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Kieboom reaches five times for Grizzlies

No. 21 overall prospect has eight hits in last three games
Carter Kieboom has produced multiple hits in 18 of his 40 games with Fresno this season. (Fresno Grizzlies)
June 22, 2019

Triple-A Fresno is three-fifths of the way through its latest series at Smith's Ballpark in Salt Lake City, but Carter Kieboom already has produced more than enough offense to satisfy the quota one would expect from him during the entire road trip.The top Nationals prospect reached base five times in

Triple-A Fresno is three-fifths of the way through its latest series at Smith's Ballpark in Salt Lake City, but Carter Kieboom already has produced more than enough offense to satisfy the quota one would expect from him during the entire road trip.
The top Nationals prospect reached base five times in the Grizzlies' 13-12 win over the Bees on Saturday night. He collected four hits -- two for extra bases -- and is 8-for-14 with five runs scored and four RBIs in the series.

Kieboom singled to center field in his first at-bat, hit another knock off shortstop Kaleb Cowart and into left in the third, then scored on José Marmolejos' three-run homer. MLB.com's No. 21 overall prospect doubled to center and scored in both the fourth and sixth, hustling to third on the latter after the ball was bobbled in the outfield.
He worked a full-count walk in the eighth and flied to right in the ninth.
Gameday box score
The 21-year-old hit .377/.494/.667 in his first 19 games this year, and that scorching start earned him his first promotion to the big leagues. After going 5-for-39 (.128) with the Nationals, he returned to Fresno on May 7 after 11 games. He's hit .260 since.
Kieboom is surging again, having hit safely in nine of his last 10 games, a span during which he's 15-for-33 (.455) with only four strikeouts.
On Saturday, his production paced the Grizzlies in a slugfest that lasted four hours and five minutes. Fresno totaled 17 hits, seven of which came with runners in scoring position. Nationals No. 26 prospect Jake Noll hit his sixth homer of the year and 18th-ranked Raudy Read knocked in a run with a sacrifice fly.
The Bees nearly tied the game in the ninth. James Bourque came on to face Matt Thaiss with the bases loaded and no outs, with the Angels' No. 6 prospect representing the tying run. Thaiss plated two with a double. Bourque struck out Ty Kelly but not before a wild pitch produced the Bees' 12th run. The right-hander then plunked Angels No. 18 prospect Jared Walsh but fanned Jose Rojas.

That brought up Jarrett Parker, who earlier homered in his fifth straight game to tie the team record, with the Bees down to their final out. He broke his bat on a foul ball, worked the count full, then looked at strike three, giving Bourque three punchouts and his first Triple-A save.

The wild final frame secured the win for Bryan Bonnell (1-0), who allowed two runs on five hits and a walk while striking out three over three innings in his first game in the Pacific Coast League this year.
Tenth-ranked Angels prospect Patrick Sandoval (3-3) took the loss after surrendering eight runs on 10 hits in 4 1/3 innings. He struck out five and walked one.
Thaiss continued his hot hotting, going 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles, three RBIs and a walk. He's 8-for-13 with five extra-base hits, seven RBIs and five runs scored in his last three games. Taylor Ward chipped in a grand slam and Brennon Lund was 3-for-4 with three runs scored and an RBI.

Joe Bloss is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @jtbloss.