The Fresno Grizzlies (35-36) powered their way to a 10-4 victory over the El Paso Chihuahuas (35-36) at home Monday night, as five Grizz batters recorded multiple hits, with Colin Moran enjoying his club-best third game of four or more RBI this season. The Grizzlies have scored 10 or more
The Fresno Grizzlies (35-36) powered their way to a 10-4 victory over the El Paso Chihuahuas (35-36) at home Monday night, as five Grizz batters recorded multiple hits, with Colin Moran enjoying his club-best third game of four or more RBI this season. The Grizzlies have scored 10 or more runs in six of their last 10 games, and with 424 runs scored in 71 outings, the exact halfway mark of the season, they're averaging just under six runs per contest (5.97) and improved to 17-7 in their last 24 games.
Fresno jumped on El Paso starter Bryan Rodriguez early. Tony Kemp (4-for-5, 10-game hit streak) and Tyler White (2-for-5, hit safely in 12 of 13) led off the game with singles and both scored on a Moran (2-for-4) two-RBI knock. A.J. Reed made it a 3-0 first inning lead with a sac fly, scoring Preston Tucker (2-for-4) after a walk.
The Grizzlies' lead was cut to 3-2 when Jabari Blash (2-for-4) led off with a double and scored on Carlos Asuaje's third homer of the season, to left field. The Grizzlies bounced back with a longball to left of their own in the home half of the second, White's 10th homer, scoring Kemp after a single for a 5-2 lead. White also has 12 games with multiple hits in his last 13. Kemp's 26th game with multiple hits now leads the club, one more than White and Derek Fisher, who played in his fifth career Major League game with the Houston Astros on Monday night. Monday was Kemp's second game of four-plus hits this season, joining his five-hit effort May 13 at Oklahoma City in a 6-4 win.
In the fourth inning it was 8-2 following Moran's 15th homer of the year, a three-run shot to right-center with two out. With five RBI in the ballgame, Moran equaled Tucker for the club-lead in RBI (52), as the pair also lead Houston's minor league system in runs batted in. Max Stassi followed suit in the fifth, lifting his sixth home run to left-center, also a two-out bomb. The two-run dinger made it a 10-2 game, and all three of Fresno's homers Monday night were for multiple runs, with two out. The 99 Grizz homers in half a season as a club are the most in Triple-A and in Minor League Baseball overall (all leagues, all levels).
Rodriguez (1-5) would last just four innings, surrendering eight runs (seven earned), the result of 10 hits and a walk. The right-hander struck out two. Fresno starter David Martinez (4-7) stayed hot, notching his fourth consecutive quality start at home (minimum 6.0 IP, 3 or fewer ER), and his fifth quality start in six games overall. The righty went six complete innings, allowing two (earned) runs on six scattered hits and a walk with three strikeouts. In his last six starts, Martinez's line is: 39.0 IP, 30 hits, 10 runs, nine earned runs, 12 walks and 25 strikeouts (1.08 WHIP / 2.08 ERA).
In the eighth Ryan Schimpf (4 HR) and Blash (13 HR) had the evening's final scoring plays, drilling back-to-back solo shots. Each player homered consecutive games in Fresno, and Blash has homered in five of the six games he's played against the Grizzlies this season. Schimpf has homered in three of the four games he's played against the Grizz in 2017. Brian Holmes picked up his first save of the season, tossing the final three innings.
This 12-game homestand, the longest of 2017 for Fresno, will continue on Taco Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. RHP Kyle Smith will make his second career Triple-A start for the Fresno Tacos, and his first at Chukchansi Park in the series finale. A series win would mean a .500 record for the Grizzlies/Tacos, a mark they have not achieved since they were 9-9 on April 23 following a 5-2 home win over Salt Lake.
