Fresno Grizzlies: Homestand ends with walk-off celebration

The swarm of hugs and cheers that Joe Sclafani received from his Fresno Grizzlies teammates near first base was just the prelude for what awaited in the clubhouse.

Sclafani, the No. 9 hitter, drove in the winning run with his walk-off single in the bottom of the 11th on Thursday, propelling Fresno to a 5-4 win against the Memphis Redbirds at Chukchansi Park.

To celebrate his heroics, teammates blindsided Sclafani with shaving cream to the head and face as the Grizzlies concluded a 5-3 homestand with their third walk-off victory at home.

“Any time you can win the game, No. 1, it’s fantastic, but a walk-off is always fun,” said Sclafani, who got the start in the day game, in part, to give one of the regulars a break from the afternoon heat. “It’s like we’re all little kids again. I was just looking for a good pitch to hit. Got lucky enough, I found a hole.”

Sclafani, a 12th-round pick by the Houston Astros in 2012, finished with a season-high three hits — part of a big game for the bottom third of the lineup as the Nos. 7-9 hitters provided a much-needed boost on an early and fairly warm day at the ballpark.

Center fielder Alex Presley finished 2 for 5 with two runs. And catcher Tyler Heineman went 3 for 5 with a run and two RBIs as the bottom three combined to go 8 for 14 with three runs and three RBIs.

“It was good to see Sclafani was in tune today, Heineman getting a chance and getting some big hits for us and Presley having some big hits,” manager Tony DeFrancesco said. “It makes the lineup that much stronger when they’re doing what they did today.”

Added Sclafini: “It’s great. At the bottom of the lineup, we try to turn it over as well as we can to get on base for the big boppers. So any time I can contribute in that way, I’m happy.”

The Grizzlies’ back-end pitching also stepped up with relievers Mitch Lambson, Tyson Perez, Kevin Chapman and Richard Rodriguez combining for 52/3 scoreless innings while allowing just one hit each. Rodriguez threw a scoreless 10th and 11th to move to 5-0 with a 2.10 ERA.

“They pitched well, gave us a chance to win,” DeFrancesco said.

The Grizzlies needed it with their big hitters kept mostly quiet.

Top prospect Carlos Correa finished 1 for 5. Robbie Grossman and Jon Singleton, two players who spent time in the majors last season, went a combined 0 for 10.

Correa started off fast in Triple-A. But through 16 games with the Grizzlies, with half of them at Chukchansi Park, the 20-year-old also is seeing some struggles. He is hitting .265 with three home runs, 15 runs and eight RBIs. He has a .338 on-base percentage and nine strikeouts to eight walks in 68 at-bats.

“It’s good,” Correa, called up from Double-A during the last road trip, said of his eight-game run before a Fresno crowd. “I hit the ball a lot. It just got caught. It’s baseball. It happens. You just have to go out and grind. It’s a matter of time, they’re going to fall.

“The pitchers are slower, but the ball moves a little bit more here. Just got to adjust. But it’s still the same game. Just adjust and play the way I know I can.”

The Grizzlies, who had 14 hits to the Redbirds’ 10, moved to 15-2 when outhitting their opponents and 4-1 in extra-inning games.

This story was originally published May 28, 2015 at 7:25 PM with the headline "Fresno Grizzlies: Homestand ends with walk-off celebration."