Grizzlies Report for April 15: Fresno 2, Las Vegas 1

Friday recap: Top prospect A.J. Reed became an early crowd favorite, homering with one out in the eighth to snap a tie as the Grizzlies beat Las Vegas 2-1 in the 2016 home opener. Reed homered for the second straight game and made a winner out of reliever Kevin Chapman, who struck out a pair in 1 1-3 innings. James Hoyt pitched the ninth for his second save in front of 13,415 – Fresno’s first home-opening sellout crowd since 2010.

Up next: Fresno’s first homestand of the season continues Saturday with RH Asher Wojciechowski (1-0, 10.80 ERA) set to face Las Vegas RH Gabriel Ynoa (0-0, 3.60). First pitch is 7:05 p.m. Wojciechowski, who spent most of last season with the Grizzlies but also was with the parent-club Houston Astros, will try to bounce back after a rough first start in which he allowed six runs on seven hits, while also walking two and hitting a batter, in an April 8 start at Las Vegas. The Grizzlies had 18 hits of their own and won 15-10. The teams wrap up the series with afternoon games at 1:05 p.m. Sunday and 12:05 p.m. Monday.

Grand beginning: Grizzlies infielders Danny Worth and Colin Moran each have a grand slam on the season, launched during consecutive games. For Worth, it was his first grand slam since 2011 when he was with the Toledo Mud Hens of the International League. For Moran, that was his first career grand slam, as well as his first home run in Triple-A. Moran hit a career-high nine homers in 366 at-bats for Double-A Corpus Christi last season.

Hitting early: Through the first six games, the Grizzlies were averaging 9.7 hits and 6.7 runs per game. Leadoff hitter Tony Kemp sported a .474 average (9 for 19). And Eury Perez was hitting .400 (6 of 15). Worth leads the Grizzlies with two homers.

The Fresno Bee

This story was originally published April 15, 2016 at 10:18 PM with the headline "Grizzlies Report for April 15: Fresno 2, Las Vegas 1."