Fresno comes from behind to beat Albuquerque
FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno Grizzlies (20-22) overcame a 2-0 deficit to win 4-3 over the Albuquerque Isotopes (19-22) on Friday night in front of 10,106 fans at Chukchansi Park. The Grizzlies have won seven of 10 games against the Isotopes this season.
Fresno starter Chris Heston was mostly masterful for a sixth straight outing, as a two-run homer by Isotopes shortstop Alex Guerrero accounted for the only damage. On the night, the right-hander limited the Isotopes to two runs on five hits over 7.0 innings while striking out six. Heston is 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA (6 ER/18.0 IP) and 16 strikeouts over his last three starts.
Adam Duvall cut the Albuquerque lead in half in the fourth with an opposite field homer that reached eight seats up. It was his 15th overall and gives him homers in three straight games. Duvall becomes the first Grizzlies player to homer in three consecutive games since Roger Kieschnick homered in three straight from June 6-8, 2013 at Salt Lake. Over Duvall's last 12 games, he's hitting .354 (17-48) with five doubles, a triple, nine homers, and 21 RBI.
It wasn't until the seventh when reliever Colt Hynes took over for starter Red Patterson (ND; 1 ER/6.0 IP, 9 K) that the Grizzlies recaptured the lead. Fresno catcher Andrew Susac led off the inning by getting plunked and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Nick Noonan. The strategy paid off as a liner down the right field line by Chris Dominguez plated Susac to tie the game at two.
Travis Ishikawa followed by singling to left-center, putting two on with one out. After a strikeout by Tony Abreu, Gary Brown stepped to the plate and roped a go-ahead two-out, two-run triple into the corner in right to give the Grizzlies a 4-2 lead.
Left-hander Dan Runzler relieved Heston and tossed 1.2 innings, surrendering a solo homer to pinch-hitter Tim Federowicz in the eighth. The homer marked the first extra-base hit Runzler has surrendered this season.
Closer Heath Hembree entered with two outs in the ninth to face the hot-hitting Alex Guerrero. The shortstop had already homered three times so far in the series, but struck out swinging in this at bat to end the game. The save gives Hembree a league-leading nine on the year.
The two teams meet again tomorrow night in game three of the series. Left-hander Jose De Paula (0-1, 3.48) is scheduled to start for the Fresno Grizzlies. Both teams will be wearing 1954-inspired throwbacks of their parent club to coincide with the 1954 New York Giants World Series Championship Replica Ring giveaway, presented by Fresno Coin Gallery. Gates to the ballpark open to the general public at 5:35 p.m. The Chukchansi Park Box Office will open at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday.