Rainiers sweep Grizzlies 9-7 despite clouts from Taylor and Ward

Tacoma, Washington (Sunday, August 18) - The Tacoma Rainiers (57-68) climbed past the Fresno Grizzlies (55-70) 9-7 Sunday afternoon from Cheney Stadium. Tacoma earned their first sweep of the 2019 campaign after recording 12 hits, five via the longball. Fresno dropped to 15-13 in day games and 12-7 on Sundays (7-3 on the road).
Jaycob Brugman was the spark plug in the Rainiers lineup, boasting a two-homer and five-RBI contest. Brugman went deep four times in the series and knocked in 13 total runs. Jake Fraley was also electric as he belted a pair of extra-base knocks and scored twice. His eighth missile of the season nailed the scoreboard in the fourth. Ryan Court and John Andreoli each added a wallop for Tacoma.
Chuck Taylor and Drew Ward provided the Grizzlies with dingers. The duo combined for four hits, four RBI and three runs in the loss. Jake Noll had a game-high three hits, notching one run. Alec Keller supplied a pair of hits and RBI as well. Reliever George Kontos (2-1) succumbed to the defeat while Darin Gillies (1-2) picked up the victory. Matt Festa relished his fourth save.
Top Performers: Fresno Grizzlies (Washington Nationals)
• LF Chuck Taylor (2-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, R, BB)
• 3B Drew Ward (2-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB)
• CF Alec Keller (2-5, 2 RBI)
• 1B Jake Noll (3-5, R)
Top Performers: Tacoma Rainiers (Seattle Mariners)
• DH Jaycob Brugman (2-4, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 R)
• CF Jake Fraley (2-5, HR, 2B, RBI, 2 R)
• 3B Ryan Court (2-5, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R)
• LF John Andreoli (1-5, HR, RBI, R)
ON THAT FRES-NOTE: Grizzlies righty Ronald Peña hurled two scoreless innings. He struck out three. Pena was a 16^th round draft pick by the Nationals back in 2012.