Sweet start by Cande surges Fresno past San Jose for 7th straight victory

San Jose, CA (Tuesday, June 14) – The Fresno Grizzlies (39-19) snuck by the San Jose Giants (32-26) 7-4 Tuesday evening from Excite Ballpark. Fresno won their seventh straight game, tying a season-high and inched closer to clinching a first half title. The Grizzlies have to win just one more game against the Giants to earn a playoff berth for the second consecutive season.

Fresno starter Jarrod Cande did not factor in the decision despite a dazzling outing on the bump. The righty allowed two runs (one earned) over a career-high six innings. He permitted six hits and fanned four batters. Cande faced four over the minimum and did not issue a walk. Reliever Juan Mejia (2-1) received the triumph after an inning of work. He gave up two runs and struck out a pair. Luis Amoroso tossed a clean eighth and Tyler Ahearn collected his fourth save of 2022 after a 1-2-3 ninth.

San Jose starter Nick Sinacola chucked five frames of four-run ball. He was tagged for seven hits and punched out one batter. Landen Roupp (3-2) suffered the loss after a rough eighth inning. He fanned a pair over three total frames. Spencer Bivens secured a spotless frame, striking out one.

Every Grizzlies starter reached base at least once with eight of the nine batters tallying a hit. Seven different players scored exactly one run and six separate starters provided one RBI. Adael Amador, Warming Bernabel and Juan Guerrero grabbed two hits apiece in the victory. Guerrero and Braxton Fulford delivered key singles in a three-run eighth inning, the eventual go-ahead knocks.

The Giants offense smacked nine hits with four of them going for doubles. Aeverson Arteaga led the charge with three hits while Rayner Santana and Alexander Suarez roped two hits each. Suarez was the recipient for two of the three RBI for San Jose. The clubs are back to battle tomorrow afternoon from the South Bay.

Top Performers: Fresno Grizzlies (Colorado Rockies)

• RHP Jarrod Cande (6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K)

• CF Juan Guerrero (2-4, 2B, RBI, R)

• 3B Warming Bernabel (2-5, RBI, R, SB)

Top Performers: San Jose Giants (San Francisco Giants)

• RF Alexander Suarez (2-3, 2B, 2 RBI)

• C Rayner Santana (2-4, 2B, R)

• SS Aeverson Arteaga (3-4, 2B)

On Deck:

Wednesday, June 15 @ San Jose Giants, Fresno RHP Case Williams (4-1, 3.38) vs. San Jose LHP Matt Mikulski (1-2, 5.08), 1:00 pm PT

ON THAT FRES-NOTES:

Braxton Fulford has thrown out half of attempted base stealers this season (17-for-34).

The Grizzlies improved to 10-1 in the first game of a series and 9-1 on Tuesdays.