By MATT FULKS, tbonesbaseball.com
AMARILLO, Texas – Bryan Sabatella has a dozen multi-hit games in 2014 but his biggest came Thursday night in Kansas City’s 11-7 win over Amarillo.
Sabatella tied a T-Bones club record with five hits — four singles and a double — as Kansas City split the four-game series with the Sox.
Sabatella and Kansas City jumped ahead early against Amarillo starting pitcher Dayne Quist (1-3). After Sabatella led off the game with a single, Vladimir Frias delivered one of his three hits in the game. Two batters later, Byron Wiley launched a deep sacrifice fly that allowed Sabatella to score one of his three runs in the game and give Kansas City a 1-0 lead.
The lead was short-lived, however, when T-Bones starting pitcher Rick Zagone allowed a two-run home run to Brandon Pinckney that gave Amarillo a 2-1 lead.
The bats returned for the T-Bones, which were swept in a doubleheader against Amarillo during this series, in a four-run second inning in which eight straight T-Bones reached base, giving Kansas City a 5-2 lead. The T-Bones would add two more in the fourth and another four-run inning in the sixth.
Although he allowed 10 hits and six runs in 6 innings, Zagone (6-1) is now tied for the league lead with six wins. Pat Doyle picked up his first save of the season as he pitched three innings out of the bullpen, and allowed just one run on three hits.
Both teams hammered out 13 hits, led by Sabatella, who’s the first T-Bones player with a five-hit game since Keanon Simon got five in August 2011 — at Amarillo.
The T-Bones (19-21) split the four-game series with Amarillo (15-24) and now get set for a quick three-game homestand against Gary SouthShore beginning Friday night at 7:05 at Community America Ballpark.
Tickets are available by calling the Providence Medical Center Box Office at CommunityAmerica Ballpark at 913-328-5618.
