KANSAS CITY – The Sioux Falls Canaries swept a doubleheader at Legends Field vs. the Kansas City Monarchs Tuesday evening. The Canaries took the first game 5-4 before exploding for 17 hits in a 15-5 win to close the night.

The Birds are now 4-1 to start their six-game road trip and have won six of their last seven games. Sioux Falls (8-5) is now tied with Sioux City for the top spot in the American Association South Division.

Ty Culbreth (3-0) picked up the win in Game 1 with six innings in a strong start. He limited the Monarchs to four runs (four earned) while striking out six. The Birds led 5-4 headed to the seventh and final inning. Grady Wood entered in his first appearance of the season on the mound and earned his first save by stranding two baserunners. Justin Shafer (0-1) took the loss for Kansas City.

Angelo Altavilla proved key in his first game in the lineup since being struck in the ribs by a pitch vs. the Houston Apollos Wednesday. He laced a two-RBI single to put the Canaries up 5-1 in the fourth and started an inning-ending double play behind Culbreth in the fifth. Jordan Ebert finished with a double and two runs scored.

The Canaries fell behind 3-0 in Game 2 before outscoring the Monarchs 15-2 from the third to the seventh to run away with a huge win. The 15 runs were the second-most this season for Sioux Falls and the third-highest output in the American Association this season.

Jabari Henry hit a two-run homer in the third to begin the rally. The long ball was his second in the last three games. Logan Landon, Mitch Glasser and Ebert all finished with three hits. Every Canary starter notched at least one hit. Landon, Henry, Glasser, Ebert, Mike Hart, and Trey Michalczewski all scored twice.

Eddie Medina (1-0) picked up his first win in the effort. The starter went five and allowed just two runs outside of the second inning. Nick Travieso (0-3) took the loss on the mound for Kansas City after allowing ten runs (nine earned).

The Canaries (8-5) will look for the sweep Wednesday at 7:05. The Birds are expected to start RHP Tyler Garkow (1-0, 2.08 ERA). The Monarchs (4-8) will counter with RHP Dylan Baker (1-0, 1.13 ERA). Fans can tune into a live stream of the game on Fox Sports 98.1 FM 1230 AM and KWSN.com.

For more information on the Canaries, follow the team on Twitter @canaries. To purchase tickets and for all other team information, visit sfcanaries.com. Media contact: joey@sfcanaries.com.

By Joey Zanaboni, Sioux Falls Canaries