KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The Monarchs offense was on fire early led by Gabby Guerrero, along with an outstanding pitching performance from Eric Stout (1-1), resulting in a 6-2 win for Kansas City, their fourth win of the season.

The Monarchs got off to a hot start early on offense, recording seven hits through the first four innings. In the third inning, Gabby Guerrero hit a monster two-run home run over the left field wall–his fourth homer of the season–to put the Monarchs on the board first with a 2-0 lead. Guerrero finished three-for-four on the night and was a triple shy of the cycle. Also in the third inning, Darnell Sweeney doubled off the left field wall, driving in three runs and making it a 5-0 game for Kansas City.

“Sweeney came up with the big hit after Guerrero’s home run. That was big. It was a two out hit that he hit off the wall, and that was the difference maker,” manager Joe Calfapietra said.

Eric Stout, starting pitcher for the Monarchs, was dealing early and commanded the mound from the first pitch, striking out two batters in each of the first two innings and continuing to give the Railroaders trouble in the box throughout the game. In six innings pitched, Stout recorded nine strikeouts and gave up only three hits.

“[Stout] dominated,” Calfapietra said. “He’s a heck of a pitcher, and I am glad we have him.”

RHP Dylan Davis would enter the game for the Monarchs to start off the seventh inning. During the seventh inning, second baseman Morgan McCullough made a stretching, diving catch to save a base hit and then caught a line drive for the last two outs of the top half.

After the bats went cold for a few innings, Ryan Grotjohn drove in a run in the bottom half of the seventh, making it a 6-0 lead for the Monarchs.

In the top of the eighth, Davis walked back-to-back batters and then gave up an RBI single for Cleburne to make it a 6-1 game. With runners on second and third for the Railroaders and with two outs, the Railroaders added another run on the board with their second RBI single of the inning, making it a 6-2 contest. Davis would get out of the inning with no more damage done.

LHP Carlos Diaz came into the game in the ninth inning to close out the game for the Monarchs, striking out three in a row and giving up no hits to seal the 6-2 win for Kansas City. Starting pitcher Eric Stout (1-1) earns the win in his outing while Railroaders starter Garrett Alexander fell to (1-2).

With back-to-back wins, the Monarchs seal the series win over the Railroaders and improve to 4-5 on the season.

Box Score

Kansas City wraps up the three-game series tomorrow afternoon against the Cleburne Railroaders. First pitch is slated for 1:00 p.m. at Legends Field in KCK with gates opening at noon. The game can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 12:35 p.m. while the video stream will air on aabaseball.tv. The Homestand continued Monday Memorial Day with another 1:00 p.m. game with the Sioux Falls Canaries in the first game of a three game series.

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   (817) 739-3693. Stay tuned to monarchsbaseball.com. and the Monarchs Facebook and Twitter pages for updates throughout the season.

LISTEN TO ALL MONARCHS GAMES LIVE ON THE MONARCHS BROADCAST NETWORK

By Dan Vaughan, Kansas City Monarchs