Grizzlies are victorious in Las Vegas slugfest, clubs combine for 10 homers

Winners of eight straight games and their last 11 on the road, the Fresno Grizzlies (55-41) defeated the Las Vegas 51s (36-60) by a 19-12 final on Tuesday night. The clubs surpassed the combined run total that was set in the series opener at Cashman Field on Monday night and scored 31 combined runs for a new Fresno season-high. The Grizzlies have scored at least one run in 13 of their last 18 innings played. With six home runs in their second consecutive game, Fresno knocked a season-high 12 extra-base hits to surpass the 11 they hit on May 1 in Reno.
Tony Kemp immediately extended his hit streak to 23 games when he led off the first with a solo home run to right on the second pitch of the game. He has now homered in three consecutive games to extend his season-long hit streak for a total of seven long balls on the season. Kemp's homer was the start of a five-run opening frame for the Grizzlies that also included a two-run bomb from A.J. Reed (3-for-5), his 17^th of the season.
The 51s matched the Grizzlies with a five-run bottom of the first to tie the contest 5-5. The inning included the first of four Las Vegas home runs on the night, a Travis Taijeron two-run shot to left center. The four homers tied a season high by an opponent against Fresno, which last happened on June 16 in Albuquerque.
The Grizzlies compiled nine more runs through the next three frames to take a 14-5 lead into the bottom of the fourth. Max Stassi (2-for-4) knocked a solo home run to right center in the second for his 11^th of the season while Preston Tucker (3-for-6) and Jon Kemmer each notched a RBI in the fourth. With both having RBI season-highs on Monday, Brignac now has six RBI through two games and Kemmer has seven. Teoscar Hernández (3-for-5) drove in two runs in the same frame on his third double of the game. He is just the third Fresno batter to double three times in a game, the last being Brignac on May 21 against Memphis.
Following two Las Vegas homers in the fourth, a Derek Fisher solo shot increased Fresno's lead to 15-10 in the fifth. Fisher went 4-for-6 for his first four-hit game of the season and ended the night a triple away from the cycle. With his 21^st home run of 2017, Fisher became one homer shy of his career-high in a single season. The 21 bombs have tied his total from 2016 where he combined them between Double-A Corpus Christi and Fresno. His career-high 22 in 2015 were also between two levels.
Both clubs combined for three more two-run home runs for a total of 10 long balls in the game, making the score 19-12 in favor of the Grizzlies. The 10 combined dingers are a new season-high for Fresno. The 51s' Gavin Cecchini (3-for-5) hit his fourth of the season to left center in the fifth, while Fresno's Tucker knocked his 16^th of 2017 to right center in the seventh and Tyler White (2-for-6) crushed his 17^th in the eighth to left. Cecchini and Tucker both joined Fisher in ending their nights a triple shy of the cycle, while the 51s' Phillip Evans (4-for-6) also needed just a double.
Fresno pitchers combined for 14 strikeouts on the night to tie a season-high for the third time in 2017. After starter Kyle Smith let up the five runs in the first, David Martinez entered in relief with no outs. Just Martinez's (6-7) second relief appearance of the season, he also allowed five runs on six hits and a walk with five strikeouts to earn the win. The remaining three Fresno relievers each stuck out three batters apiece. For Las Vegas, starter Mitch Atkins (2-3) suffered the loss through the first three innings. He allowed 13 runs (12 earned) on 11 hits while he walked and struck out two.
The third of the four-game series will be played on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. The probable starters will be RHP Trent Thornton (6-2, 5.21) for the Grizzlies against RHP Tyler Pill (4-3, 3.80) for the 51s.