FRESNO, CA – The Fresno Grizzlies battled hard, but came up just short as the River Cats took the second game of the Highway 99 Showdown series 8-7 Tuesday night at Chukchansi Park.  For the second straight night, the match-up between the PCL's Pacific Southern division's top two teams was decided by just one run. There were five lead changes during the 10 inning affair, with Sacramento reliever Jerry Blevins ultimately earning the win, pitching one inning, giving up two runs (both earned) on two hits and one strike out. Fresno reliever Felix Romero suffered the loss after giving up three runs (all earned) on three hits in 1.1 innings worth of work.
 
The River Cats scored the first run of the ballgame in the second, on a sacrifice fly from left fielder Danny Putnam. The Grizzlies answered back with a run in the bottom of the inning and a two-run homer from second baseman Kevin Frandsen in the third to take a 3-2 lead.  Sacramento would score the games next four runs over a five inning span, including home runs from Putnam and center fielder Matt Carson.
 
With the Grizzlies down 5-3 in the eighth, catcher Nestor Rojas delivered a game-tying two-run double. The excitement continued in the ninth, as the River Cats put up two more runs on back-to-back RBI doubles from designated hitter Aaron Cunningham and catcher Eric Munson, breaking the tie and giving Sacramento a ninth inning lead.
 
Fresno rose to the challenge in the bottom of the ninth, as slugger John Bowker belted a towering two-run home run to deep right-center field, sending the game to extra innings. Sacramento scored the final run of the ballgame on a sac-fly from second baseman Eric Patterson, giving them the final advantage of 8-7. River Cats righty Jeff Gray retired the three-of-four Grizzlies batters he faced in the bottom of the tenth to earn his seventh save of the season.
 
The Highway 99 Showdown series is proving to be as exciting as expected, as the two teams face off in the deciding contest of the three game set Wednesday night at Chukchansi Park. The Grizzlies will send southpaw Steve Hammond (3-5, 5.06) to the mound, where he will be countered by Sacramento starter Dana Eveland (4-0, 3.64). The first pitch of the final game of the series will be delivered at 7:05pm PDT.

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