Tyler Bortnick chased home Tyler Kuhn with a perfectly-executed safety squeeze bunt in the 10th inning Monday night, lifting the Reno Aces to a come-from-behind 4-3 victory over the Fresno Grizzlies in the series opener at Chukchansi Park.
The victory—coupled with a loss by second-place Colorado Springs—trims Reno's magic number to three with seven games remaining in the regular season.
After trailing 3-0 early Monday night, the Aces tied the score in the fourth on a three-run home run. The game would stay that way until the 10th. Tyler Kuhn led-off the frame with a single and advanced to second on an error. He moved to third on a Wladimir Sutil sacrifice bunt and two batters later scored the game-winner on Bortnick's bunt.
Jensen Lewis (6-2) tossed a perfect ninth to earn the win, and Jonathan Albaladejo slammed the door in the 10th for his club-record 24th save. Starter Brett Tomko took a no decision in his Aces debut, scattering three runs on seven hits over 5.0 innings of work.
The loss fell to Grizzlies reliever Dan Otero, who allowed the unearned game-winning run in the 10th.
At the dish for Reno, Harbin led the way with two hits and three RBIs. Six different Aces batters collected a hit.
The series continues on Tuesday night at Chukchansi Park. RHP Trevor Bauer (5-1, 2.84 ERA) toes the slab for the Aces, while RHP Boof Bonser (0-2, 5.09 ERA) gets the nod for the Grizzlies. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. PT, and the action can be heard live on Fox Sports 630 AM or by visiting RenoAces.com.
Aces Release8/27/2012
