The Kansas City Monarchs baseball team kicked off its 2025 season with some fireworks on Friday night.<\/p>\n
The minor-league Monarchs got a command performance on the mound from their starting pitcher, plus a grand slam and pair of two-run homers, to soak the Lincoln Saltdogs 8-1 at Legends Field in Kansas City, Kan.<\/p>\n
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Right-handed pitcher Julian Garcia, a former Philadelphia Phillies prospect beginning his second year with the Monarchs, got the start. Several days shy of his 30th birthday, he held Lincoln to one hit across five shutout innings, striking out seven and walking none.<\/p>\n
Garcia is coming off a tremendous 2024 season in which he set a new club record with a 0.99 WHIP while compiling a 2.54 season ERA.<\/p>\n
Former Royals prospect and Missouri Tigers infielder Robbie Glendinning provided the early offense for KC, belting a two-run homer in the bottom of the second inning.<\/p>\n
A native of Australia, Glendinning was originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He spent 2022 and part of 2023 with the Royals\u2019 Double-A affiliate, the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, before playing for his home country in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.<\/p>\n
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Glendinning competed in Mexico in 2024 and signed with the Monarchs in January.<\/p>\n
Monarchs third baseman Peyton Holt doubled the lead in the bottom of the sixth with the hosts\u2019 other two-run shot Friday. Holt played for the Arkansas Razorbacks through 2024.<\/p>\n
But KC\u2019s big blow was still to come. And arrive it did in the eighth inning, when outfielder Isiah Gilliam launched a bases-clearing blast into the night sky, delighting the announced crowd of 4,475 \u2014 the ballpark\u2019s largest since prior to the pandemic.<\/p>\n
The Monarchs and Saltdogs, rivals in the American Association of Professional Baseball, will play two more games during this series, with Saturday\u2019s first pitch set for 6:35 p.m. and Sunday\u2019s Mother\u2019s Day contest scheduled to begin at 1:05.<\/p>\n
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After that comes an off-day for the Monarchs (Monday). And then they play host to the Winnipeg Goldeyes at Legends Field in a series that starts Tuesday and concludes next Thursday.<\/p>\n
The Monarchs fell short of the American Association playoffs last season for the first time since 2017, manager Joe Calfapietra\u2019s first at the helm in Kansas City. The team finished with a 46-54 record in 2024.<\/p>\n
Calfapietra is entering his eighth season with the Monarchs. He guided them to championships in 2018, 2021 and 2023 and won the American Association\u2019s manager of the year award in 2018 and 2021.<\/p>\n