AirHogs Rally to Take Series
Although Sunday's game looked early like a replay of Saturday night's, the Grand Prairie AirHogs flipped the script after another big Kansas City T-Bones first inning, coming back with a three-run fourth and four-run fifth to win 8-4 and take the rubber match of their three-game series at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.
After the previous game's five-run T-Bones first, Kansas City (6-4) scored four off John Brownell (2-0) in Sunday's opening inning.
This time it was Aharon Eggleston who started the T-Bones off, singling to open the bottom of the first. Brownell then hit Jimmy Mojica and Rico Washington reached on catcher's interference to load the bases. Brownell then walked Ray Sadler to force in a run, before a fielder's choice and a sacrifice fly plated the second. Jonathan Jaspe singled in his first at-bat of the year to make it 3-0, before Brownell walked Alberto Espinosa to load the bases and then Nick Farnsworth after a long battle to force in another run.
But after his 42-pitch first-inning nightmare, Brownell bettered Jae Jung's recovery from Saturday, as he did not allow a run for the rest of his outing, going into the sixth. Meanwhile, the AirHogs (6-4) shook off a slow start and finally got to Mike Rocco (0-2) in the third. After a leadoff walk to David Thomas and a single by Cesar Nicolas, Greg Porter lined a base hit to center to put Grand Prairie on the board. After a pop-out, Tyler Henley picked up his first AirHogs hit and RBIs with a rocket to the centerfield wall, scoring two and cutting the Kansas City lead to 4-3.
An inning later, Grand Prairie took the lead for good. Danny Figueroa started the rally with a single to left, before going to second on David Espinosa's groundout. After a balk put Figueroa at third, Thomas knocked him in with a single to tie the game. Thomas then stole second and went to third on Nicolas's second hit of the game, and came in to score the eventual winning run on a long double by Porter to right-center. John Alonso hit a first-pitch single to make it 6-4 and chase Rocco, before first-baseman Nick Farnsworth threw away Henley's grounder on a try to get the lead runner at second to increase the Grand Prairie lead to three.
Bo Schultz relieved Brownell with one out and one on in the sixth, and promptly struck out Mojica while Zane Chavez threw out Farnsworth at second to get an inning-ending double play. Schultz then worked around a two-out single in the seventh, and Dustin Cameron and Jon Hunton each threw scoreless innings to wrap up the game and the series for the AirHogs.
