Fresno drops 8-2 contest to Inland Empire despite Amaral bomb

San Bernardino, CA (Wednesday, July 26) – The Fresno Grizzlies (55-37, 19-7) fell to the Inland Empire 66ers (50-39, 17-9) 8-2 Wednesday night from San Manuel Stadium. Fresno dropped to 19-7 in the second half, 22-8 in their last 30 games and 32-11 in their last 43 contests. The Grizzlies stumbled to 14-6 in July, 35-7 when scoring first and 5-3 against the 66ers in 2023. Fresno has now alternated wins and losses for their last eight games, starting on July 18.

The Grizzlies lineup tallied eight hits with half of them landing for extra-bases. Daniel Amaral blasted a solo shot with one out in the top of the first, his second bomb with Fresno. Amaral extended his hit streak to five games, his second time doing so this year (nine is his longest streak). Bryant Betancourt recorded three hits, including a career-high two doubles. Betancourt has yielded five hits in the current series. Jesus Bugarin pummeled a double and scored the second Grizzlies run. Jesus Ordonez relished a pair of singles and drove in Bugarin. Fresno starter Anderson Pilar (1-2) suffered the loss in his worst professional outing. Pilar allowed a career-high five runs on nine hits and three walks. Wuardo Fernandez logged four straight outs, which included a line drive off his knee at 101 MPH. Javier Ramos fanned two in a scoreless seventh.

The 66ers offense exploded for eight runs on 15 hits, four walks and one beaned batter. All nine starters reached base successfully with eight batters posting one or more hits. Five starters provided multi-hit evenings with the first four batters in the Inland Empire lineup combining for 10 hits. Nelson Rada ripped a double, two singles and waltzed home all three times. 2023 Angels’ draft picks Alberto Rios and Nolan Schanuel started their 66ers’ careers with two hits apiece. Schanuel brought in a pair of runs. Jadiel Sanchez crushed three hits, including a triple. He swatted home a pair of runs and raced to the dish twice. Denzer Guzman spanked a triple and Kevin Watson Jr. etched two RBI thanks to a rocket double. Lefty Mason Albright (9-4) enjoyed the decision after dazzling for six innings. Albright permitted two runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out six. Ryan Langford and Sadrac Franco wrapped up the triumph with three spotless frames of relief. The squads are back in action tomorrow night from downtown San Bernardino.

Top Performers: Fresno Grizzlies (Colorado Rockies)

• 1B Bryant Betancourt (3-4, 2 2B)
• LF Daniel Amaral (1-4, HR, RBI, R)
• C Jesus Ordonez (2-4, RBI)
• CF Jesus Bugarin (1-4, 2B, R)
• RHP Wuardo Fernandez (1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K)

Top Performers: Inland Empire 66ers (Los Angeles Angels)

• RF Jadiel Sanchez (3-5, 3B, 2 RBI, 2 R)
• CF Nelson Rada (3-5, 2B, 3 R)
• 1B Nolan Schanuel (2-3, 2 RBI, R, HBP)
• DH Kevin Watson Jr. (2-5, 2B, 2 RBI, R)
• 66ers Pitching (9.0 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 9 K)

On Deck:

Thursday, July 27 @ Inland Empire 66ers, Fresno RHP Connor Staine (6-4, 5.23) vs. Inland Empire RHP Fernando Guanare (3-1, 4.03), 6:35 pm PT

ON THAT FRES-NOTE:

Inland Empire’s six-run win was tied for their largest margin of victory against Fresno since 2021 (done 3 times; most recently 6-0 on August 13, 2022 at IE).