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The Gateway Grizzlies returned to Grizzlies Ballpark on Wednesday night, and lost a close, 2-1 contest to the Lake Erie Crushers despite numerous opportunities to come back from a late deficit.
The start of the game was dominated by starting pitchers Collin Sullivan and Anthony Escobar (8-2). Sullivan fought off several Lake Erie rallies in pitching into the sixth inning, allowing four hits and two walks, but striking out seven batters to keep the Crushers’ bats at bay. Escobar, meanwhile, allowed just a pair of baserunners- both singles- in his first six innings of work on just 53 total pitches as the two teams were locked in a staring contest at 0-0.
In the seventh, after stranding a pair of runners on base for Sullivan in the sixth inning, Justin Goossen-Brown (0-1) faltered, allowing a leadoff double followed by a walk to force a pitching change. Keegan Collett could not hold the Lake Erie offense down any longer, walking a batter to load the bases before an RBI single by Jarrod Watkins made it 1-0.
A bases-loaded walk to Alberti Chavez would make it 2-0, but that is all the offense Lake Erie would get thanks to the defense of Jose Alvarez. On the next play, Jake Guenther hit a fly ball to shallow right field, and Alvarez made a terrific sliding catch for the first out, then nailed Logan Thomason with a perfect throw to home plate for the double play, helping Collett get out of the jam.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Grizzlies finally had a chance to score, loading the bases on two walks and hit batter by Escobar with just one out, but Victor Castillo struck out against Christian Scafidi before D.J. Stewart grounded out to shortstop, leaving the sacks full.
In the eighth, Gage Vailes walked the leadoff batter, and threw wide to first base in checking on pinch-runner Sam Franco, sending him to second base. Franco, however, tried to also go to third, and Alvarez nailed the runner again from right field with a perfect throw to Stewart, snuffing out that threat and sending the game to the bottom of the eighth.
In the frame, Lake Erie’s Sammy Tavarez walked the first two batters on eight straight pitches, and Gabe Holt battled the hard-throwing right-hander for nine pitches before hitting an automatic RBI double to right field, getting the Grizzlies on the board and making the score 2-1 while putting the tying run just 90 feet away with no outs. But yet again, Gateway could not come through in the clutch, as Abdiel Diaz struck out, and after a walk loaded the bases with one out for the second inning in a row, Peter Zimmermann hit into an inning-ending double-play.
Gateway would not get anyone on base in the ninth inning, either, as their lead over Lake Erie for second place in the West Division standings dropped back to 2.0 games entering a huge rubber game of the three-game series tomorrow night, Thursday, August 15, at 6:30 p.m. CT. Lukas Veinbergs will get the ball for the Grizzlies against Kirkwood, Missouri native Jack Eisenbarger for Lake Erie at Grizzlies Ballpark.
