Martinez Returns with Vengeance as Railroaders Crush K.C.
CLEBURNE, Tex. (June 6, 2021) – Osvaldo Martinez matched a franchise record with five hits and Michael Gunn fired seven shutout innings as the Cleburne Railroaders bested the Kansas City Monarchs 12-2 on Sunday night at The Depot at Cleburne Station.
Martinez tripled leading off the bottom of the first, then singled in the second, fourth, sixth and seventh innings. His five hits matched the mark set previously by Mitch Glasser, Audie Afenir, and Angel Reyes.
The Railroaders (8-10) jumped out to an early lead in the first inning courtesy of a three-run home run from Zach Nehrir. Cleburne then added one run apiece in the second and fourth innings on run-scoring singles from Martinez, extending the lead out to 5-0.
A four-run bottom of the sixth for Cleburne blew the game open. Tyler Ryan doubled home a run to start the scoring, then Martinez singled in John Nester before a passed ball and an RBI ground out from Ramon Hernandez pushed the advantage out to 9-0.
That proved to be more than enough run support for Gunn (1-2), who allowed only two hits and struck out seven. The left-hander retired the first eight he faced to start the game, and then ended his outing by setting down seven straight Monarchs. Newcomers Darian Fleming and Alex Fishberg worked the eighth and ninth innings, respectively.
Kansas City (7-9) got on the board in the top of the eighth via a two-run double from Darnell Sweeney, but Cleburne grabbed the two runs right back in the bottom of the inning on a pair of bases-loaded walks. The Railroaders walked 11 times in the game, establishing a new season high.
Nick Travieso (0-4) took the loss for Kansas City, allowing five runs over five innings of work.
The Railroaders will have an off day on Monday as they travel to Sioux Falls for a three-game series with the Canaries. First pitch of Tuesday’s series opener is scheduled for 7:00 PM.
For information on partnerships, season tickets, group outings, and party packages, call the Railroaders main office at (817) 945-8705, or visit the Railroaders official website at www.railroaderbaseball.com.
by Denning Gerig, Cleburne Railroaders