Huff’s huge afternoon carries Grizzlies past Rawhide 8-6 for series triumph

Visalia, CA (Sunday, September 3) – The Fresno Grizzlies (76-50, 40-20) vanquished the Visalia Rawhide (49-77, 26-34) 8-6 Sunday afternoon from Valley Strong Ballpark. Fresno relished a series triumph on their last road game of the regular season, finishing 37-29 overall (23-13 in the second half). The Grizzlies won half of their away series in 2023 (6 of 12). Fresno improved to a Minor League-best 40-20 (.667) in the second half, 43-21 (.672) in their last 64 games and 53-24 (.688) in their last 77 contests. The Grizzlies are now 43-11 all-time against the Rawhide (8-4 this year) and 35-20 in one or two-run games this year. Fresno holds a one game lead over Modesto in the second half standings with all six of their remaining games against the Nuts.

The Grizzlies roared out to a 6-0 lead after scoring in three straight frames off of starter Lorenzo Encarnacion (0-7, loss). In the top of the third, Cole Carrigg clobbered a clout to right-center field, his second homer of the series and third longball since joining Fresno. An inning later, Kody Huff snuck a three-run shot over the left field wall, extending the advantage to 4-0. It was Huff’s fifth wallop of the year. The Grizzlies plated two more runs in the fifth when Carrigg crushed a triple to right, netting Jake Snider. Carrigg cruised home on an EJ Andrews Jr. RBI single up the middle with the infield playing on the grass.

Despite the early hole, the Rawhide wrangled home five runs in the bottom of the sixth. Jeremiah Boyd lassoed a single to center, pushing across Alvin Guzman. Then, Druw Jones roped a single to right, notching Boyd. Finally, Jansel Luis tattooed a three-run tank to right field, his fourth bomb of the season.

In the top of the eighth, Huff lengthened the lead to 8-5 with a two-out, two-run double off the left-center field wall. Aidan Longwell and Kyle Karros waltzed home on the play. Both Longwell and Karros scored twice while providing multi-hit afternoons. Longwell yielded seven hits over his last three contests. Huff concluded his game with a career-high five RBI. Visalia mustered a final run in the bottom of the eighth.

Grizzlies’ starter Jake Madden and righty Sergio Sanchez (3-1, win) twirled five perfect frames before the sixth inning snowball by Sanchez. Madden was fantastic, tossing three innings and fanning four in his best outing since his trade from the Angels to the Rockies. Carson Skipper (13), Cade Denton (1) and Davis Palermo (7) all logged holds in strong appearances. Skipper punched out a pair and Denton struck out one. Zach Agnos secured his Minor League-leading 26th save of the season. In his last 10 games, Agnos has two wins and eight saves with a spotless ERA. The Grizzlies start a huge six-game series against the Nuts on Tuesday at Chukchansi Park for a spot in the playoffs.

Top Performers: Fresno Grizzlies (Colorado Rockies)

• C Kody Huff (2-4, HR, 2B, 5 RBI, R)
• SS Cole Carrigg (2-4, HR, 3B, 2 RBI, R, BB)
• RHP Jake Madden (3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K)

Top Performers: Visalia Rawhide (Arizona Diamondbacks)

• DH Jansel Luis (1-4, HR, 3 RBI, R)
• CF Druw Jones (2-4, 2B, RBI, 2 R)
• C Jeremiah Boyd (1-4, RBI, R)

On Deck:

Tuesday, September 5 vs. Modesto Nuts, Modesto RHP Darren Bowen (3-2, 3.55) vs. Fresno RHP Gabriel Barbosa (7-5, 5.42), 6:50 pm PT

ON THAT FRES-NOTE:

In four of the six games this series, the winning team scored eight runs. Neither team scored double digit runs against one another this season.