Mother’s Day Miracle as Fresno walks-off Modesto 1-0 on wild pitch

Fresno, CA (Sunday, May 12) – The Fresno Grizzlies/Malmö Oat Milkers (17-15) walked-off on the Modesto Nuts (23-8) 1-0 Sunday afternoon from Chukchansi Park. Fresno enjoyed their first walk-off win of the 2024 season thanks to a wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth. For the second consecutive season, the Grizzlies sent a Mother’s Day crowd home happy with a walk-off wild pitch (6-5, May 14, 2023 vs. Visalia). In the past two years, Fresno has won on a walk-off wild pitch four times. The Grizzlies tossed their fifth goose egg of the season, one shy of matching last year’s shutout total. Fresno improved to 2-5 in one-run games, 4-1 on Sundays (first weekend home win) and played their fastest game of the season (1 hour and 58 minutes).

Both teams traded zeroes for eight and a half innings and saw their best opportunity appear in the first frame. Fresno left the bases loaded while Modesto had runners at the corners. In the bottom of the ninth, Andy Perez led the inning off with a single to center. Perez finished the contest with two hits. Jake Snider followed Perez with what should have been a double-play groundball, but a hard slide from the Cuban native sent an errant throw that sailed into the home dugout, awarding Snider second base. After a pair of walks, the Grizzlies had the bases loaded with only one out. On a 1-0 count to Ben McCabe, Nuts reliever Ernie Day chucked a pitch high and inside, which found its way to the backstop. Snider raced home and scored on a bang-bang play at the plate, sending the Fresno dugout into a frenzy. The walk-off victory puts Fresno 6.5 games back of Modesto in the California League North Division standings.

Grizzlies’ starter Jace Kaminska was unbelievable once again, twirling six scoreless innings for the second straight outing. Kaminska allowed three hits and two walks while punching out five, lowering his ERA to 1.52. At one point, Kaminska retired seven batters in a row. Brady Hill tossed a 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts, pushing his ERA to 0.73. Finally, Jake Madden (1-0) relished the triumph with two scoreless frames, yielding a huge double-play in the ninth. Madden has six consecutive scoreless appearances and dropped his ERA to 1.26. The trio combined for nine strikeouts and that fifth shutout of the season (second started by Kaminska).

Nuts’ righty Tyler Gough dazzled for five scoreless innings, giving up four hits and two walks while whiffing four batters. Michael Limoncelli and Gabriel Sosa pooled together three shutout frames to keep the game intact. Ernie Day (1-1) was the losing pitcher after control issues in the final frame. Modesto mustered just four hits, which came from the top three batters in their lineup. Jonny Farmelo spanked two singles and Colt Emerson reached base three times in the setback. Fresno begins a six-game series against the Stockton Ports Tuesday morning from Banner Island Ballpark.

Top Performers: Fresno Grizzlies (Colorado Rockies)

• RHP Jace Kaminska (6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K)
• Fresno Bullpen (3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K)
• LF Jake Snider (1-4, walk-off run)

Top Performers: Modesto Nuts (Seattle Mariners)

• RHP Tyler Gough (5.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K)
• SS Colt Emerson (1-2, 2 BB)
• CF Jonny Farmelo (2-4)

On Deck:

Tuesday, May 14, 2024 at 11:00 am PT Fresno Grizzlies at Stockton Ports

Fresno LHP Albert Pacheco (1-1, 3.22) vs. Stockton TBD

On That Fres-Notes:

The teams combined for four double-plays, the most in a single game this season.

Your Grizzlies played as the Malmö Oat Milkers (teams who play as the Oat Milkers are 11-9 in 2024), Minor League Baseball™ (MiLB™)’s newest team brought to the league by Oatly, the world’s original and largest oatmilk company. Announced during MLB Tonight’s March 27 evening broadcast, the introduction of The Malmö Oat Milkers to the league is part of Oatly’s ongoing multi-year partnership with MiLB as the first-ever national plant-based, non-dairy sponsor, and pays homage to Oatly’s home city of Malmö, Sweden. All of MiLB’s already existing 120 teams are each playing one game this season as the Oat Milkers, including the Fresno Grizzlies today - making the Oat Milkers more than just the 121st team of MiLB, but also an occasion for our local players to wear non-generic, but also non-outlandish pink accented jerseys for nine entire innings. While now primarily known for “assuming the identity of a MiLB team,” Oatly also makes a delicious range of oat-based, non-dairy milk alternatives that offers the same creamy taste, frothy feel, and functionality as cow’s milk, while generally having a lower environmental impact.

Today, we celebrate the heartbeats of our families, the ones who cheer us on from the sidelines and lift us up in every inning of our life. Happy Mother’s Day to all the incredible moms within the Fresno Grizzlies community! Today, we honor you for the countless sacrifices you make, the countless smiles you bring, and the countless memories you create. Thank you for being the MVPs of our lives, both on and off the field. Happy Mother’s Day!