Nick Brueser‘s eighth-inning grand slam proved just enough for Stockton to outlast the Fresno Grizzlies in a wildly entertaining game on Saturday night at Chuckchansi Park. Brueser’s blast gave the Ports a late 10-4 lead, but the home team got a slam of its own from Trevor Boone in a long bottom of the ninth inning before falling just short in a 10-8 Stockton win.
The Ports got on the board first in the second inning with a three-run rally started by a Junior Perez single. Back-to-back doubles by T.J. Schofield-Sam and Robert Puason made it 2-0 before Max Muncy made it 3-0 with an RBI single.
Fresno evened it up in the fourth with the long ball. Hunter Goodman launched his 11th home run of the season, a two-run shot, and Juan Brito hit a solo homer one out later, his fifth.
Warming Bernabel singled in a run in the fifth to give the Grizzlies a 4-3 lead, which they held until Stockton scored seven runs over the seventh and eighth innings.
Schofield-Sam and Brueser singled ahead of a Pedro Pineda double that tied the game. Two more runs followed on a balk and an error to make it 6-4 Stockton.
Ports starting pitcher Mitch Myers (W, 2-2) got two outs in the seventh inning before being lifted for reliever Jack Owen with a runner on second base. In his longest outing of the season, Myers threw 102 pitches (69 strikes) and allowed 4 runs (3ER) on 7 hits and 2 walks with 4 strikeouts.
Owen got the final out of the seventh, striking out the only batter he faced, and Brueser hit his grand slam the following half inning, sending the game to the bottom of the eighth with Stockton up 10-4. It reached the bottom of the ninth with the same score and then Fresno tried to pull off the late magic that it used the night before to walk it off. They nearly succeeded.
The Grizzlies started their last turn at bat with single, single, walk and then Boone’s no-doubt blast to left to tighten it up to 10-8. Still no outs. Ports reliever Alexis Cedano finally got an out, but it was a blast to deep right-center field by Adael Amador that Junior Perez caught in the gap.
Cedano was then lifted for Aaron Cohn and he got the final two outs, but not before allowing the tying runs to reach second and third. Cohn got Yanquiel Fernandez to strike out swinging to end the game and earn his first save of the season.
It was a little cool, a little breezy for 3,933 fans in downtown Fresno but it played like a mid-summer Cal League thrill ride. There was good starting pitching between Myers and Fresno starter Victor Juarez, who went 5 innings with 3 runs allowed on 5 hits and 2 walks with 6 strikeouts. At the same time both teams racked up 12 base hits and there was plenty of offense on both sides. Four Stockton batters had at least two hits, led by Schofield-Sam with three. Brito and Bernabel each had three hits for Fresno.
The Grizzlies (28-16) maintained their two-game lead in the North division. Stockton is 11 games out at 17-27.
Fresno still leads the six-game series 3-2 with Stockton going for a split on Sunday at 1:05PM.
SCOREBOARD
INLAND EMPIRE – 9
LAKE ELSINORE – 6
Gameday
