A trio of Grizzlies pitchers silence Rawhide 2-1

Fresno, CA (Friday, June 4) – The Fresno Grizzlies (18-10) beat the Visalia Rawhide (6-22) 2-1 Friday night from Chukchansi Park. The triumph improved the Grizzlies to 10-0 against their Highway 99 rivals and guaranteed a series win.

A trio of Grizzlies’ arms stymied the Rawhide bats all evening. Mitchell Kilkenny (2-2) earned the victory after six innings of one-run ball. He allowed three hits and struck out a career-high eight without issuing a walk. Finn Del Bonta-Smith followed suit with two clean frames, fanning four. Juan Mejia, who picked up his Low-A West best eighth save, wrapped up the ninth. At one point, Fresno pitching had retired 16 consecutive hitters.

On the other side, Rawhide righty Brandon Pfaadt (1-2) took the hard-luck loss after six and one-third innings. He gave up two runs (earned), on six hits and one walk. Pfaadt also punched out 12 in the defeat.

Ronny Simon mustered the lone Visalia RBI with a double in the third. For Fresno, Ezequiel Tovar and Daniel Montano notched RBI while Eddy Diaz and Drew Romo plated the runs. Diaz had his first stolen base while Romo recorded two hits, one for a double. Both clubs continue the series tomorrow night from Downtown Fresno.

Top Performers: Fresno Grizzlies (Colorado Rockies)

• C Drew Romo (2-3, 2B, R)

• RHP Mitchell Kilkenny (6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K)

• RHP Finn Del Bonta-Smith (2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K)

Top Performers: Visalia Rawhide (Arizona Diamondbacks)

• RHP Brandon Pfaadt (6.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 12 K)

• 2B Ronny Simon (1-4, 2B, RBI)

• 3B AJ Vukovich (1-4, 2B)

On Deck:

Saturday, June 5 vs Visalia Rawhide, Visalia LHP Rigoberto Borbolla (0-0, 7.04) vs. Fresno LHP Sam Weatherly (0-2, 4.29), 6:50 pm PT

ON THAT FRES-NOTES:

At the end of the fourth inning, all of Chukchansi Park stood as one in the fight against cancer as part of Stand Up To Cancer Night presented by Premier Valley Bank. To learn more information about Stand Up To Cancer, go to standuptocancer.org.

12 of the last 16 games for the Grizzlies have been one or two-run affairs (6-6). Overall, 19 of the first 28 games for Fresno have been decided by two runs or less. The Grizzlies are 11-8 in those contests with a 6-4 mark at home.