by Gabriel Lopez, Kansas City Monarchs

Kansas City, Kan. — The Kansas City Monarchs (12-6) offense exploded for 17 hits and 11 runs to beat the Lincoln Saltdogs (11-5), 11-6 Tuesday night. The Monarchs are currently on a five-game winning streak and have done so in commanding fashion. Tuesday night’s game makes four straight games with at least 15 hits. The Monarchs have also scored 11 or more runs in their past five games.

The Monarchs picked up right where they left off from Monday night. Willie Abreu led off the game with a single to left field. Gaby Guerrero then grinded a seven-pitch at bat to work a walk. After a double steal from Abreu and Guerrero, David Thompson drove a hard ground ball past third baseman Eddy Martinez to score Abreu. Scorching hot Jan Hernandez stepped up to the plate and roped a single to right field to score Guerrero and Thompson. After the first inning, the Monarchs led 3-0.

The Monarchs tacked on another run in the second inning as Darnell Sweeney lined into center field to bring in Pete Kozma. After two innings of play, the Monarchs led 4-0.

A two-out solo home run by Hunter Clanin brought the Saltdogs within three runs, but the Monarchs answered right back in the bottom of the third. Guerrero led off the inning with a single into left-center field. Matt Adams followed with a single of his own to the right-center gap, bringing Guerrero to third. David Thompson delivered a three-run moonshot to left field, marking back-to-back games with a home run. After three innings, the Monarchs gained a commanding 7-1 lead over the Saltdogs.

Lewis Thorpe (2-0) was solid for the Monarchs making his fourth start of the season. The lefty from Australia tossed 5.1 innings holding the Saltdogs to two hits and one earned run. Thorpe would strikeout four and would secure his second win of the season.

Both teams stayed quiet in the fourth and fifth innings until the Saltdogs came to life in the top of the sixth. Eddy Martinez pieced a ground ball to Kozma, but he made an error on the play, allowing Randy Norris to score. After Sherman Graves drove in Josh Altmann with a single, Garett Delano walked with the bases loaded to score Welington Dotel. JR DiSarcina singled to score Eddy Martinez, and the inning ended with the Saltdogs down two runs, 7-5.

In the top of the seventh, the Saltdogs inched closer to the Monarchs as Welington Dotel hit a solo homerun to right field, bringing them within one. However, the Monarchs would respond yet again. Guerrero led off the inning with a soft ground ball to third that he legged out for a hit. Adams and Thompson each singled to load the bases for Hernandez. After five pitches, Carter Hope walked Hernandez to give the Monarchs another run. J.C. Escarra entered the game, replacing Alexis Olmeda at catcher. He peppered a single to right field to score Adams, but Thompson and Hernandez scored after the ball got past right fielder Welington Dotel. The Monarchs ended the seventh inning up big, 11-6.

Matt Hartman shut down the Saltdogs as he threw two scoreless innings to finish the game.

The Monarchs will play the Lincoln Saltdogs in the final game of the series tomorrow night (6/1) 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: Lewis Thorpe (2-0)
LP: Kyle Kinman (2-1)
S: N/A

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