Tacos do Fresno proud in sellout victory

Just over two weeks ago, the Fresno Grizzlies boasted "This Time, We Are What We Eat" in kickstarting the hype for Thursday's much anticipated matchup. In the end, they lived up to the billing in more ways than one.

Rebranded the Tacos and sporting special jerseys and best-selling hats for one night only, Triple-A Fresno burst out of the gate with three first-inning runs and Matt Duffy's homer in the fifth eventually sent his club on to a 7-4 victory over Sacramento at Chukchansi Park.

"It was really cool," Tacos third baseman Duffy said. "Even getting to the park, we had to park in a different parking lot than we normally do, because there were about 15 taco trucks taking up the players' lot. People started filing in much earlier than normal. There was just a different feel in the air tonight, lot more of a buzz in the crowd."

A record 16,916 fans attended tonight's game. Thank you everyone for making this a night that will live on. �� pic.twitter.com/MgVkLnswoz

- #FresnoTacos (@FresnoGrizzlies) August 7, 2015

The team destined to be the Tacos found out about the promotion when everyone else did. Fresno announced the new identity -- which coincided with the fifth edition of its annual Taco Truck Throwdown -- on July 21, and players like Duffy immediately gobbled it up.

"Once you see someone tweet a picture or post a picture of Instagram of the jersey, I just started laughing," he said. "I thought it was hilarious, especially the colors. They're very unique; not your normal colors on a jersey. Luckily there was some orange in there. A lot of us have orange cleats and stuff, so at least we were able to match somewhat. It was cool. Guys like that."

Beyond the impact the promotion had on Fresno's front office -- with Taco merchandise orders coming from across the country and around the globe -- the new look had an added benefit for the men on the roster.

"It keeps it fun," Duffy said. "It breaks up the monotony [of the season] sometimes, and it's good to lighten up the clubhouse sometimes and do fun stuff like this. It breaks up the rhythm in a good way."

The Tacos took the field to a record crowd of 16,916 with even standing-room only tickets sold out.

"It was really fun to play in front of that many people," Duffy said. "We play in such a big stadium that even when there is a decent crowd, 5,000 or 6,000 people, it can feel kind of empty just because there are so many seats. When you can fill it and look out into the parking lot over the right-field fence and see all the people standing out there, all the foot traffic when you're standing out there on the field looking around, it kind of had -- I guess for some of us who haven't been to the big leagues -- the closest thing to a big league feel that you're going to get."

With boisterous supporters in the stands and one of the Minors' most heated rivalries on the field, Tacos players soaked in the experience and avoided any distraction that could have arisen from the national coverage.

"For a player, it's kind of a good thing," Duffy said. "Obviously you've still got to focus and still got to play the game, but everyone had a little extra pep in their step tonight because everyone's behind you. There's so many people here. It almost seemed to bring the team together more so in a strange way because of the uniform and the night.

"You definitely want to win this game. There's a little more incentive to get a win when all the locals are coming out to support you. But at the end of the day, once that first pitch is thrown, it's another baseball game. You kind of forget about the jersey you're wearing and all that stuff, but what carries you is definitely the energy of the crowd."

Duffy fed off of that when he came to the dish in the fifth. After Fresno had squandered a four-run lead, Duffy followed Alex Presley's leadoff infield single with a two-run shot to center to put his team in front for good.

"Luckily, I got a good pitch to hit and put a swing on it and got it up in the jetstream and snuck it out," he said. "It was definitely cool to play a part in the win. Any way I could help the team get a win on any night [is sweet], but it definitely felt a little sweeter tonight with all the festivities."

Houston's No. 2 prospect Mark Appel gave up four runs -- three earned -- on six hits over 4 2/3 innings, but didn't let the no-decision dampen his love for the night.

What a blast pitching as a Taco! Not my best game, but we left it all on the field. Great win tonight! #GoTacos pic.twitter.com/CYzL34nQCw

- Mark Appel (@MAppel26) August 7, 2015

And as for the postgame spread: did the Tacos crush tacos?

"Yeah, we did," he said. "They were really good. I don't know the name of the taco truck. There were 25 of them, so I don't know how they decided on which one [for the team's meal]. It probably was a bidding war, but they were good and they were authentic."