Harper, Grizzlies, Walk Off With 2-1 Win Over Tucson
June 1, 2008 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Fresno Grizzlies News Release
FRESNO, CA - Brett Harper ended a pitcher's duel with one swing of the bat on Sunday afternoon at Chukchansi Park. Harper homered for the second time in as many days, this one a two-out, walk-off, solo shot in the ninth off of Tucson's Jailen Peguero, to lead the Grizzlies to a 2-1 win over the Sidewinders.
The game was an unexpected pitcher's duel as Tucson starter Juan Gutierrez entered the game leading the Pacific Coast League with nine losses, and was in the Top 10 in all of Minor League Baseball in hits allowed. But Gutierrez and Fresno starter Brad Hennessey both turned in outstanding performances for their clubs.
After three scoreless innings Fresno got on the board first, in the fourth. Eugenio Velez, who hit his first Triple-A homer to lead off the ninth inning on Saturday, led off the frame by lining a 2-1 pitch from Gutierrez into the right-field bleachers for a 1-0 Fresno lead. Velez, who had three hits in the game, upped his average in 10 games with the Grizzlies to .410.
Tucson wasted no time in tying up the ballgame, responding in the top half of the fifth inning. Like Velez in the inning before, Robby Hammock led off with a home run, lifting Hennessey's second pitch of the inning into the left-field bleachers to knot up the score at one run apiece.
Hennessey and Gutierrez each lasted seven innings, allowing just one run. The Grizzlies starter struck out six, and didn't walk a single batter, while his opponent struck out three and issued just one walk. The base on balls, to Harper in the seventh inning, was the only free pass allowed by either team in the game.
The game remained tied at one in the bottom of the ninth, when Harper stepped to the plate with two outs and Peguero on the mound. After taking a pitch inside, the Grizzlies first baseman hammered a fastball, left out over the plate, off of the manual scoreboard in right-center for his second home run in the last two games, giving Fresno a 2-1 win.
Sunday was the third time this season the Grizzlies defeated Tucson in their final trip to the plate. The Sidewinders were the victims of Fresno's five-run ninth inning on April 11th in the Chukchansi Park home opener, and watched as the Grizzlies scored two in the bottom of the eighth the following night for a 3-2 win. In three appearances this season against Fresno Jailen Peguero has allowed ten runs in just 3.1 innings of work.
Having split the first two games of their four-game series, the Grizzlies and Sidewinders meet again on Monday night at Chukchansi Park, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05pm. Fresno right-hander Matt Palmer looks to extend his PCL lead in strikeouts, and will be opposed by Tucson ace Yusmeiro Petit.
Pacific Coast League Stories from June 1, 2008
- Seddon Sensational In 6-1 Isotopes Win - Albuquerque Isotopes
- Z's snap L Streak - New Orleans Baby Cakes
- Beavers Get Four Homers In Win - Portland Beavers
- Harper, Grizzlies, Walk Off With 2-1 Win Over Tucson - Fresno Grizzlies
- Grizzlies Walk Off On Sidewinders - Tucson Sidewinders
- Brad Hawpe To Rehab With Sky Sox - Colorado Springs Sky Sox
- Sky Sox shut out Sacramento, 4-0 - Colorado Springs Sky Sox
- Sounds Drop Second Straight To I-Cubs, 8-3 - Nashville Sounds
- Oklahoma RedHawks Game Notes - Oklahoma City Comets
- Royals Game Notes - Omaha Storm Chasers
- Fresno comeback falls short against Sidewinders - Fresno Grizzlies
- Sidewinders pick off 4th straight win - Tucson Sidewinders
- Solid Outing For Hernandez All For Naught - Albuquerque Isotopes
- Hensley, Gonzalez keep Las Vegas down in series opener - Portland Beavers
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