Eighth-inning homer dooms 51s in 2-1 loss at Fresno

Houston Astros prospect A.J. Reed slugged 34 home runs between two levels last season.

It took until his sixth Triple-A game to hit his first one this season.

And a day later, he hit his second — an eighth-inning solo blast off Dario Alvarez — to lead the Fresno Grizzlies to a 2-1 victory over the 51s on Friday night in Fresno, Calif.

“(Alvarez’s) slider’s his out pitch, and he threw a first-pitch fastball to a fastball hitter,” Las Vegas manager Wally Backman said. “It was left to a guy that swings almost 50 percent of the time at the first pitch, so it was just a bad pitch thrown and that’s what beat us.”

The home run was the dagger on a night when the 51s’ bats were held almost completely quiet.

The 51s had just three hits — two from left fielder Roger Bernadina and an infield single from shortstop Gavin Cecchini.

They caught a break in the seventh inning when Matt Duffy dropped a catchable ball in left field, helping set up a T.J. Rivera sacrifice fly for their only run.

Backman estimated they hit four balls hard throughout the whole game.

A normal game?

“It’s a hell of a lot more than four,” Backman said.

But the bright spot for the 51s was their pitching.

A day after Seth Lugo tossed a quality start, Andrew Barbosa had the undesirable task of making his first Triple-A start on the road against the reigning Pacific Coast League champions.

Barbosa pitched well in his debut, giving up one run in five-plus innings while striking out six.

He gave up seven hits, though Backman said it should have been five, with two of the plays counting as 51s errors.

It was determined before his start that he would head back to Double-A Binghamton, but it was clear that he made an impression on Backman in his short stint in Triple A.

“(He) gave us the best start that we’ve had all year long,” Backman said. “He kept those guys off balance all night, but that was by far our best start all year.”

Betsy Helfand can be reached at bhelfand@reviewjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @BetsyHelfand