Jake Barrett made things a little interesting on Tuesday afternoon.
The Reno Aces closer got Jon Singleton to fly out to center field with the bases loaded to save a 3-2 victory over the Fresno Grizzlies in front of a crowd of 4,904 at Chukchansi Park. The victory allowed the Aces, now 9-11, to salvage the final game of this four-game Pacific Coast League series and also snap a five-game losing streak. Fresno fell to 11-8.
The Grizzlies got a double and two walks off Barrett in the ninth but couldn’t push across the tying run. Ronald Torreyes doubled to lead off the inning and went to third on a fly out to right field in foul territory. The Grizzlies’ Nolan Fontana then hit a ground ball to Aces second baseman Mike Freeman as Torreyes broke for home. Freeman, though, got Torreyes at the plate on a throw to catcher Blake Lalli, keeping the game tied.
The Aces, though, were not out of trouble.
Barrett then walked Alex Presley and Preston Tucker to load the bases, bringing up Singleton. Barrett survived by getting Singleton to fly out to center fielder Trayvon Robinson to end the game.
It was Robinson who gave the Aces a 3-0 lead on a two-run double in the fourth inning off Grizzlies starter Dan Straily. Robinson’s two-out double scored Lalli and Garrett Weber.
Robinson would turn out to be the Aces’ last baserunner of the game. The Grizzlies retired the final 16 consecutive Aces hitters. Richard Rodriguez pitched three perfect innings in relief and James Hoyt tossed a perfect ninth inning. Straily, who took the loss to fall to 2-1 on the year, lasted five innings and allowed six hits and three runs.
The Aces opened the scoring in the third inning as Peter O’Brien doubled home Worth for a 1-0 lead. O’Brien was 2-for-4 with two doubles.
Fresno scored twice in the fifth inning off Aces starter A.J. Schugel. Fontana doubled and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by Tucker. Singleton also walked in the inning and went to second on a wild pitch by Schugel. Domingo Santana then tripled home Singleton to cut the Aces lead to 3-2.
Six Aces pitchers combined to walk nine.
Schugel earned the win to improve to 1-2. He lasted five innings and allowed three hits, six walks and two runs while fanning four. Matt Reynolds and Kevin Munson combined to pitch a shutout sixth inning. Dan Runzler blanked the Grizzlies in the seventh and J.C. Ramirez did the same in the eighth as the Aces nursed their one-run lead.
Weber had two singles for the Aces.
The Aces will open a four-game series at Las Vegas starting on Thursday.
