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PCL1 Fresno Grizzlies

Lincecum & Rodgers Duel to 1-0 Fresno Victory Before Huge Sunday Crowd

June 13, 2016 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Fresno Grizzlies News Release


Tim Lincecum of the Salt Lake Bees Delivers vs. the Fresno Grizzlies
Tim Lincecum of the Salt Lake Bees Delivers vs. the Fresno Grizzlies
(Fresno Grizzlies, Credit: Gary Kazanjian)

As Tim Lincecum signed every last autograph for lingering fans at Chukchansi Park Sunday evening for nearly an hour after the game, it was pretty apparent Fresno Grizzlies fans enjoyed a perfect day. Their team was victorious and at the same time they were able to see Lincecum spin seven shutout innings, a former Grizzly returning as a conquering hero, albeit with an opponent.

And in a game where both starting pitchers were next to perfect, one unexpected mistake ended up deciding the game in Fresno's favor, salvaging the series and avoiding a Salt Lake sweep.

The Grizzlies' Brady Rodgers (5-3), who had earned a winning decision in his last three starts coming into Sunday, made it four with a dazzling eight innings. The fifth-year pro, who at 25 is quickly establishing himself as one of Houston's top pitching prospects, fired eight shutout frames, did not walk a batter, and erased two hits with eight strikeouts.

In his last four starts, Rodgers has allowed just 15 hits in 33.1 innings, and has not walked a batter in three of those outings. Allowing just five earned runs in that span, he's struck out 31.

Rodgers matched Lincecum (no-decision, 0-2) pitch for pitch, as the latter made his third and final start for the Salt Lake Bees on this minor league assignment. It's anticipated Lincecum's next start will be for the Angels during their series at Oakland June 17-19. The right-hander, owner of three World Series rings, two Cy Young Awards and three National League strikeout titles, spun seven shutout innings of his own, allowing just a hit and a walk, and matched Rodgers with eight punchouts.

A line drive single to right field by Tyler Heineman to lead off the sixth was the first Fresno hit, but the lone run would not score until the eighth. With reliever Jose Valdez in the game, Nolan Fontana and Jack Mayfield rapped back-to-back singles, and runners were at first and third as Heineman returned to the plate. Valdez balked during the at-bat, scoring Fontana and giving the Grizzlies a 1-0 lead and the opportunity to win it in the ninth.

Closer James Hoyt, angling for his PCL-leading 12th save, allowed only a harmless grounder to second base to end it, striking out the first two batters he faced in a scoreless ninth.

Bees DH Juan Graterol picked up Salt Lake's only two hits, singling off Rodgers in the third and sixth; the two hits for the opponent are a new season-low for the Fresno pitching staff. The five combined hits are also season low; one fewer than the six combined hits Fresno and Salt Lake had in a 3-2 Grizzlies win at home on April 20.

Sunday was Lincecum's first action at Chukchansi Park since 2007. That season, he made five starts for the Grizzlies prior to his promotion to the San Francisco Giants, where he went on to win 108 games through the 2015 season. In those five starts with Fresno in '07, Lincecum went 4-0 with a 0.29 ERA in 31 innings, striking out 46. On April 29, 2007 Lincecum struck out 14 in his final start with Fresno, in a 3-0 win at home over Colorado Springs. 14 strikeouts remains the Grizzlies' single-game record.

The Grizzlies will now meet their intra-state rivals, the Sacramento River Cats, for the first time this season in a four-game series beginning Monday evening at Raley Field in Sacramento. Right-hander Mike Hauschild (5-6, 3.75) will go for Fresno, against Sacramento lefty Matt Lujan (0-5, 4.40) in the series-opener, scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Check out the Fresno Grizzlies Statistics




Images from this story

Tim Lincecum Pitching for the Salt Lake Bees
Tim Lincecum Pitching for the Salt Lake Bees
(Gary Kazanjian)		 Tim Lincecum in the Salt Lake Bees Dugout
Tim Lincecum in the Salt Lake Bees Dugout
(Gary Kazanjian)		 Tim Lincecum of the Salt Lake Bees Delivers vs. the Fresno Grizzlies
Tim Lincecum of the Salt Lake Bees Delivers vs. the Fresno Grizzlies
(Gary Kazanjian)



Pacific Coast League Stories from June 13, 2016


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