MONARCHS CAGE THE CANARIES
The Kansas City Monarchs (41-22) pitching staff was on full display Tuesday night at Legends Field. They threw a combined shutout in a 1-0 win over the Sioux Falls Canaries (24-37).
Matt Hall started on the bump for Kansas City. He kept the Canaries off their rhythm all night. Hall earned a quality start, threw six scoreless innings, and collected seven strikeouts. The left-hander also allowed just three hits during his tenure.
The Monarchs threatened in the second inning. With two outs, Pete Kozma roped a line drive down the left field line for a stand-up double. Alexis Olmeda followed up Kozma’s at bat with a walk. Willie Abreu dug in and hit a soft chopper up the middle which he beat out for an infield single. Kansas City was unable to bring in any runs and after two innings of baseball, the game remained tied at zero.
The Monarchs finally broke the tie in the bottom of the fifth. David Thompson worked a walk to bring up Matt Adams. The designated hitter hit a towering fly ball that dropped out in no man’s land in right-center field. Thompson’s heads-up baserunning brought him to third base. Casey Gillaspie followed up the at-bat with a sacrifice fly to center field to score Thompson and give the Monarchs a 1-0 lead.
Willie Abreu had a sensational night. He finished his night 3-4 from the plate and accounted for three of the Monarchs seven hits. Abreu was also impressive in the field as he made a spectacular diving catch towards the left field line in the second inning.
Jameson McGrane toed the rubber for the Monarchs in the ninth inning. With two outs, McGrane struck out John Nestor to end the game and earn his 12th save of the season.
The Monarchs will continue their homestand with game two against the Sioux Falls Canaries tomorrow night (6/27) at 7:00 p.m. The game can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 6:30 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: Hall (5-2)
LP: Lang (1-3)
S: McGrane (12)
By: GABRIEL LOPEZ
