Pitching Holds Off 66ers, Offense Delivers In Extras

BOX SCORE

The Fresno Grizzlies (4-4) pitching staff showed its ability to navigate out of trouble long enough for the offense to push across a crooked number in a 3-2 10th inning victory over the Inland Empire 66ers (3-5) Saturday night at San Manuel Stadium in San Bernardino.

Brody Brecht’s second professional start came with a number of tricky situations, but the right hander navigated through by showcasing his powerful stuff.

Brecht came out strong striking out two in the first inning.

Brecht got a fly ball to start the second but a near collision caused the ball to fall in right center and Inland Empire started the inning with a runner on third. A sacrifice fly put the 66ers ahead.

The Grizzlies offense capitalized on a leadoff walk to Blake Wright before Nolan Clifford was plunked in the back.

Juan Castillo drove in Wright with a flare into left center field to tie the game, 1-1.

Brecht continued to work in the bottom of the fourth but dealt with a pair of runners on before getting a strikeout a Raudi Rodriguez to end his outing.

Fisher Jameson entered and struck out Mitchell Daly to end the threat.

Brecht finished his second professional outing after 3.2 innings while scattering three walks and three hits, allowing just the one run, and striking out four.

The Grizzlies threatened in the top of the fifth as Wright singled and Felix Tena was hit by a pitch. But Fresno was unable to push across a run in the inning.

Jameson kept things level in the bottom of the inning getting a lineout sandwiched between a pair of groundouts.

Jameson worked around a one-out single in the sixth, using a pair of strikeouts to finish 2.1 innings of relief.

Austin Becker allowed a leadoff walk in the 7^th but prevented any damage by utilizing a pair of strike outs to keep the game tied.

The Grizzlies offense put runners on throughout but couldn’t muster much of a threat against the Inland Empire bullpen. Nolan Clifford singled with one out in the 8^th but was left stranded.

In the bottom of the 8^th, Fidel Ulloa surrendered a one-out single but ended the frame with a strikeout and a groundout.

Fresno threatened in the ninth with Roynier Hernandez and Kevin Fitzer both singling to put runners on the corners, but a groundout ended the threat without a run.

Inland Empire put the leadoff hitter aboard on to start the ninth, but Luke Jewett came on in relief and got a fly out and a pop out to send the game into extra innings.

With the automatic runner Wright on second to start the inning, Felix Tena moved him over with a groundout to the right side.

Clifford drove a ball into centerfield to drive in Wright and give the Grizzlies their first lead of the night.

The Grizzlies were gifted an insurance run as Francisco Garcia, Tommy Hopfe, and Hidalgo were all hit to force in a run to make it 3-1 in favor of Fresno.

But a leadoff triple in the bottom of the 10^th immediately cut the lead in half and put the tying run on third. That would be the only extra base-hit, of 16 total, on the night.

Jewett induced a pop up to shallow left field that Hidalgo caught before a short tapper in front of the plate that Juan Castillo fielded for the first two outs of the inning.

Jewett forced a soft groundout to second to close the door and earn the win.

The Grizzlies bullpen combined for 0 earned runs in 6.1 innings of relief. Jameson, Becker, Ulloa and Jewett struck out six in that time frame and held onto the win.

Both Hernandez and Clifford had multi-hit games for the second night in a row to help buoy the offense.

The Grizzlies ten total hits tied a season high; they were all singles.

The series concludes on Sunday at 2:05pm in a rematch of Tuesday’s starting pitchers as Bryan Mena gets the ball for Fresno opposing Peyton Olejnik of Inland Empire. The Grizzlies are back to .500 on the season and looking for a series split.

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 15^th to begin a series with the Lake Elsinore Storm.

----

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.