Orange Machine Keeps Rolling

FRESNO, Calif. (Thursday, June 18) - Once the Fresno Grizzlies (41-26) offense gets rolling, they're almost impossible to stop. Upon trailing 1-0 heading into the bottom of the second against the Las Vegas 51s (38-30), Fresno sent 12 batters to the plate against starter Tyler Pill (7 ER/1.2 IP) and put up a seven spot to reclaim the lead and cruise to an 11-4 win Thursday night at Chukchansi Park in front of 5,249 fans.

            All but one batter in the entire lineup reached base in the second inning for the Grizzlies as they piled up seven hits and two walks. Things ignited when Jon Singleton worked a two-strike count into his favor to eventually draw a leadoff walk to begin the frame. Five singles ensued before Jonathan Villar broke the game wide open with a two-run triple to make it 6-1. Matt Duffy followed with an RBI single to drive in Villar, and then a walk to L.J. Hoes two batters later marked the exit for Tyler Pill.

  Fresno starter Brady Rodgers returned from missing a start to pick up his team-high tying fifth win of the season. He surrendered a solo homer to Kirk Nieuwenhuis in the second, but allowed only one hit over his final three frames. Jake Buchanan came on in relief to toss a four-inning save. 

            Tony Kemp, Jonathan Villar, and Matt Duffy all recorded three hits apiece and drove in a combined seven runs. Alex Presley and Robbie Grossman both recorded two hits and drove in one and two runs respectively. All of these offensive efforts forced Las Vegas to use seven pitchers, all of whom threw less than 2.0 IP.

            Jon Singleton went 1-for-4 with a walk and run scored, which extends his on-base streak to 18 games. Fresno has won 12 of 16 games in the month of June and is a season-high tying 15 games over the .500 mark.

Tomorrow's game: Friday, June 19

Las Vegas RHP Matt Bowman (3-8, 6.34) vs. Fresno RHP Matt Hauschild (1-0, 0.00)

7:05 PM Chukchansi Park || Friday Night Fireworks, presented by CoBank