Grizzlies Shut out During Series Opener
June 17, 2025 - California League (CalL)
Fresno Grizzlies News Release
Another pitcher's duel from two of the California League's best pitching teams in June went against the Fresno Grizzlies (28-36) in a 4-0 loss to the Visalia Rawhide (34-30) Tuesday night at Valley Strong Ballpark in Visalia.
Both teams have found ways to shutout the other at home this year and the series opener was no exception as Visalia turned to Denny Larrondo, who stifled the Grizzlies back in April at the same venue.
Both teams placed runners on second in the first inning, but the Grizzlies left Tommy Hopfe there after a two-out walk while Visalia stranded a leadoff single by Yerald Nin and Marcos Herrera induced a pair of groundouts to end the first inning.
Herrera matched zeroes with Denny Larrondo through the first three innings with Fresno earning just the one baserunner while Visalia had a pair of walks spread out in the 2nd and 3rd.
The Rawhide broke through in the fourth inning with a leadoff homer off Herrera. Visalia added four more hits in the inning, pushing two more runs across on two singles.
Larrondo took advantage of the four-run lead and worked six scoreless innings without surrendering a hit and retired the last 16 batters he faced.
Larrondo finished with 8 strikeouts and only allowed the walk to Hopfe, the third batter of the game.
Herrera settled in after the fourth, making quick work of the Rawhide in the fifth and retired the first two batters of the sixth before a two-out single ended his night.
Justin Loer came on and allowed a single before getting a groundout to end the inning.
The Grizzlies did end the no-hit bid against the bullpen in the 7th as Jacob Hinderleider roped a double into the right center field gap with two outs but was stranded there to end the inning.
Loer worked around a leadoff single in the 7th to keep the scoreline still.
Luke Taggart, just activated from the IL today, returned to the mound in a Fresno uniform for the first time since April 9th, working a 1-2-3 inning in the eighth, including a strikeout to keep it at four run deficit.
But Visalia turned to Jake Fitzgibbons, who has not allowed a run in 10 straight appearances, for the ninth.
Blake Wright delivered a two-out knock in the 9th but couldn't start a bigger rally for the Grizzlies.
The shutout is the 5th between these two teams in 13 games this season. It's the third time Visalia has shutout Fresno with all three of theirs coming at Valley Strong Ballpark in Visalia.
The Grizzlies will look to bounce back for the penultimate game of the first half on Wednesday night. The Grizzlies will turn to left hander Everett Catlett on the mound against hard throwing Mervin Fell of Visalia.
First pitch is scheduled for 6:30pm at Valley Strong Ballpark.
All broadcasts will be available streamed through Bally Sports Live, the MiLB App, and the Grizzlies broadcast with Tim Slack can be accessed on fresnogrizzlies.com/watch.
California League Stories from June 17, 2025
- Denny Larrondo Pitches Six No-Hit Innings, Rawhide Shut out Grizzlies - Visalia Rawhide
- Nuts Rally Past Giants 8-5 to Keep First-Half Title Hopes Alive - Modesto Nuts
- Grizzlies Shut out During Series Opener - Fresno Grizzlies
- Quakes Roll to Sixth Straight - Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
- First Half Concludes in Modesto with Playoff Berth at Stake - San Jose Giants
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
