The Fresno Grizzlies (48-35) continued a challenging road trip on Monday night in Northern California, suffering a 4-3 loss in 10 innings on a walk-off homer to the homestanding Sacramento River Cats (38-46). The setback dropped Fresno to 2-6 this season against Sacramento, and 2-6 on this road trip, with
The Fresno Grizzlies (48-35) continued a challenging road trip on Monday night in Northern California, suffering a 4-3 loss in 10 innings on a walk-off homer to the homestanding Sacramento River Cats (38-46). The setback dropped Fresno to 2-6 this season against Sacramento, and 2-6 on this road trip, with a game to go. The River Cats are the only team the Grizzlies have a losing record against this season, and their first place lead in the Pacific Northern Division is trimmed to four and a half games over Tacoma.
Sacramento went on top 1-0 in the second inning. Mac Williamson led off with a single, eventually scoring on a Myles Schroder RBI fielder's choice.
Jon Kemmer tied the game for Fresno, blasting his 12th homer of the season off Jeff Samardzija, making a rehab start. The one-out solo shot made the score 1-1.
J.D. Davis (2-for-4) un-tied the game for Fresno with a titanic blast to lead off the sixth. His solo shot was the third home run of this series for the Sacramento-area native in his homecoming (eighth on the season), an estimated 462 feet to left-center field and a 2-1 Grizzlies lead.
Samardzija (no-decision) limited the damage to just the solo shots from Davis and Kemmer, going six innings and 90 pitches. The veteran right-hander scattered five hits, walking one and striking out three. A Myles Straw double off the wall in center field led off the game, extending his hit streak to seven games, and Straw is 13-for-30 in that span (.433). Straw is batting .382 over his first 16 Triple-A games. In just his fifth-career Triple-A game, Fresno first baseman Taylor Jones (2-for-4) rapped a pair of singles off Samardzija in his first two at-bats.
Grizz starter Brock Dykxhoorn, pitching on his 24th birthday, went seven complete innings for the third time in his first seven Triple-A starts, pitching into the seventh for the fourth time with Fresno. The righty spread out seven hits allowing just the one (earned) run, with a walk and four strikeouts.
The River Cats rallied for a run to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth, when Chase d'Arnaud's RBI double down the left field line leveled the score 2-2. A Straw RBI fielder's choice gave the Grizzlies a brief 10th inning lead, before Chris Shaw (2-for-4) smashed his 16th homer of the season to right-center with two out in the home half to end it.
The series will conclude Tuesday evening at 7:05 p.m. PT at Sacramento's Raley Field. The Grizzlies will start RHP Cy Sneed (7-4, 3.33) against RHP Jordan Johnson, a Sacramento-area native who will make his Triple-A debut for the River Cats. Despite Monday's loss, Fresno is still 36-20 against Sacramento as a Houston Astros affiliate (since 2015), with a 21-7 mark at Raley Field. The Grizzlies are 10-13 in one-run games this season (2-7 road), and dropped to 2-4 in extra innings (1-2 road).
