Game One: Dogs 11, T-Bones 4
ROSEMONT, Ill. — Keon Barnum mashed two home runs as the Dogs’ offense exploded to defeat the Kansas City T-Bones, 11-4, in game one of the Thursday doubleheader at Impact Field.
The Dogs’ eleven runs were their most since June 7. With the win, Chicago snapped a six-game losing streak.
Carlos Zambrano (W, 1-0) was the first Dogs pitcher on the mound in relief of last night’s starter D.J. Snelten. The former MLB All-Star had a solid outing, allowing just one earned run on two hits with one walk and one strikeout over two innings.
In the continuation of last night’s rainout, the Dogs wasted no time getting on the board. Two batters in, Edwin Arroyo lined a two-run double to score Tony Rosselli and tie the game at one. David Olmedo-Barrera gave Chicago the 2-1 lead on a groundout two batters later.
The Dogs flexed their power in the fourth inning as Trey Vavra and Barnum launched back-to-back homers to begin the inning, pushing Chicago’s lead to 4-1.
Chicago broke the game open with a five-spot in the sixth inning. Back-to-back RBI doubles by Barnum and Victor Roache made it 6-2 Dogs, and Mitchell Kranson added an RBI single to push the lead to five. Four batters later, Olmedo-Barrera plated two more runs with a triple to make it 9-2 Chicago.
After the T-Bones chipped away with a two-run homer by Chris Colabello, Barnum responded with a two-run bomb of his own — his second of the contest — to give the Dogs the 11-4 lead after seven.
Rich Mascheri and Ben Allison held Kansas City scoreless over the final two frames to secure the win.
Game Two: T-Bones 7, Dogs 3
The Chicago Dogs got RBI doubles from a trio of players, but it was not enough to move past the Kansas City T-Bones as they fell, 7-3, in game two of the doubleheader on Thursday night.
Kansas City started strong with two runs in the opening frame off of Dogs starter Luke Westphal, who suffered his first loss of the season (5-1).
Trevor Simms took over for Westphal and was solid, allowing two earned runs on three hits while tying a season-high with six strikeouts over four innings of relief.
The T-Bones extended their lead with a three-run home run by Casey Gillaspie to make it 5-0 Kansas City in the top of the second.
The Dogs rallied back with three runs in the third. Back-to-back doubles by Edwin Arroyo and Rey Gonzalez put Chicago on the board. After a single by David Olmedo-Barrera, Jordan Dean ripped the Dogs’ third double of the frame to make it 6-2. Trey Vavra hit a sacrifice fly to score Olmedo-Barrera and bring the Dogs within three.
Kansas City tacked on another run with a controversial homer by Chris Colabello in the top of the fourth.
The bullpen duo of Simms and Kyle Halbohn shut out the T-Bones over the final three frames, but the Dogs couldn’t muster another rally to overcome the deficit.
The Dogs welcome the Winnipeg Goldeyes to Impact Field for a three-game weekend series. RHP Wes Torrez gets the start for game one with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 PM.
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