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Monarchs Allow Eight Runs in Final Two Innings, Suffer Loss to Lincoln

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Kansas City, KS – The Monarchs had the lead for seven innings, but the Saltdogs came storming back to win 12-9 and stole the first game of the series.

This Monarch team got the bats rolling right from the get-go in the first inning. After Sahid Valenzuela singled, Luken Baker smoked a two-run shot to take an early lead. The inning kept rolling with a  Hudson Head walk, a JD Davis base hit, and that allowed Grant Richardson to belt his third homer in his past five outings. It was 5-0 in the blink of an eye.

 

The momentum carried into the second frame after Valenzuela got on base and Baker doubled. Later in the inning, Richardson was right on cue with a two-run RBI single to jump into a seven-run advantage. It was all Monarchs to open up the game.

 

Lincoln found some life in the fourth inning as as they collected three-straight base hits capped off by a Cary Arbolida RBI. Two batters later, Calvyn Halvorson lined a single to bring in Arbolida and the lead was cut to 7-3.

In the bottom half of the frame, Baker wasted no time when he drilled his second homer of the night. The first baseman says, “I feel like I am in a good spot swinging the ball and getting good pitches to hit. I am hitting them well.”

 

After Kansas City scored another run in the seventh on a Wilfred Veras RBI, this was a 9-4 game going into the eighth and thats when it all changed. The Saltdogs made something out of nothing when Jake Hjelle singled and then two walks later had the bases loaded with Halvorson up. The shortstop sent a line drive into right field to score three runners and cut the lead down to two. After Tanner O’Tremba drew a walk, Cam Phelts grabbed a knock to bring home two runners and tie the game. The momentum continued as Nick Shumpert drove in Phelts while collecting a triple which gave Lincoln the lead for the first time in the contest.

 

In the final inning, Connor Bagnieski rocketed a two-run blast into center field and the Monarchs couldn’t rally back in the ninth. Baker talked about the night as a whole and said, “Outside of that one big blow up inning, we felt we played our brand of baseball. Just clean up a couple things, we will come back tomorrow and we are a good team, we trust we’re good. We will play better tomorrow.”

KC still stands 2.5 games ahead of Winnipeg for first place. They will have an opportunity to tie up this series tomorrow night at Legends Field with a scheduled 6:35 first pitch.

Callahan’s Big Day Propels Monarchs to Series Sweep

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Chicago, IL — After trailing in both games, the Monarchs jumped in front early and went on to win 11-4 to complete the sweep over the Dogs on Sunday afternoon.

It was as quick of a start as you could ask for as the Monarchs took the lead on the second pitch of the game and never looked back. Facing a 0-1 count, Austin Callahan cranked a ball into deep right field to put Kansas City in front. The leadoff hitter set the tone for the day and would go on to have quite the afternoon.

The Monarchs continued the momentum in the second frame when Saul Garza was hit by a pitch and then Grant Richardson belted his second homer in back-to-back games. It’s a welcome sight to see that Richardson is returning to his early season form as KC is getting some much needed production out of their left fielder.

 

This was a 3-0 game going into the fourth inning and the Monarchs quickly put the contest out of reach. Richardson and JD Davis walked and with two outs, Kansas City needed to make something happen. In the top of the order, Callahan lined one into right field to bring home both runners, but the inning did not stop there. Sahid Valenzuela walked and with Callahan on second, that brought up Luken Baker. He read the 0-1 pitch to perfection and nuked a three-run bomb to finish off a five-run frame. It was 8-0 and the Monarchs had total control.

 

Chicago finally broke through in the sixth inning when they had two runners on and then Aaron Altherr grounded a ball on the right side to bring in Jacob Maiben and Ethan Wilder. Shortly after, Giovanni DiGiacomo put a ball down the third base line and scored Altherr, but it was too little too late.

After his last outing on the bump, Austin Krob responded in a big way with a five strikeout performance while giving up three runs in three hits. He held the Dogs scoreless for five-straight innings and other than the sixth frame, he was perfect on the mound. Jeff Hakanson relieved him and tallied two K’s as the bullpen threw five total pitchers this afternoon.

Kansas City tacked on three more runs in the third after Richardson walked, Davis was hit by a pitch, and Brady Lindsly collected a hit. Trevor Boone was hit by a pitch that brought in Richardson and then Callahan reached base via fielder’s choice and Davis crossed home plate. It was yet another RBI for Callahan as he finished the day 2-6 with two runs and four RBI’s. Valenzuela would go on to register his first knock of the afternoon on an RBI single.

The Dogs scored a run in the ninth, but the Monarchs already had a commanding lead. With this series sweep, KC now has a three game lead on Fargo in the West Division. They will have an opportunity to add to that lead when they return back to Legends Field for a six-game home stand starting Tuesday night. The Monarchs will welcome the Lincoln Saltdogs to Kansas City for the first time this season and then face Fargo to finish out the stand. First pitch with Lincoln will be at 6:35.

Kansas City Scores Eight Unanswered, Takes Series From the Dogs

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Chicago, IL — After surrendering an early 6-1 deficit, the Monarchs came storming back with eight runs in the middle three frames to win 9-6 on Saturday night at Impact Field.

Despite giving up six-straight runs, Kansas City got out to an early 1-0 lead in the first as Austin Callahan opened up the game with a double. Luken Baker brought him home on a ground ball into center field. The Houston, TX native has shown no signs of slowing down and has registered an RBI in four of the past five outings.

 

The Dogs wasted no time cultivating a response as they put up three tallies in the bottom of the first. The leadoff batter, Jacob Maiben, tripled on a ball into center field while Ethan Wilder walked. This brought in Chance Sisco who smacked a three-run homer to give Chicago the lead.

KC really struggled to slow down the Dogs in the opening three innings as they continued to stack up runs. The second innings opened up with three consecutive hits and in the blink of an eye, the bases were loaded with one out. Sisco grounded out into an RBI to bring home Cooper Weiss. In the third inning, Tyrique Reed smoked a two-run jack and just like that, the Monarchs were down five runs and needed to act quickly.

That is exactly what they did as just an inning later, they put up a four-run fourth frame. Baker started off with a walk and then Saul Garza followed it up with a knock into left field. On the first pitch he saw, Hudson Head belted a three-run bomb to cut the lead to two. It was a momentum shifting moment for the Monarchs and they did not stop there. JD Davis grabbed a base hit and then was later brought home by newly acquired, Wilfred Veras, when he grounded out to grab his first RBI as a Monarch and cut the lead to 6-4. The former White Sox product will certainly be a big help to Kansas City on both sides of the ball and has a bright future at Legends Field.

 

Former Twin, Darren McCaughan got the start on the mound and gave up nine hits and six runs. It was not his best outing, but he is a talented pitching who will certainly respond in his next game. The bright spot out of the bullpen was the Lee’s Summit native, Nate Webb. The right-hander had a terrific command on the bump and was locating the zone left and right. He only allowed two hits and finished his day with a season-high six strikeouts. Webb shut down this Dogs attack to make room for the Monarchs offense to flourish.

In the fifth frame, Baker singled and then Saul Garza gave Kansas City the first lead of the night with his 15th homer to tie Trevor Boone in that category. The sixth inning came around and the Monarchs kept on swinging. This team showed why its second in the league in home runs as just two pitches later, Davis and Grant Richardson connected on back-to-back home runs to put Kansas City in front by three.

 

Wyatt Wendell earned his first save in a Kansas City uniform and the Monarchs completed the comeback for the second-straight night. With a series win, this team will look to complete a sweep over Chicago with a 3 o’clock first pitch tomorrow afternoon.

 

 

Monarchs Rally Late, Steal Game in Chicago

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Chicago, IL — It took seven frames, but a four-run eighth inning proved to be the deciding factor as the Monarchs came from behind to win 4-3 over the Dogs on Friday night.

There were three scoreless innings to open up and the Dogs found the breakthrough in the fourth. Jaxx Groshans and Zack Stokes both reached base via error and then Jacob Maiben singled on a bunt to load the bases. Tyrique Reed drove in the first run on an RBI single to right field. One pitch later, Cooper Weiss lifted a sac fly to bring in Strokes to double the lead.

The Dogs tacked on another tally in the sixth frame when Stokes walked and Maiben reached base via error. Reed was at it again with his second RBI of the night on a base hit into left field. It was a 3-0 deficit and the Monarchs were running out of innings.

Jimmy Endersby had a decent outing on the bump as he gave up four hits, three runs, but registered six punch outs. Kansas City threw three more pitchers out of the bullpen while Tyler Myrick recorded a team-high fifth save with two K’s in the final inning.

It was the eighth inning, the Monarchs had two outs and they were desperate for any sort of rally. As so many times we have seen this season, they found a way. Hudson Head recorded his only knock of the night with a base hit into center. Then it was Luken Baker who smoked a fly ball to center field to score Head and got the Monarchs on the board. Saul Garza remained discipline at the dish to draw a walk and then that brought up Grant Richardson. He came up huge with when he ripped a two-run RBI into right field to tie the game. Richardson got all the way to third via error and then JD Davis sent him home with a base hit which became the winning run.

Once again, Kansas City made it happen with their backs up against the wall and snatched the opening game of the series. This was a group that was on the verge of losing their fifth-straight game, but had other ideas. With a Sioux Falls loss, the Monarchs stand clear two games ahead of the Canaries in the West Division. They will play the second game of the set with the Dogs on a 6 o’clock first pitch tomorrow night at Impact Field.

Monarchs Cold Offensively, Swept in Series

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Kansas City, KS — It was a defensive battle as the Monarchs had the lead through seven innings, but two runs from Winnipeg in the eighth proved to be costly as Kansas City fell 2-1 in the final game of the series.

Monarchs starter, Geison Urbaez earned his fourth start on the mound and went six innings with six strikeouts. He gave up no runs and had a terrific command on the bump.

With four scoreless frames, KC cracked the scoreboard in the fifth inning when Sahid Valenzuela earned the first knock of the night on a two-out double. The very next batter, Trevor Boone, lined a ball into right field and Valenzuela raced home to score to open up the game. Boone talks about his approach, “That at-bat doesn’t count unless (Geison) Urbaez is doing what he’s doing on the mound and Sahid (Valenzuela) doesn’t hit a double. Just trying to do my duty, get a good pitch, and put a good swing on it.”

 

Winnipeg found a response in the eighth inning when Adam Hall led off with a walk and then Noah Marcelo brought him home on a blooper to right center field. They took the lead for the first time in the game after Keshawn Lynch walked and then Raphael Pelletier smacked a line drive on the first base line to score Marcelo. It was a devastating blow to Kansas City and they were searching for an answer.

In the final frame, Hudson Head led off with a walk, but Luken Baker grounded into a double play which put the Monarchs in a tough position. They couldn’t put together a two-out rally and dropped their fourth straight contest.

It was the first time the Monarchs have been swept the entire year and now they have a chance to regroup for this weekend. With an off day tomorrow and a weekend series against the last place team in the league (Chicago Dogs), this team will surely respond.

Baker’s Homer Not Enough, Goldeyes Take Series

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Kansas City, KS — Contrary to yesterday, it was a low scoring contest in which the Monarchs fell to the Goldeyes with a 3-1 loss on Tuesday night.

Just as they did a game ago, Winnipeg started fast and on the second pitch of the game, Ray-Patrick Didder cranked a solo homer to open up the contest. Three batters later, Noah Marcelo doubled the lead on a deep shot into center and the Goldeyes had a quick 2-0 lead.

In the fourth frame, Ramon Bramasco belted his second homer of the series and it became a three-run advantage.

The veteran, Michael Mariot got the start on the bump and went six innings while giving up three runs, but threw three punch outs. It was a good night overall from Mariot, but it was three swings of the bat from Winnipeg that proved to be costly.

The Monarchs really struggled to collect hits tonight as they only had four in total with four left on base. They finally cracked the scoreboard in the seventh frame when Luken Baker smacked his 11th bomb of the season and second in two games. The Houston, TX native talked about his approach and the game, “In the first couple at bats, he had thrown a couple pitches that I wanted back. He gave me another one and I put a good swing on it. As for the rest of the night, we just have to do a little bit better hitting good pitches to hit hard. We will come back better tomorrow, but tonight was a little frustrating. ”

 

Unfortunately, that was the first and only time KC would score a run as they went on to drop their third-straight loss. The Monarchs will look to respond tomorrow night in the final game of the series.

Monarchs Ace, Ryan Garcia Signed to Cincinnati

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Kansas City, KS — After a standout season in Kansas City, Manager Joe Calfapietra announced that All-Star pitcher, Ryan Garcia’s contract was purchased by the Cincinnati Reds organization Tuesday afternoon.

This came at no surprise as Garcia had the fourth lowest ERA in the league (3.10) and led the Monarchs in wins with an 8-4 record. The California native totaled 65 strikeouts in 69.2 innings of work while also having the lowest WHIP in the association at 1.06. Garcia talks about what this moment means and says, “When Joe told me I was speechless – He wanted to tell me face-to-face, so he picked me up from apartment – and said you are going to be a Cincinnati Red. I didn’t know what was going to happen next after being released in Mexico – but it all ends up working out. When we first heard the news, I was transported back to rock bottom in Mexico – thinking how is all this going to work out?”

It certainly worked out for the former UCLA All-American as he earned the Carbliss June Pitcher of the Month including a pair of nine strikeout performances. This earned Garcia the starting spot in the All-Star game while representing the West Division. He adds, “With the Monarchs you are surrounded by good people.  A lot of things pointed me here to the Monarchs. We appreciate the game and do not take that for granted. I think Joe (Calfapietra) does a good job getting good humans beings first – and good baseball players second.”

This is the fifth Monarch and fourth pitcher to return back to affiliated ball this season. It will be the first time Garcia has returned back to the MiLB since his elected free agency in November of 2025. Calfapietra mentions, “We are so happy for Ryan to have this opportunity with the Cincinnati Reds, it is so well deserved. He had done nothing but been an outstanding pitcher for us and a model human being in our community for the Monarchs.” Ryan had the support behind him and continued to believe in himself, “I want to give all Glory to God first.  There was uncertainty, but I had a lot of faith and trusted him.  Thank you to our Chaplin Paster Jason, he kept things in focus for me and the rest of the team. I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity to be a Monarch.  Thank you to Joe for his belief in me and thank you to (Pitching Coach) Matt Hall for their help along the way as well as the entire Monarchs baseball organization.”

The Monarchs continue a pipeline to the Reds organization as this is the third player to get picked up by Cincinnati. The skipper adds, “He is going to be missed, but we are so happy that he has this opportunity to move on. Ryan is getting the opportunity that we are hoping for all of our deserving players on this ball club. We are very fortunate to have so many talented players and staff member’s is our organization.”

Monarchs Come Up Short in High-Scoring Affair with Goldeyes

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Kansas City, KS — There were 20 combined runs on Monday night, but the Goldeyes held on with an 11-9 win over the Monarchs at Legends Field.

It was a really difficult start for Kansas City as they dug themselves a 9-0 hole in the first three innings of the game. Winnipeg got the bats rolling early with a five-run second inning. Max Murphy grabbed a two-run RBI single and then with three runners on, Adam Hall sliced a bases-clearing RBI-triple to jump into an early advantage.

The Goldeyes continued to put together an electric start and with two outs, Jiandido Tromp and Murphy hit back-to-back homers to jump into a 7-0 lead. Kevin Garcia doubled and then Ray-Patrick Didder cranked a two-run shot and it was all Winnipeg in the opening third.

Even though KC was down nine, they showed their resilience by illustrating an immediate response in the bottom of the third inning. Peyton Holt grabbed a knock, JD Davis doubled, and Hudson Head sent a grounder up the middle to get the Monarchs on the board. One batter later, Luken Baker blasted a three-run jack to cut the lead back to four in the blink of an eye.

 

KC continued to chip away as they tallied a run in the fourth and sixth. In the fourth inning, Holt doubled and got all the way to third which allowed Sahid Valenzuela to ground out into an RBI. Two frames later, Vega crossed home plate on the second RBI grounder from Valenzuela.

With seven unanswered Monarch runs, this was a 9-7 ballgame heading into the eighth. Winnipeg got on the board for the first time since the third inning when Adam Hall lined a ball up the middle to score Murphy.

There was a quick response from KC in the bottom of the frame as Valenzuela scored on an RBI groundout from Hudson Head. They got the lead within one when Baker drove a grounder up the middle and Holt scored for the third run of the day. Holt talked about his day and said, “We didn’t go out as well we wanted to, got off to a bad start being down eight or nine. You have to take pride in every pitch, every time I came up as a leadoff , I know we are down so you have to get on base, and let the big bats drive me in. I took pride in my approach, it worked out in the best way possible, and an unfortunate ending.”

Ramon Bramasco earned an insurance run in the top of the ninth on a solo homer to left field while the Monarchs could not find a way to put up two runs in the bottom of the inning and lost the opening game of the series. Game 2 will be played tomorrow at 6:35 at Legends Field.

Monarchs Fall in Series, Split Doubleheader with Explorers

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Sioux City, IA — There were 14 innings of baseball on Sunday afternoon as the Monarchs grabbed the first game, 5-2, but fell in the second contest with a 5-1 defeat.

Game 1

After three empty innings, the Monarchs opened the game’s scoring with a three-run fourth frame to jump in front. Kansas City got the bats started when Sahid Valenzuela singled followed by a Hudson Head walk and a Luken Baker base hit. The bases were juiced with no outs and KC was in a prime position to strike first. That’s exactly what they did as Trevor Boone drove a ground ball into left field that brought home a pair of runners. The Monarchs had the bases loaded once again and Luken Baker scored off a Brady Lindsly walk.

 

The Explorers found a response in the sixth frame when Austin Davis started the inning with a double. Davis stole two bases and crossed home plate for their first run. Shortly after, Monarchs left-hander, Sawyer Allen threw a wild pitch and Zac Vooletich scored to cut the deficit to one.

Jimmy Endersby started the day on the bump and threw two punch outs in five innings. The KC closer, Tyler Myrick recorded his fourth save of the season when he shoved in two K’s in the final frame.

Just when Sioux City was closing in, the Monarchs reestablished a three-run advantage. In the seventh inning, Peyton Holt grabbed a base hit and Austin Callahan registered a knock to put two runners on base. Later in the frame, the bases were loaded and Baker cranked a liner into left field to score Holt. Then Boone lifted a sac fly to add the fifth and final run of the game.

 

Game 2

The series was up for grabs, but Sioux City got off to a fast start in the second game. Davis tallied his second double of the afternoon and Vooletich sent him home on an RBI single in the first inning.

Sioux City kept finding ways to score runs as they grabbed one in the third and fourth. Brodie Kresser sent a solo homer to left field and then Jackson Van De Brake lifted a sac fly to score D’Shawn Knowles in the fourth inning.

The lone run for the Monarchs came in the top of the fifth when Saul Garza singled and Holt walked. With two outs on the board, Valenzuela put down his 17th RBI to bring in Garza. Unfortunately that was the only time the Monarchs would cross home plate.

 

It was a 3-1 deficit for KC, but Sioux City added two insurance runs in the bottom of the frame to seal a four-run victory and take the series.

Kansas City currently has a narrow three-game lead over the Sioux Falls Canaries in the West Division. They will look to build on that lead as they return home for a series against the Winnipeg Goldeyes starting on Monday night.

Fast Start from Kansas City, but Drop Opening Game in Sioux City

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Sioux City, IA — After a postponed game yesterday, the Monarchs got out to an early advantage, but gave up seven unanswered runs to go with a 7-5 defeat on Saturday night.

The Monarchs wasted no time cracking the scoreboard as they grabbed a pair of tallies in the opening frame. With two down, the Luken Baker and Trevor Boone one-two punch struck again. Baker doubled and then Boone blasted a two-run bomb to put KC in front. That was Boone’s 15th homer of the season and is now first on the team and third in the league.

In the third inning, Austin Callahan led off the frame with a base hit. Shortly after, Baker remained calm at the dish and drew a walk to put two runners on. Saul Garza’s only hit of the night was a line drive into center field to score Callahan and the Monarchs were all over the Explorers, but unfortunately Sioux City had an answer brewing.

 

It was three innings for the Explorers that won them this game. In the fourth inning, Alberto Osuna opened up with a liner into center. With one out, Jackson Van De Brake walked and then Dillon Tatum laced a three-run homer to tie up the game. The very next batter, Austin Davis, singled and then stole two bases which allowed Zac Vooletich to send him home on an RBI double. Sioux City found themselves in front for the first time in the game.

All-Star pitcher, Ryan Garcia, got his 12th start on the mound and gave up six hits and four runs with two K’s. Kansas City went through four pitchers in total tonight and they threw four punch outs combined tonight. A pitching staff with the league-leading ERA will surely respond tomorrow afternoon.

Sioux City managed to tack on a run in the fifth to make it a 5-3 lead. D’Shawn Knowles walked then got to third via steal and a balk. Zane Denton scored him when he reached base via fielders choice. The Explorers would not let up as they grabbed two more tallies in the sixth and had a four-run advantage.

KC showed their resilience by plating two runs in the seventh. Hudson Head kickstarted the inning with a double and then later in the frame, Grant Richardson smoked his 10th bomb of the season to cut the lead in half.

 

The Monarchs fought hard, but were not able to score a couple more runs as the Explorers took the upper hand in the series. That all can change tomorrow as a doubleheader will be played with the first game starting at 1:30. KC will finish out the seven-game road stand before heading back home for three games.