Second Inning Sinks Grizzlies Friday Night in Rancho

BOX SCORE

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CALIF.— The Fresno Grizzlies (24-19) had a briefly lead and clawed back within striking distance, but a six-run second inning from the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (24-19) proved too much to overcome in a 12-7 loss Friday night at Morongo Field.

Fresno jumped in front early and carried a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the second after manufacturing runs against Rancho starter Alton Davis II.

Tanner Thach scored on a wild pitch before Jesus Freitez delivered a two-run single in his first start behind the plate since being activated from the IL, staking Fresno to an early advantage.

Rancho answered immediately with its biggest inning of the night. The Quakes capitalized on miscues and timely hits, scoring six times in the second to surge in front.

A Grizzlies fielding error helped ignite the rally for Rancho before Anyelo Marquez ripped an RBI double and Kevyn Castillo added a two-run single.

A balk by Ethan Cole capped the inning as Rancho turned a three-run deficit into a 6-3 lead.

The Quakes added on in the third after Gabriel Davalillo doubled and later scored on a fielder’s choice, stretching the margin to 7-3.

Fresno chipped away in the fourth when Freitez doubled to right, scoring Mendez and trimming the deficit to three.

Fresno found life again in the sixth inning behind one of the more unusual moments of the season.

Carlos Renzullo worked a walk and Clayton Gray followed with an inside-the-park two-run home run, launching a ball deep into center field that kicked away from Rancho’s centerfielder Hayden Alvarez for his first homer of the year, cutting the Rancho lead to 8-6 and briefly swinging momentum back toward the Grizzlies.

Rancho answered decisively in the bottom half.

After the Quakes loaded the bases against Easton Marks in the sixth, Dylan Crooks entered with two outs and induced a fly ball from Gabriel Davalillo. But Davalillo reached on a dropped in left field that cleared the bases and restored separation.

Crooks later uncorked a wild pitch and a throwing error allowed another run to score as the Quakes pushed the lead to 12-6.

The Grizzlies scratched across one final run in the seventh when Cam Nelson singled and later scored on Derek Bernard’s fielder’s choice, but Rancho’s bullpen shut the door from there.

Yokelvin Reyes and Jaren Warwick combined for four innings of relief, limiting Fresno’s chances despite the Grizzlies placing runners on base late.

Freitez paced Fresno with two hits and three RBI in his first game back in over a month and just his second game of the season with the Grizzlies.

Nelson and Thach each collected two-hit nights. Gray drove in two runs with his inside-the-park homer, but Fresno struck out 11 times and went just 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

The loss drops the Grizzlies out of first place for the first time in two weeks as San Jose thumped Stockton on Friday night.

Fresno will aim to bounce back Saturday night behind Austin Newton. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30pm with the Chukchansi Gold Pregame Show beginning at 6:15pm on FresnoGrizzlies.com/listen.

ABOUT THE FRESNO GRIZZLIES
The Fresno Grizzlies are a proud affiliate of the Colorado Rockies organization. The club advanced to the California League playoffs in 2025 and continues to post some of Minor League Baseball’s highest attended games. The 2026 season marks the Grizzlies’ 25th year in Downtown Fresno.