Chihuahuas fall 8-7 against Fresno in extra innings in playoff opener

The Chihuahuas lost a heartbreaker at home Wednesday night in their playoff opener.

The Grizzlies got an RBI single from Myles Straw in the top of the tenth and went on to beat the Chihuahuas in game one of their PCL semifinal series, 8-7.

Fresno, the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros, is now just two wins away from eliminating El Paso and advancing to the PCL Championship Series.

The Chihuahuas battled back bravely multiple times, but they were unable to hold off the Grizzlies in the end.

Fresno jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the top of the first, but the Dogs rallied to take a 5-4 lead into the fourth inning.

The Grizzlies would tack on three more in the fifth to take a 7-5 lead. The Chihuahuas then countered with two of their own in the seventh to the tie game at seven.

Dusty Coleman and Allen Craig each hit a home run for El Paso while Raffy Lopez added a pair of singles and an RBI.

El Paso got at least one base hit from eight of their nine starters. However, the Chihuahuas stranded 26 runners on base in the ballgame.

The best-of-five series continues with game two slated for Thursday night at 7:05 p.m. at Southwest University Park.

If the Chihuahuas are unable to win the series, Thursday will be the last home game of the year as games three through five will all take place in Fresno.