Gotsis and Romo lead Fresno past Stockton 5-3 to end August on high note

Stockton, CA (Tuesday, August 31) – The Fresno Grizzlies (67-36) inched past the Stockton Ports (39-61) 5-3 Tuesday night from Banner Island Ballpark. With the win, Fresno improved to 7-0 at Stockton, 47-7 when allowing three runs or fewer and 14-4 in the first game of a series.

Four Grizzlies pitchers held the Ports offense at bay, combining to punch out a season-high 17 batters. Starter Noah Gotsis allowed one earned run over a career-high five innings. He gave up two hits and one walk while striking out a professional best eight hitters. Juan Mejia followed Gotsis with two scoreless frames. Mejia fanned four in his Low-A West best 39th appearance. Blake Goldsberry punched out the side in the eighth for his fourth hold and Gavin Hollowell enjoyed his third save after fanning a pair of Ports.

The Fresno lineup notched eight hits with 20-year old Drew Romo leading the way. Romo went 2-for-2 and reached base three times. He relished a double in the third and tallied two of the three Grizzlies’ RBI. Bryant Quijada was the recipient of the other RBI. Bladimir Restituyo swiped a pair of bases and scored twice in the victory. Zac Veen and Julio Carreras each stole a bag as well.

Stockton managed six hits in the setback. Zack Gelof and T.J. Schofield Sam both went deep with the duo recording both RBI and all three runs. Reliever Pedro Santos (3-5) took the decision despite striking out six Fresno batters. The clubs are back in action for game two of six tomorrow night.

Top Performers: Fresno Grizzlies (Colorado Rockies)

• DH Drew Romo (2-2, 2B, 2 RBI, R, BB)

• RHP Noah Gotsis (5.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K)

• CF Bladimir Restituyo (1-3, 2 R, BB, 2 SB)

• Bullpen (4.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K)

Top Performers: Stockton Ports (Oakland Athletics)

• 3B Zack Gelof (2-3, HR, 2B, RBI, 2 R, BB, 2 SB)

• DH T.J. Schofield-Sam (1-4, HR, RBI, R)

• RHP Aaron Cohn (2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K)

On Deck:

Wednesday, September 1 @ Stockton Ports, Fresno RHP Anderson Amarista (5-4, 6.60) vs. Stockton RHP Diego Granado (2-0, 6.91), 7:05 pm PT

ON THAT FRES-NOTE:

The Fresno Grizzlies have been running wild on the base paths this season. Fresno currently leads the Low-A West and are third in all of Minor League Baseball with 198 stolen bases. The Grizzlies franchise record for the most team steals in a single season is 209, set back in 2011.