by Jeff Schiller / A’s Farm Las Vegas Contributor
The Aviators returned home from Reno on Friday for the first of 12 straight home games, which will be the longest home stand of the 2019 season for the team. The game ended in an 11-inning loss, but Aviators and A’s fans alike still got more than their money’s worth.
Edwin Jackson threw 102 pitches over 4 2/3 innings in his first start for Las Vegas on his journey back to the majors. And after starting the game by going 0 for 4, Matt Olson hit a dramatic, game-tying homer with two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning in his third rehab game for the Aviators.
1st inning (top)
Edwin Jackson put Fresno right fielder Alec Keller down on a lineout to left-center to begin his first start for the Aviators. Shortstop Franklin Barreto booted a routine ground ball at shortstop to allow second baseman Jake Noll to reach base and put some pressure on Jackson early in his Las Vegas debut. But Jackson bounced back with a quick K of third baseman Jacob Wilson, and designated hitter Yadiel Hernandez then made the last out of the inning by grounding out to second baseman Jorge Mateo.
1st inning (bottom)
Mateo reached on an error by second baseman Jake Noll to lead off the bottom half of the inning and then went to second as Vegas-born first baseman Brandon Snyder threw the ball away. Designated hitter Matt Olson flew out, but Mateo advanced to third to make sure his at-bat wasn’t in vain. First baseman Corban Joseph, whose walk-up music is the classic “I Got Five On It”, brought Mateo home with an RBI single to give the Aviators an early 1-0 lead and to give Joseph his 11th RBI of 2019.
2nd inning (top)
Brandon Snyder battled with Edwin Jackson for 12 pitches but flew out to Dustin Fowler at the center field wall. Jackson gave up his first hit of the game after that battle with a single to left fielder Jose Marmolejos. Jackson then got shortstop Matt Reynolds to ground into a double play to end the inning.
2nd inning (bottom)
Third baseman Sheldon Neuse was Fresno starter Scott Copeland‘s first strikeout victim to lead off the bottom of the 2nd. Catcher Beau Taylor took first on a free pass then moved to second on a wild pitch to Franklin Barreto, who ended up getting K’d looking to make the second out of the inning. Copeland followed up his second strikeout with his second walk of the inning to the number-nine hitter, right fielder Tyler Ramirez. But Jorge Mateo flied out to leave two men stranded to end the inning.
3rd inning (top)
Center fielder Collin Cowgill tied the game 1-1 with his 6th homer of the season to lead off the inning. Like Copeland, Edwin Jackson also walked the number-nine hitter, catcher Taylor Gushue. Jackson took out the top two in the Grizzlies order but then waked third baseman Jacob Wilson, moving a runner into scoring position. Yadiel Hernandez then gave Fresno the lead with a single up the middle to put the Grizzlies up 2-1.
3rd inning (bottom)
Matt Olson struck out on four pitches to lead off the bottom half of the inning. Corban Joseph followed up by hitting his 3rd home run of the year to tie the game 2-2. Left fielder Seth Brown then singled, but the Aviators failed to keep the rally going on outs from Fowler and Neuse.
4th inning (top)
Edwin Jackson issued a leadoff walk to Marmolejos on five pitches to start the 4th. Marmolejos then stole second, as Matt Reynolds struck out. But Fresno wasted the leadoff walk, while Jackson added another K to end the inning.
4th inning (bottom)
Catcher Beau Taylor, staying hot after his 4-hit game in Reno on Thursday, led off the inning with a single but was put out when Franklin Barreto grounded into a double play. Tyler Ramirez reached base for the second time with a single. Mateo added a single to move Ramirez to second, but Matt Olson rolled one over to first base to end the inning with no runs scoring.
5th inning (top)
Edwin Jackson nearly had a clean 5th to finish his night, but with two outs and a 1-2 count on Jacob Wilson, Jackson ended up issuing a walk to Wilson on his 102nd and final pitch of the game. It took two pitches for Vegas reliever Kyle Lobstein to finish the inning by getting Yadiel Hernandez to ground out.
5th inning (bottom)
Corban Joseph started the inning by striking out, but Vegas got things going with a Seth Brown double. A passed ball moved Brown over to third, but Dustin Fowler became Scott Copeland’s sixth strikeout victim for the second out of the inning. Alec Keller then robbed Sheldon Neuse of a hit, and the Aviators of the lead, with a diving catch in right field.
6th inning (top)
Lobstein struck out Brandon Snyder to start the inning, and got Marmolejos to ground out, but then walked Matt Reynolds. Lobstein ended up hitting Cowgill with a pitch to put him on base and to move Reynolds into scoring position. But Neuse made a nice play at third base and threw out Taylor Gushue at first to take Lobstein and the Aviators off the hook to end the inning.
6th inning (bottom)
Beau Taylor led the inning off with a nine-pitch walk to reach base for the third time in the game. Franklin Barreto’s sacrifice bunt moved Taylor over. Tyler Ramirez then reached base for the third time in the game when he doubled off Copeland to give the Aviators a 3-2 lead. Mateo and Olson both struck out to leave Ramirez stranded at third after a wild pitch.
7th inning (top)
Lefty Wei-Chung Wang came out of the bullpen to replace Kyle Lobstein for Las Vegas. His first pitch flew over Alec Keller’s head, and the 7th was a battle for Wang from there. He walked Keller, struck out Noll, gave up a hit to Wilson, and got Hernandez to ground into what seemed like a double play. But the throw went awry, and Wang had to face his early-season nemesis, Brandon Snyder. But with men on first and third, Wang struck out Snyder on three straight pitches to escape the jam.
7th inning (bottom)
Jordan Mills came in for Fresno and pitched a 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts (Joseph and Brown). Dustin Fowler flied out to remain hitless in the game.
8th inning (top)
Ryan Dull came in to pitch for the Aviators and gave up the lead on a homer to Marmolejos, which ruined Dull’s spotless 0.00 ERA for the Aviators and tied the game 3-3. He bounced back quickly though with two strikeouts of Reynolds and Cowgill. Dull then gave up a single to Gushue before striking out Alec Keller for his third K of the inning.
8th inning (bottom)
Jimmy Cordero came in to toss Fresno’s second straight 1-2-3 inning of relief. And he even struck out Beau Taylor, who was 1 for 1 with two walks in the game to that point.
9th inning (top)
Jorge Mateo made a great play and throw to retire leadoff hitter Jake Noll for new Aviators pitcher Brian Schlitter. The second out was a comebacker to the pitcher, who barehanded it and made the toss to first for the out. But Yadiel Hernandez didn’t wait before crushing the first pitch he saw for his 8th homer to give Fresno a 4-3 lead.
9th inning (bottom)
Tyler Ramirez’s first out of the game came to lead off the inning. Mateo then went up 3-0 before ending up flying out for the second out. Matt Olson, who had gone 0 for 4 in the game, then smashed a homer to left-center to tie the game 4-4. Corban Joseph followed up with a triple off the wall in center that originally looked like it might be a game-winning home run Despite battling for 12 pitches, Dustin Fowler couldn’t break his 0-fer and ended the inning 0 for 5, sending the game into extra innings.
10th inning (top)
Reliever Norge Ruiz had no problem with the extra-inning runner starting at second base. After recording an out on a fielder’s choice, he hit Matt Reynolds with a pitch to put another man on, but he quickly got out of the inning with a double play.
10th inning (bottom)
Neuse led off the inning with a strikeout to go 0-5 on the night. Beau Taylor was intentionally walked to reach base for the fourth time in the game, but Barreto then grounded into his second double play of the night.
11th inning (top)
Pace of play rules, which require a runner to start out each half inning at second base, helped the Grizzlies take a 5-4 lead on two straight groundouts to start the inning, despite the fact that the Aviators had the infield playing in.
11th inning (bottom)
Tyler Ramirez, Jorge Mateo, and Mark Payton, who was pinch-hitting for Matt Olson, went down in order in the bottom half of the inning to end the game.
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