Irvine goes distance in win over Lincoln

By MATT FULKS, tbonesbaseball.com

LINCOLN, Neb. – Lucas Irvine, looking for his first win of 2013, threw a complete-game three-hitter, as the T-Bones beat Lincoln 6-1 Friday night at Haymarket Park.

Irvine — 0-2 in five starts this season — had been improving in recent outings, but not as good as he did against the Saltdogs.

In fact, Irvine, who struck out six in the game, no-hit Lincoln for six innings, before Matt Forgatch and Tyler Goodro led off the bottom of the seventh with back-to-back base hits. The Saltdogs went on to score their only run of the game in the inning.

By that time, though, the T-Bones were in control of the contest. Kansas City got on the board first with a run in each of the first two innings.

Then, leading 2-0 in the top of the fifth, Jairo Perez hit a two-run home run that scored Felix Molina. It was Perez’s club-leading ninth homer of the season.

Two batters later, Matt Padgett launched a solo home run to centerfield, his eighth.

Four Kansas City batters — Kennard Jones, Padgett, Brandon Jones and Molina — had two hits in the game, as the team racked a dozen.

The T-Bones and Saltdogs will continue their four-game series on Saturday night at Haymarket Park with first pitch scheduled for 7:05. Eric Gonzalez (1-0) will start for Kansas City. Moises Melendez (1-0) gets the start for Lincoln.