Kansas City T-Bones win series over St. Paul Saints with 5-2 win

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Kansas City T-Bones defeated the St. Paul Saints 5-2 on Sunday afternoon to win the three-game series between the two teams. Mark Hamburger took the mound for the Saints and had what has to be the worst outing of the season so far, as he gave up all five runs that the T-Bones scored.

Kansas City strikes first

Just like Friday night, it was the T-Bones who jumped out to the early lead. They scored two in the top of the second inning when Zach Walters led off with a walk. Chase McDonald singled to advance him to second, which was followed by a double from Joe Jackson that scored Walters and moved McDonald to third base. McDonald ended up scoring when Daniel Rockett grounded out for the first out of the inning.

They tacked on three more runs in the third inning when Omar Garcia led off with a single, and Marcus Lemon hit a single of his own. After Kevin Keyes hit a sacrifice fly to center field, Walters blasted a home run to right field to put the T-Bones up 5-0.

St. Paul scores two in the third

In the bottom of the inning, the Saints got two runs back thanks to back-to-back home runs from Nate Hanson and Brady Shoemaker, both of which went to left field. That cut the T-Bones’ lead to 5-2, though the Saints were unable to tack on any more runs during the inning.

The T-Bones' Jeff Walters delivers a pitch. (Stevie Larson/VAVEL USA)

The Saints had a good opportunity in the fifth inning when they loaded the bases with one out, but it came to an end when Tony Caldwell hit into a double play that went pitcher to catcher to first base.

The Saints again loaded the bases with one out in the sixth inning, but again found themselves turned away without any runs thanks to a double play. This one came when Hanson lined out to first base, and the first baseman stepped on the base to double up Breland Almadova and end the inning.

The Saints had yet another scoring chance in the eighth inning when Jon Kristoffersen drew a one-out walk, and Danny Oh singled to left field, but the inning came to an end when Almadova struck out swinging.

For the ninth inning, the Saints brought Connor Little on to pitch. He gave up a leadoff single to Patrick Brady but bounced back to get Garcia and Lemon both to ground out. That brought up Keyes with two outs, but he struck out swinging to end the inning and keep it just a three-run lead for the T-Bones.

Saints unable to rally

In the ninth inning, Kansas City brought on Grant Sides to finish the game. The first batter that he faced was Hanson, who struck out swinging for the first out of the inning. The next batter was Shoemaker, who flew out to right field for the second out. That brought up Tony Thomas as the last hope for the Saints. He hit a shallow fly ball to right field, but it was caught by the right fielder for the final out of the game.

Quick Hits

- Hanson finished the game 3-5, with a home run and two doubles. His average to start the season is now .395 after the first week of the season.

- The Saints now embark on their annual two-week road trip where they will face Cleburne, Salina, Texas, and finally Kansas City before they see CHS Field again. This is the longest road trip of the year for the Saints.