Fresno stumbles to Rancho Cucamonga 7-2 on Friday

Fresno, CA (Friday, May 20) – In front of a crowd of 9,311, the Fresno Grizzlies (23-14) were shaken by the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (21-16) 7-2 Friday night from Chukchansi Park. With the loss, Fresno’s five-game home winning streak came to an end.

The Grizzlies offense tallied six hits with three starters picking up two apiece. Aiverson Rodriguez, Juan Brito and Braxton Fulford were the recipients of the hits while the latter two collected the RBI. Rodriguez and Hunter Goodman mustered the runs, which happened in the third and sixth inning.

On the other side, the Quakes lineup whacked 11 hits with six of them going for extra-bases. Alex De Jesus and Luis Rodriguez highlighted Rancho Cucamonga with three hits each. De Jesus roped a pair of doubles and scored twice while Rodriguez powered a two-run homer in the fifth.

Fresno righty Brayan Castillo (0-3) suffered the setback after four frames of three-run ball. Rancho Cucamonga starter Ben Casparius (1-2) enjoyed the decision after five innings of one-run ball. He allowed five hits and a walk while punching out eight. Lefty Ronan Kopp added six strikeouts for the Quakes, who fanned 16 total Grizzlies. The 16 punchouts tied a season-high for Fresno. The clubs are back in action tomorrow evening.

Top Performers: Fresno Grizzlies (Colorado Rockies)

• 2B Juan Brito (2-4, 2B, RBI, BB)

• SS Aiverson Rodriguez (2-4, 2B, R)

• C Braxton Fulford (2-3, RBI, BB, SB)

Top Performers: Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (Los Angeles Dodgers)

• Quakes pitching (9.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 16 K)

• DH Alex De Jesus (3-4, 2 2B, RBI, 2 R, BB)

• LF Luis Rodriguez (3-5, HR, 2 RBI, R)

On Deck:

Saturday, May 21 vs. Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, Rancho Cucamonga LHP Maddux Bruns (0-0, 4.20) vs. Fresno RHP Victor Juarez (2-0, 3.38), 6:50 pm PT

ON THAT FRES-NOTE:

Tonight was Mental Health Awareness Night at Chukchansi Park. To commemorate the event, the Grizzlies wore specialty black/green jerseys, socks, belts and wristbands (lime green is the official color of mental health awareness) for the game. The team will continue to promote the cause throughout the month to help draw awareness. This year’s theme is around hope. We hope that everyone can speak more openly about struggles around our social, mental, and emotional wellness and support each other through those challenges. We want to continue to normalize the topic and having a mental health night at the ballpark is a way to try and get past the stigma which prevented us from sharing our challenges, fearful of being rejected and hesitant in getting help.