O’FALLON, Mo. — After falling behind 3-0 in the fourth inning, the Gateway Grizzlies scored two runs apiece in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings Monday night and held on for a 6-5 win over the River City Rascals at CarShield Field.
Gateway (18-23) picked up its first win this season when trailing after the fifth inning.
River City (21-18) dropped out of a tie for first place with the Evansville Otters, the Grizzlies’ next opponent. Gateway is 4.5 games out of first place in the tight West Division.
Trae Santos put the Grizzlies on the scoreboard with a two-run homer in the fifth, his 10th home run this season and second in as many games. Joel McKeithan doubled to drive in a run in the sixth, and another scored on a River City error later in the play to give Gateway the lead. Terry McClure and Matt Gonzalez extended the Grizzlies’ lead with RBI singles in the seventh.
Max MacNabb (4-4) picked up the win for the Grizzlies and struck out 10, but he worked his way into trouble in the seventh — bases loaded and nobody out. Chris Metrick made his professional debut and retained the Grizzlies’ lead, although he allowed two inherited runners to score. J.R. Holloway, also in his professional debut, pitched a scoreless eighth. Both earned holds.
Kevin Simmons tossed a scoreless ninth inning for his fourth save of the season.
Nearly every Grizzlie got in on the offensive act: the Grizzlies posted 17 hits, their second-highest total in a game this year. Artemis Kadkhodaian was 4-for-5 with a double and two runs scored. Gonzalez was 4-for-4 with an RBI, run and stolen base; he has hits in six straight at-bats going back to Sunday night — all singles.
Gateway will continue its seven-game road trip with the opener of a three-game series Tuesday in Evansville. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
