Grizzlies growl past Rawhide 9-2 in 2021 home opener

Fresno, California (Tuesday, May 11) – It had been 617 days since the last time the Fresno Grizzlies took the field at Chukchansi Park. The wait was worth it, as the Grizzlies (4-3) roared past the Visalia Rawhide (1-6) 9-2 Tuesday night.

The Grizzlies pounded out 13 hits with five different starters notching multi-hit contests. Drew Romo and Mateo Gil each mustered three hits with the latter knocking in a pair. Colin Simpson and Cristopher Navarro also had two RBI in the victory. The run support was enough for Mike Ruff (2-0), who picked up the win. Ruff hurled five innings, tying a career-high. Dugan Darnell (2.0 IP), Robinson Hernandez (1.0 IP) and Juan Mejia (1.0 IP) mopped up the final innings for Fresno.

For Visalia, Austin Pope (0-1) suffered the decision after five frames of work. The righty struck out four while walking a duo of Grizzlies. Pope didn’t have the offense to back him up, as both runs came via an error and wild pitch. The squads are back at it tomorrow evening from Chukchansi Park.

Top Performers: Fresno Grizzlies (Colorado Rockies)

• C Drew Romo (3-3, 2B, 3 R, BB, extends hit streak to five games)

• 2B Mateo Gil (3-4, 2 RBI, 2 R)

• 3B Cristopher Navarro (2-4, 2 RBI, R)

Top Performers: Visalia Rawhide (Arizona Diamondbacks)

• SS Sheng-Ping Chen (1-3, R, BB)

• 1B Neyfy Castillo (1-3, R)

• CF Jorge Barrosa (1-4, SB)

On Deck:

Wednesday, May 12 vs. Visalia Rawhide, Visalia LHP Blake Walston (0-0, 7.20) vs. Fresno RHP Mitchell Kilkenny (0-0, 0.00), 6:50 pm PT

ON THAT FRES-NOTE:

Grizzlies’ manager Robinson Cancel is SIX victories shy of reaching 200 as a Minor League manager.