By Jason Young, Winnipeg Goldeyes

KANSAS CITY, KS – The Kansas City Monarchs (43-30) defeated the Winnipeg Goldeyes 4-2 at Legends Field Sunday afternoon to conclude a six-game series between the two clubs.

Box Score

Kansas City opened the scoring in the third inning when designated hitter Jan Hernandez hit a high pop up that Goldeyes shortstop Andy Armstrong lost in the sun. Left fielder Jacob Robson came home on the play to give the Monarchs a 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the fifth inning second baseman Justin Wylie hit a solo home run to left field to give Kansas City a two-run advantage. It was Wylie’s fourth round-tripper of the series.

Winnipeg (30-45) got on the board in the seventh as designated hitter Max Murphy crossed the plate on catcher Hidekel Gonzalez’s ground out to shortstop, cutting the Monarchs’ lead to 2-1.

Kansas City got that run right back in the bottom of the inning, however. Shortstop LJ Hatch tripled to lead off the frame, then scored on Wylie’s double to left-centre field.

The Monarchs went ahead 4-1 in the eighth when third baseman Brian O’Grady led off the inning with a home run to right-centre.

The Goldeyes had a glorious opportunity to even the score in the final inning, loading the bases with none out. Unfortunately, first baseman Tommy McCarthy hit into a double play. That allowed Murphy to score to make it 4-2 Kansas City, but it also gave Winnipeg one out with which to work and after Gonzalez was hit by a pitch, centre fielder Javeyan Williams grounded out to first base to end the ballgame.

Lefty Tyler Jandron served as the opener for the Goldeyes and allowed one hit over the first two innings before giving way to Luis Ramirez (L, 5-6). Ramirez worked the final six innings and gave up all four Monarchs runs on eight hits.

Dalton Moats (W, 5-3) started for Kansas City and exited after the sixth inning, having surrendered just four hits to that point. Patrick Wiegel (S, 8) flirted with disaster in the top of the ninth but was able to limit the damage to just one run.

Winnipeg returns to action at Shaw Park Tuesday, when the Lincoln Saltdogs open what will be a busy six-game homestand at 6:30 p.m. Right-hander Joey Matulovich (3-8, 4.85 ERA) will start for the Goldeyes, while Lincoln is expected to counter with southpaw John Bezdicek (4-4, 7.66 ERA).  All the action can be heard on CJNU 93.7 FM and cjnu.ca with Doug Greenwald on air with the pre-game show at 6:30 p.m.

For information on season tickets, group outings, Skysuite rentals, patio bookings, and 10-game mini packs, visit the team’s official website Goldeyes.com.