Brito bright spot for Fresno in 10-5 setback to Rancho Cucamonga

Rancho Cucamonga, CA (Saturday, July 16) – The Fresno Grizzlies (52-34, 11-9) were defeated by the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (46-40, 10-10) 10-5 Saturday night from LoanMart Field. With the loss, Fresno stumbled to 10-7 against Rancho Cucamonga over the past two seasons and dropped their fourth series of 2022.

The Grizzlies lineup were given a tall task to open the contest, as they faced Major League rehabber Andrew Heaney. Fresno was up to the challenge, scoring four runs off of the Dodgers southpaw. Juan Guerrero smacked a first inning single to center, plating Juan Brito. In the second, Ben Sems smoked a line drive missile over the right field wall, his second homer of the year. A few batters later, Brito demolished a two-run blast to left field, his sixth longball of the season. Heaney departed after being tagged for those four runs on six hits over two and two-thirds innings.

Despite the early success, the Grizzlies bats fell quiet and the Quakes lumber woke up. Austin Gauthier launched a leadoff tater in the first, his sixth wallop of 2022. In the second, Gauthier drew a bases-loaded walk and Jake Vogel tallied a sacrifice fly, pushing the deficit to 4-3. Rancho Cucamonga grabbed the lead in the third when Julio Carrion hammered a three-run big fly to right field. In the sixth, Vogel provided his second sacrifice fly of the contest and Yunior Garcia cleared the bags with a double to right field. With the game out of reach, Fresno mustered one final run on a ninth inning wild pitch.

Grizzlies starter Victor Juarez (4-3) suffered the loss after four innings of work. Ever Moya and Juan Mejia tossed scoreless appearances with the latter striking out a pair. On the other side, three Quakes relievers followed Heaney, twirling six and one-third shutout frames. The trio of pitchers allowed one hit and four walks while fanning eight. Carlos De Los Santos (4-0) received the win after one-plus innings of action. Peter Heubeck picked up a hold after punching out a pair over two frames. Ronan Kopp secured his first save after three strong innings. Kopp struck out four and permitted an unearned run. The squads conclude the series tomorrow evening with the All-Star Break right around the corner.

Top Performers: Fresno Grizzlies (Colorado Rockies)

• 2B Juan Brito (3-5, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R)

• SS Ben Sems (1-4, HR, RBI, R)

• RF Juan Guerrero (1-4, RBI, SB)

Top Performers: Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (Los Angeles Dodgers)

• SS Austin Gauthier (1-2, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, 3 BB)

• DH Yunior Garcia (3-5, 3 2B, 3 RBI, R)

• 1B Julio Carrion (2-4, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R)

On Deck:

Sunday, July 17 @ Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, Fresno RHP Cullen Kafka (3-1, 3.35) vs. Rancho Cucamonga LHP Maddux Bruns (0-2, 4.74), 5:00 pm PT

ON THAT FRES-NOTES:

The Quakes scored one run in the first, two runs in the second and three runs in the third. They plated four runs in the sixth, ending the possible quirky trend.

Juan Brito is batting .545 in the current series with five extra-base hits, seven RBI and nine runs scored.