gentry registered his first RBI as a Monarch when he sent a ground ball into right that scored Davis. Kansas City would not slow down as Austin Callahan ended the frame with a two-run blast. KC put up a five spot and would not surrender the lead the rest of the way.

The Milkmen found an immediate response in the bottom half of the fourth as Andy Blake crushed a two-run homer to cut the lead back down to three.

It was an exceptional pitching performance from former World Series champion, Michael Mariot. He went 6.1 innings while shoving in a season-high nine K’s, despite giving up three runs. Jack Walker, Jeff Hakanson, and Wyatt Wendell also stepped on the bump as they combined for two strikeouts with three runs allowed.

Milwaukee would not go down so easily as they cut the lead down to just one in the bottom of the seventh inning. There were three-straight base hits by Wendell Marrero, Alec Olund, and Chase Weddell to load up the bases with only one away. Charlie Marion drove in a pair of runs as he reached base via fielders choice with a ground ball up the middle. The Monarchs were fortunate to close out the inning with a one-run lead, but had work to do.

This group quickly answered by putting up their second five-spot of the night. In the top of the eighth, Head walked and then JD Davis drove in another run with a knock up the middle. Brady Lindsly immediately followed it up with a single and then Gentry ripped a ball into center field that scored Davis and Lindsly. Callahan finished the inning with the last run as he got home on a wild pitch from Milkmen pitcher, Justin Kelly. Just like that, the Monarchs had their largest lead at 10-4.

Davis was on a tear tonight as he added the last two Monarch runs in the ninth. Garza walked and then Head singled while Davis delivered a fly ball into center to score both runners. Davis, Gentry, and Callahan all collected three RBI’s each and were a huge part of the Kansas City offense tonight.

The Milkmen added two consolation runs in the bottom half of the ninth, but it was too little too late.

This was a much needed series win over the East Division leaders. Kansas City has now reestablished a 1.5 game lead over Winnipeg and will look to build on that tomorrow afternoon. It will be a 1 o’clock first pitch at Franklin Field to round out the six-game roadtrip.

Oconomowoc, WI — It was an uncharacteristic night offensively as the Monarchs were shutout for just the second time this season with a 6-0 loss to the Dockhounds on Thursday night.

Former Pirates prospect, Emmanuel Chapman, made his debut for the Monarchs and held off the Dockhounds before they found the breakthrough in the third inning. Ripken Reyes was hit by a pitch and Dom Johnson singled to put two in scoring position. This gave the way for Joshua Mears to rip a hard grounder into right field to score both runs.

Chapman had a good day on the bump and despite giving up two runs, he shoved in four punch outs on his debut. Nate Webb took his place in the fourth inning and also totaled four K’s. Left hander, Jack Walker, was the second Monarch to make his debut and he threw a strikeout in the seventh inning. Kansas City has added depth to their bullpen and it will surely be helpful down the stretch.

In the fifth inning, Johnson cranked a solo homer and then in the sixth stanza, Reyes was hit by a pitch when the bases were loaded and Lake Country had a 4-0 lead.

The Dockhounds would a tally in seventh and eighth inning to make it four-straight frames with a run. In the seventh, Mario Feliciano smacked an RBI single to score Ray Zuberer and then Mears drilled a liner into left field in the eighth to tally his second RBI of the night.

Kansas City really struggled to find the offense as Edwin Diaz and Sahid Valenzuela were the only Monarchs to register a knock tonight. They also had five runners left on base and couldn’t provide the timely hitting. This was an uncommon game from this team and with a Winnipeg win, the Monarchs fall out of first place for the first time since June 4th. Perhaps that can kickstart this group back to winning ways as they stay in the state of Wisconsin and jump into a series with the East Division leaders, Milwaukee Milkmen. This is a crucial series before they return home with a 6:35 start tomorrow night at Franklin Field.

Oconomowoc, WI — It was a game where there were 24 combined hits, but a frustrating night for the Monarchs offensively as they left 15 runners on base and fell to Lake Country 8-5.

Kansas City got off to a strong start where on the fourth pitch of the game, Edwin Diaz smoked his third homer of the season to give the Monarch an early lead. Diaz has solidified himself as one of the key leadoff hitters.

Lake Country had an even better start as they put up four-run first frame to take an early lead. In two pitches, there were a pair of runners on base and then two batters later, Joshua Mears tied up the game on a ground ball which sent home Ripken Reyes. That brought in Mario Feliciano who roped a line drive into center that scored Dom Johnson and Mears. Anthony Garcia finished out the inning with a solo blast.

There were three scoreless frames, but the Monarchs rallied back in the fifth. Luken Baker and Grant Richardson stayed smart at the plate and drew two walks with no outs. This allowed Saul Garza to hammer a fly ball into right field which scored both runners as Garza recorded his team-leading 20th double this season. Garza would get to third and then eventually home after Dockhounds pitcher, Jacob Campbell threw a wild pitch.

Unfortunately, the lead did not last long as Lake Country orchestrated an immediate response. In the bottom half of the inning, Ray Zuberer reached base via fielders choice and then Mears singled. Feliciano ripped a hard grounder through the right side which score both runners. Lake Country would hold on to the lead for the rest of the night.

Geison Urbaez started on the bump for Kansas City and allowed 11 hits with seven runs. He once again put up a five K performance, but did not have his best start. Jeff Hakanson had a good outing on the bump in the seventh inning as he punched out two batters with no hits given up.

The Monarchs had a golden opportunity to strike in the sixth inning as Diaz, Baker, and Richardson all walked with only one out. They unfortunately could not drive home any runs in the frame and came up empty once again.

Kansas City got one back in the top of the eighth as there were two runners on and Hudson Head sliced a ball into left center field on a ground rule double that scored Austin Callahan. Baker got to third and with two runners in scoring position, they couldn’t find a way to tie up the game. 15 runners was the most the Monarchs left on base the entire season as the timely hitting was not there tonight.

The Dockhounds would score one more tally in the bottom half of the inning and that would seal it. With a Winnipeg win, Kansas City sits only a half game ahead in first place. The Monarchs will look to try and even up the series tomorrow night with a 6:35 first pitch.