Grizzlies Report for April 21: Salt Lake 9, Fresno 6
Thursday recap – Jon Singleton broke out of a slump in a big way, batting 4 for 4 with a pair of home runs. But it still wasn’t enough to lift the Grizzlies to victory Thursday with Fresno pitchers roughed up all night in a 9-6 loss to the Salt Lake Bees before an announced crowd of 4,693 at Chukchansi Park. The Grizzlies brought the tying run to the plate with one out in the bottom of the ninth after Bees right fielder Todd Cunningham dropped a fly ball to place runners at the corners. But Grizzlies No. 3 hitter Danny Worth struck out looking and cleanup hitter Colin Moran grounded out to second to end the game.
Singleton’s big night – Singleton raised his averaged from .139 to .225. The left-handed slugger registered all of his hits to center field or right-center field. He had a solo homer off lefty Chris Jones then launched a two-run shot off right-hander A.J. Achter. Last season, Singleton had two four-hit games and four games with two home runs.
Staff hit – Grizzlies starting pitcher Brad Peacock surrendered four runs (three earned) on seven hits in four innings. And relievers Edwar Cabrera (0-1), Jordan Jankowski and Kevin Chapman combined to allow five runs off six hits over the next four innings.
Day off for Reed – Grizzlies first baseman A.J. Reed received his first day off Thursday. Reed is batting .208 with three homers and a team-high 11 RBIs. He has struck out 12 times compared to six walks, and he sports a .291 on-base percentage. With Reed taking a seat, Tony Kemp became the only Grizzlies player to play in all 13 games, starting all but one. Second baseman Danny Worth, who entered Thursday hitting .419 with three home runs, batted third in Reed’s absence.
One-run outings – The Grizzlies are 3-2 in one-run games. Only two of their 12 games so far have been decided by more than three runs.
Flawless start – Fresno’s Tommy Shirley is the only starting pitcher in the Pacific Coast League who has not allowed a run this season. He’s 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA and has seven strikeouts in 11 2/3 innings over two starts. Two PCL pitchers have limited opponents to just one run.
Up next – The Grizzlies will close out their first homestand of the season Friday, with RH Asher Wojciechowski (1-0, 9.72 ERA) facing Bees LH Nate Smith (1-0, 2.04). First pitch at Chukchansi Park is 7:05 p.m. Wojciechowski will be aiming for his first quality start of the season after giving up four runs (three earned) in 3 1/3 innings in his last outing. He surrendered six runs in five innings in his first start.
This story was originally published April 21, 2016 at 10:44 PM with the headline "Grizzlies Report for April 21: Salt Lake 9, Fresno 6."