Brecht's Strong Debut Overshadowed by Ports No-Hitter
Strong pitching from the Grizzlies was overshadowed by the Stockton Ports (1-2) combined no-hitter as Fresno (2-1) dropped the series finale 2-0 at Chukchansi Park Sunday afternoon in Downtown Fresno. Brody Brecht’s professional debut went according to plan on the mound as the right hander struck out 7 batters in
Strong pitching from the Grizzlies was overshadowed by the Stockton Ports (1-2) combined no-hitter as Fresno (2-1) dropped the series finale 2-0 at Chukchansi Park Sunday afternoon in Downtown Fresno.
Brody Brecht’s professional debut went according to plan on the mound as the right hander struck out 7 batters in three innings of work, working around a pair of walks without allowing a hit or a run.
But Brecht was matched on the mound by Jefferson Jean, the Ports starter who held the Grizzlies to just one baserunner over five innings of work.
Jean struck out five and left Kelvin Hidalgo stranded on third in the second. Hidalgo stole both second and third, but couldn’t score as Jean struck out the final two hitters of the inning.
That kicked off a string of 11 consecutive batters retired by Jefferson Jean before Stockton went to the bullpen.
Stockton scored just in time to reward Jean, as Myles Naylor led off the sixth with a single and scrambled to third when C.J. Pittaro’s fly ball landed in the left field corner for a double.
Tommy Takayoshi singled with the infield drawn in to produce the game’s only RBI to put Jean in line for the win.
Tzu-Chen Sha was just as effective, striking out six in three innings of work, registering two K’s in each of the innings he worked.
Stockton scored an unearned run in the 7th when a dropped flyball with two-outs off the bat of Naylor plated Jared Sprague-Lott.
The run proved unnecessary as Sha worked the 6th, 7th, and 8th innings and Wilfred Alvarado worked a clean ninth inning for the save.
The combined no-hitter is the first in professional baseball this season.
It also overshadowed a good debut for Brecht as well as a number of solid season debuts from the Fresno Grizzlies bullpen. Everett Catlett worked 1.2 without allowing a run.
Justin Loer was saddled with a tough loss despite striking out all four batters for the 1.1 innings he pitched.
Brady Hill worked one inning, allowing one unearned run and Austin Becker worked two scoreless innings.
Fresno hits the road this week, opening up a six games series at Inland Empire Tuesday night at 6:35 pm with Bryan Mena taking the ball for the Grizzlies. Inland Empire is slated to throw Peyton Olejnik in opposition. The broadcasts for the entire series will solely be produced by the 66ers and can be accessed through MLB.TV or the MiLB streaming app.
The Grizzlies return home on Tuesday, April 15th to begin a series with the Lake Elsinore Storm.
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The Fresno Grizzlies are a proud affiliate of the Colorado Rockies organization. During the 2024 season, the Grizzlies held several California League season records, including most attended game and highest overall attendance. The team plays at Chukchansi Park, a year-round venue that hosts numerous special events.