Fresno improves to 5-0 at Chukchansi Park, routs Visalia 14-4

Fresno, California (Saturday, May 15) – The Fresno Grizzlies (8-3) defeated the Visalia Rawhide (1-10) 14-4 Saturday night from Chukchansi Park. The win improved the Grizzlies to 5-0 at home and sets them up for a series sweep Sunday afternoon.

Fresno’s offense exploded for a season-high 14 runs on 14 hits and four walks. Joe Aeilts started the slugfest with a two-run moonshot to the grassy berm in left field. It was his first homer of the year. Then, Zac Veen jumped in on the fun with a bases-loaded walk in the fourth and RBI double in the sixth. Veen finished his evening with two hits and three RBI, both professional bests. Colin Simpson, Ezequiel Tovar and Daniel Montano each roped a pair of hits and scored seven runs in the winning effort.

On the other side, Visalia mashed three taters in the defeat. Neyfy Castillo and Elian Miranda crushed back-to-back dingers in the second inning. Then, Ronny Simon went deep in the fourth, giving him 10 RBI in the 2021 campaign. The trio of longballs ended the line for Grizzlies starter Breiling Eusebio.

After Eusebio gave way to the bullpen, it became a lockdown situation for Fresno. Tony Locey, Robinson Hernandez (1-0, win) and Anderson Pilar hurled four and one-third frames of scoreless baseball, fanning four. Rawhide reliever Bobby Ay (0-1) took the loss.

Top Performers: Fresno Grizzlies (Colorado Rockies)

• RF Joe Aeilts (1-5, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R)

• DH Zac Veen (2-3, 2B, 3 RBI, R, BB)

• RHP Robinson Hernandez (2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, win)

Top Performers: Visalia Rawhide (Arizona Diamondbacks)

• DH Ronny Simon (2-5, HR, 2 RBI, R)

• RF Neyfy Castillo and 1B Elian Miranda (back-to-back HR)

• CF Jorge Barrosa (2-3, R, BB)

On Deck:

Sunday, May 16 vs. Visalia Rawhide, Visalia LHP Liam Norris (0-0, 2.45) vs. Fresno RHP Mike Ruff (2-0, 1.80), 1:05 pm PT

ON THAT FRES-NOTE:

Grizzlies’ manager Robinson Cancel is TWO victories shy of reaching 200 as a Minor League manager.

Tonight was Mental Health Awareness Night at Chukchansi Park. To commemorate the event, the Grizzlies wore lime green (the official color of mental health awareness) wristbands, socks, and belts for the game. The team will also promote the cause throughout the month to help draw awareness. “This year’s theme is around HOPE” said Ahmad Bahrami, Fresno County Department of Behavioral Health Division Manager. “We hope that we all can now speak more openly about struggles around our social, mental, and emotional wellness and support each other through those challenges. As we’ve all experienced unprecedented events in the past year and have been able to acknowledge its impact on our well-being. We want to continue to normalize the topic and having a mental health night at the ballpark is a way to try and get past stigma which prevented us from sharing our challenges, fearful of being rejected and hesitant in getting help.”