Rodgers tosses Fresno to victory
FRESNO, Calif. - Brady Rodgers is presenting himself as the staff ace of the Fresno Grizzlies (49-36). His pitching and fielding ability tonight were key reasons in the 8-2 victory over the Tacoma Rainiers (42-43) Monday night at Chukchansi Park in Downtown Fresno. The Texas native tossed 7.0 quality innings and combined with reliever James Hoyt to retire the final 13 batters of the game in order.
Rodgers, who was named Astros Triple-A Pitcher of the Month for June, began tonight by allowing a run in the second and third, but avoided further damage with some slick fielding. With a run already across in the second and runners on second and third and one out, he reacted perfectly to snag a line drive off the bat of Zach Shank and then retired Leury Bonilla on a ground out to end the inning. In the third, he surrendered an RBI single to Justin Ruggiano, but stranded runners on the corners by getting Carlos Rivero to fly out to right. His fielding came back into play after he allowed two straight hits in the fourth. He tossed over to third after fielding Bonilla's bunt to get the lead runner for the first out, and then pounced off the mound on a tapper from James Jones to throw in time to first to get two outs. With runners on second and third, Leon Landry bounced out to second to kill the threat.
Only two Tacoma players reached base the rest of the game, as Rodgers finished his outing with seven straight outs and then witnessed reliever James Hoyt record two perfect innings. Since returning from the disabled list on June 12th, Hoyt is 0-0 with a 1.69 ERA (2 ER/10.2 IP), a 0.75 WHIP, 15 strikeouts, no walks issued, and a .195 (8-41) opponents' average.
The offense struck right away in the first against All-Star pitcher Forrest Snow thanks to three run-scoring hits. Tony Kemp led off the inning with a single, stole second, and scored on a single to right from Robbie Grossman. Matt Duffy doubled in Grossman and then scored himself when Tyler White hustled out a two-out double to shallow center. White added another RBI in the sixth when he singled in Jonathan Villar, who led off the inning with a triple to the right field corner.
However, the big insurance came in the seventh against right-hander Andrew Kittredge. The opposing righty recorded the first two outs of the inning, but then walked three straight to load the bases for Max Stassi. Fresno's catcher fell behind in the count, but managed to send an 0-2 pitch over the center field wall for a grand slam to push the Grizzlies lead to 8-2. The slam was the seventh by a Fresno player this season and was the ninth homer of the season for Stassi. The 24-year-old backstop has now homered in back-to-back games and will carry a four-game hitting streak into tomorrow night.
Fresno aims to record the series victory against Tacoma on Tuesday night at Chukchansi Park. They'll send right-handed pitcher Mike Hauschild (2-1, 2.45 - 4GS) to the mound, who has allowed only two runs and struck out 14 over his last two starts (12.0 IP). The Rainiers will counter with lefty Roenis Elias (2-0, 8.04), who makes his fourth Triple-A start this season and first since being demoted from Seattle.
Fans can take advantage of the $2 Tuesday promotion at Chukchansi Park tomorrow night, which offers fans $2 Power Alley seats, $2 Hot Dogs, $2 Sodas, $2 10-ounce Dos Equis drafts, and 2-for-1 ticket offers in the Phoenix Club and Field Box sections. The box office opens at 9 AM Tuesday morning.