SAN JOSE, Calif. — A dominant eight-inning performance nearly slipped away, but the Fresno Grizzlies (18-14) survived a furious ninth inning rally from the San Jose Giants (19-13) to hang on for an 8-7 victory Saturday night at Excite Ballpark.
Fresno jumped in front immediately against San Jose starter Nick Margevicius in the opening inning.
Cam Nelson singled to left and stole second before scoring when Roldy Brito reached on a throwing error by first baseman Jeremiah Jenkins.
The Grizzlies added two more runs in the second as Derek Bernard opened the inning with a double before Luis Mendez dropped down a bunt single to score him.
Jeremy Ciriaco followed with an RBI single to right, pushing Fresno ahead 3-0.
Fresno kept the pressure on in the third inning.
Ethan Holliday and Tanner Thach collected back-to-back singles before Bernard lined an RBI single into right field.
Jack O’Dowd later added a sacrifice fly as the Grizzlies stretched the lead to 5-0.
Angel Jimenez turned in his best outing since joining Fresno and controlled San Jose’s lineup throughout the evening.
The right-hander tossed five scoreless innings while striking out five and scattering four hits to earn his first victory with the Grizzlies.
Ciriaco stayed hot at the plate in the sixth inning, ripping his second RBI double of the night to score Carlos Renzullo and extend Fresno’s advantage to 7-0.
The Grizzlies added another run in the eighth after Bernard singled and eventually scored on a wild pitch.
Bernard finished 3-for-3 with a double, RBI, two runs scored and a walk while Ciriaco collected three hits and two RBIs.
Mendez added a pair of RBIs while Brito, O’Dowd and Bernard each delivered key run-scoring hits as Fresno piled up 11 hits overall.
Austin Emener followed Jimenez with two scoreless innings before the Giants mounted a dramatic rally in the ninth.
San Jose scored six runs against Manuel Olivares and capitalized on three Fresno errors in the inning to bring the tying run aboard before Seth Clausen entered and recorded the final out for his fourth save of the season.
The win moved Fresno back within one game of first-place San Jose in the California League North standings while securing at least a series split entering Sunday’s finale.
The series concludes Sunday afternoon at Excite Ballpark with first pitch scheduled for 1:00pm. The Chukchansi Gold Pregame Show begins at 12:45pm on fresnogrizzlies.com/listen.
ABOUT THE FRESNO GRIZZLIES
The Fresno Grizzlies are a proud affiliate of the Colorado Rockies organization. The club advanced to the California League playoffs in 2025 and continues to post some of Minor League Baseball’s highest attended games. The 2026 season marks the Grizzlies’ 25th year in Downtown Fresno.