Grizzlies Report for Aug. 28: Omaha 3, Fresno 2

Friday recap: Fresno tied it in the top of the ninth but blew a shot at the go-ahead run, then saw Omaha’s Casey Kotchman get hit by a pitch by Grizzlies reliever Jake Buchanan in the Storm Chasers’ 3-2 walk-off win in 11 innings. Tyler White’s RBI single made it 2-2 and set up first and third with one out but pinch-runner Jonathan Villar was caught stealing. Buchanan, in his third inning of work, gave up three straight singles before hitting Kotchman.

Grizzlies today: Fresno RH Dan Straily (10-7, 4.09 ERA) hopes to bounce back from a rough previous start when he faces Omaha RH Andy Ferguson (5-3, 3.16) at 5:05 p.m. Straily had fanned six batters in three innings Aug. 24 at Iowa, but was walloped for eight runs in the fourth inning of a 9-0 loss. It was Straily’s first defeat in five decisions since the All-Star break. Ferguson, who makes his 13th start for the Storm Chasers, went 4-0 with a 0.85 ERA in 31.2 innings across six appearances (four starts) at Double-A Northwest Arkansas earlier this year.

Stat of the day: 6 – losses in a seven-game stretch for Fresno after the second of two straight defeats at Omaha. It’s quite the drop-off for the Pacific Northern champs, who went 19-1 to start August and won a franchise-high 11 straight during that span. Five of the losses have come on the road, where the Grizzlies are 36-33. Fresno closes the regular season with an eight-game homestand starting Monday.

This story was originally published August 28, 2015 at 9:59 PM with the headline "Grizzlies Report for Aug. 28: Omaha 3, Fresno 2."