Infield Singles Give Grizzlies Win in Ninth

STOCKTON, Calif. — A ninth-inning rally for the Fresno Grizzlies (20-16) on three infield singles gave them a 4-2 win on Friday night to take a three-games-to-one series lead over the Stockton Ports (14-21).

The batting-average-on-balls-in-play gods shined favorably on the Grizzlies in the ninth inning, as the three infield hits they had may have gone a combined 95 feet. Braylen Wimmer had a squibber off the end of the bat go half way up the third-base line where it died for the first infield single of the ninth.

Andy Perez had a 13-pitch at bat that ended with a walk, before a bunt by EJ Andrews Jr. rolled about 35 feet where it planted in the grass for a bunt single to load the bases. Fadriel Cruz hit a little nubber just out of the reach of pitcher Mark Adamiak that settled behind the mound towards short for the third infield single of the ninth and plated Wimmer to put Fresno ahead 3-2.

Luke Mann made a diving stop to his left to start a fielder’s choice that turned into a double play after Andrews Jr. got caught in a run down, but Perez came in to score and make it 4-2 Grizzlies. That was followed by the Ports going down in order in the bottom of the ninth to end the game.

Mann got the scoring started in the bottom of the first on a solo home run (7) out to deep right, for his third home run in two games and a 1-0 Stockton lead. Casey Yamauchi would make Fresno pay for an error in the third inning when he singled to right to score Pedro Pineda for a 2-0 Ports advantage.

But the Grizzlies got a solo home run from Cruz (2) to cut it to 2-1 in the fifth. They’d tie the game in the sixth when Fresno executed a first-and-third double steal, with Longwell drawing a throw to second allowing GJ Hill to score from third.

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First pitch of game five is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. on Saturday. Fresno will start lefty Isaiah Coupet (3-1, 5.06) against the Ports righty Tzu-Chen Sha (1-0, 4.38) who threw five shutout innings in San Jose in his last start.

It will be Alumni Night at Banner Island Ballpark, as the Ports will honor past players who came through Stockton over the years. It's also Armed Forces Night, as the Ports will salute service members, and reveal exclusive military appreciation merchandise. The first 1,000 fans will snag an exclusive Ports camo duffle bag, plus it's Little League Night, presented by Amy L Scriven DDS. Fans can also stick around for post-game fireworks and Splash 4 Cash, presented by Premier Pools & Spas.

Single game tickets, mini plans, and group outings are all on sale for the 2024 season. For more information, call the Ports front office at 209-644-1900 or email at [email protected].