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Watch: Walk-Off Home Run Sends Fresno Grizzlies to Playoffs
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By David Taub, Senior Reporter
Published 7 years ago on
August 27, 2018

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The Fresno Grizzlies are heading back to the playoffs.
Saturday night (Aug. 25), Fresno clinched the PCL Pacific Northern division in dramatic style. Kyle Tucker’s three-run walk-off home run capped off a five-run ninth for the 7-6 win over Salt Lake.
(Watch the homer by clicking on the image above.)
Coincidentally, Tucker’s swing of the bat also clinched the southern division for El Paso.
Now, the Grizzlies and Chihuahuas (the affiliate of the San Diego Padres) face each other in a best-of-five games divisional round, starting Sept. 5 in El Paso. Games 3, 4 and 5 (the latter two if necessary) will be played at Fresno’s Chukchansi Park Sept. 7-9.

A Dramatic Ninth Inning


Fresno scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth Saturday to take the game and the division. The inning started Fresno loading the bases for Alex De Goti.
The Miami native singled to center to score one run. Speedster Myles Straw, who is second on the PCL stolen base leaderboard, hit into a force-out that scored a run, closing the gap to 6-4.
That set the dramatic scene for Tucker, the 2015 first-round pick for Houston. He launched Conor Lillis-White’s full-count pitch into the right-field stands, lifting the 9,148 fans into euphoria.

Tucker’s Week of Dramatics

Tucker sandwiched his clinching homer between two other dramatic hits.
On Wednesday (Aug. 22) at Sacramento, Tucker’s ninth-inning grand slam tied the game at 8 apiece. Fresno scored two more to win 10-8.
Sunday night (Aug. 26), Tucker chopped a single over the Salt Lake third baseman’s head in the 10th inning for a 10-9 walk-off win.

The Last Time in the Postseason

This is the third time in franchise history that the Grizzlies have qualified for the PCL playoffs. In the team’s inaugural year in 1998, Fresno won the division as an affiliate of the Giants. They fell in the first round to Calgary.
When the affiliation switched to Houston in 2015, the team won it all, winning the PCL and the Triple-A championships.
Fresno defeated El Paso in the first round, 3-1. The Grizzlies took out Round Rock in the PCL series in five games before defeating International League champion Columbus in a one-game winner-take-all game for the Triple-A title.

Playoff Schedule

Game 1, Sept. 5: Fresno at El Paso, 5:05 p.m.
Game 2, Sept. 6: Fresno at El Paso, 5:05 p.m.
Game 3, Sept. 7: El Paso at Fresno, 7:05 p.m.
Game 4*, Sept. 8: El Paso at Fresno, 7:05 p.m.
Game 5*, Sept. 9: El Paso at Fresno, 5:05 p.m.
*if necessary. All times Pacific.
The winner advances to play the PCL American Conference champion. If Fresno advances, it would host games one and two starting Sept. 11.

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David Taub,
Senior Reporter
Curiosity drives David Taub. The award-winning journalist might be shy, but feels mighty with a recorder in his hand. He doesn't see it his job to "hold public officials accountable," but does see it to provide readers (and voters) the information needed to make intelligent choices. Taub has been honored with several writing awards from the California News Publishers Association. He's just happy to have his stories read. Joining GV Wire in 2016, Taub covers politics, government and elections, mainly in the Fresno/Clovis area. He also writes columns about local eateries (Appetite for Fresno), pro wrestling (Off the Bottom Rope), and media (Media Man). Prior to joining the online news source, Taub worked as a radio producer for KMJ and PowerTalk 96.7 in Fresno. He also worked as an assignment editor for KCOY-TV in Santa Maria, California, and KSEE-TV in Fresno. He has also worked behind the scenes for several sports broadcasts, including the NCAA basketball tournament, and the Super Bowl. When not spending time with his family, Taub loves to officially score Fresno Grizzlies games. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Taub is a die-hard Giants and 49ers fan. He graduated from the University of Michigan with dual degrees in communications and political science. Go Blue! You can contact David at 559-492-4037 or at Send an Email

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