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Fresno Grizzlies

Fresno Grizzlies Game Notes at Visalia

May 14, 2022 - California League (CalL)
Fresno Grizzlies News Release


On Tuesday, we have our 2nd Making the Grade Kids Day (4,800 kids) with first pitch at 11:05 am. On May 20th, we have our Mental Health Awareness Night and Friday Night Fireworks. On May 21st, we have a pregame concert for Christian Fellowship Night, Community Outreach Night and the celebration of the 2002 Taylor Cup Champion Fresno Falcons!

The Grizzlies and Rawhide continue their six-game series tonight. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 pm PT from Valley Strong Ballpark. Grizzlies RHP Victor Juarez and Rawhide LHP Yaifer Perdomo are the probable starters.

COMEBACK CLAWS: Last night, the Grizzlies enjoyed their third comeback win of the 2022 season (April 8th vs Stockton and 17th at San Jose). With two outs, two runners on and Fresno trailing 4-2 in the top of the ninth, Juan Guerrero changed all of that with one swing of the bat. Guerrero took a 1-1 pitch and deposited it over the left field wall, giving the Grizzlies a 5-4 lead. Fresno would add an insurance run thanks to a Braiden Ward RBI double and the Grizzlies would hold on to win 6-4. This was the second comeback victory in the 9th inning for the Grizzlies in 2022 with the most recent coming on April 17th.

HIGHWAY 99: The Fresno Grizzlies and Visalia Rawhide continue their first series tonight against one another at Valley Strong Ballpark, the first of two meetings at Visalia. Fresno is now 22-6 against Visalia in the last two seasons, outscoring the Rawhide 169-115. The 19 wins against the Rawhide last year were the most against one team in a single season in Grizzlies franchise history. Of those 19 wins, 12 of them came at Chukchansi Park, where Fresno swept Visalia two separate times. On the other side, four of the Rawhide's six wins have come via one-run walk-offs. The two cities are 39.26 miles from one another, or if you drive non-stop, 43 minutes or so. From Fresno to Visalia, you would drive in a southeast direction, following the CA 99 route.

"BEAR"ING DOWN ON THE REST OF THE LEAGUE: Currently, three Grizzlies hitters rank in the Top 10 of the California League in batting average. Braiden Ward leads the league with a .383 average (.43 points higher than the second place batter) and nine hit-by-pitches. The Merced native also ranks first in OBP (.479) and OPS (1.084). Warming Bernabel currently sits fourth at a .327 average and Adael Amador ranks 10th at .302.

NO GROWING PAINS BY FRESNO: The Fresno Grizzlies have played in Growers uniforms four times in the past two seasons. In those contests, Fresno is 3-1, scoring 43 runs on 49 hits. In all three wins, the Grizzlies/Growers achieved double-digit hits and runs, which included the only cycle by a Grizzlies player at home (Zac Veen). Last Saturday, the Grizzlies offense scored 16 runs, tying a season high with every starter in the lineup scoring at least once. Five Fresno batters notched multi-RBI games, helping the Growers earn three of their highest scoring innings in 2022. Yanquiel Fernandez and Braiden Ward each had three hits, four RBI and three runs with Fernandez ending his night a homer shy of the cycle.

TIME TO GET A VICTORY WITH VICTOR: Tonight's scheduled starting pitcher is righty Victor Juarez, an 18-year old from Mexico. Juarez is the youngest member of the 2022 Grizzlies roster and is considered to be a very intriguing prospect. Last season, he split time between DSL Colorado and ACL Rockies (both rookie ball). Juarez started the year with DSL Colorado, going 2-0 with a robust 0.68 ERA. That ERA was the second-best in DSL Rockies history behind Jeffri Ocando's mark (0.39) in 2016. That same year (2016), Juarez was playing for Team Mexico in the Little League World Series. You can read more about Juarez on Page 2.

NEW RULES IN 2022: Major League Baseball announced in March that experimental rules will expand in the California League for the 2022 season. The following rules include the return of the pitch clock and pickoff limits. Pitchers must deliver a pitch within 14 seconds with the bases empty and 18 seconds with runners on base. Hitters must be in the batter's box and be alert to the pitcher with nine seconds left. Pitchers will also be limited to two pickoff attempts or step-offs per plate appearance; any more without retiring the baserunner will effectively function as a balk. The league also added larger bases, increasing the size from 15 to 18 inches, a rule in place at Triple-A during the 2021 season. The increase is aimed to provide more room for players to operate around the bases, while modestly shrinking the distance between bases themselves. Additionally, the larger bases are composed of material that is expected to perform better in wetter conditions. Finally, teams must have a minimum of four defensive players on the infield when a pitch is delivered, with at least two infielders on either side of second base. The penalty for violation is an automatic ball, but if the hitter swings and gets a better outcome, the offensive team can take that. Goal is to increase batting average on balls in play.

HOW 2022 WILL LOOK IN THE "GROWL"IFORNIA LEAGUE: The 2022 California League regular season will be split into two halves. The first half ends on June 23rd with the second half beginning on June 24th. Four of the eight teams in the Single-A California League will make the playoffs. The first and second half division winners will meet in a best-of-three game series. The winners of those series will meet for a best-of-three championship series. Similar to 2021, each Monday will be a day off in the league except for July 4th. All but two series will be six-game series this season. The break for players and coaches will be four days long from July 18th to July 21st.

WEAR THE BEAR: Red (4-6), Beige (4-2), Black & Gold (1-0), Gray (9-3), Specialty Promo (0-1), Fresno Tacos (0-0), Lowriders de Fresno (Copa de la Diversion, 0-0), Fresno Growers (1-0), Fresno Tigers (0-0), Red Pants (1-2).

MAY 15, 2022 @ VISALIA RAWHIDE (ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS): VALLEY STRONG BALLPARK- 1:00 PM PT

LHP Mason Green (2-1, 2.96) vs LHP Liam Norris (0-0, 3.66)

MAY 17, 2022 VS. RANCHO CUCAMONGA QUAKES (LOS ANGELES DODGERS): CHUKCHANSI PARK- 11:05 AM PT

RHP Edgardo Henriquez (1-1, 4.11) vs RHP Cullen Kafka (1-1, 4.09)

MAY 18, 2022 VS. RANCHO CUCAMONGA QUAKES (LOS ANGELES DODGERS): CHUKCHANSI PARK- 6:50 PM PT

RHP Jerming Rosario (1-2, 6.88) vs RHP Case Williams (1-1, 4.26)

MAY 19, 2022 VS. RANCHO CUCAMONGA QUAKES (LOS ANGELES DODGERS): CHUKCHANSI PARK- 6:50 PM PT

LHP Benony Robles (2-1, 7.11) vs RHP McCade Brown (0-1, 10.13)

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California League Stories from May 14, 2022


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