Grizzlies Report for May 24: Fresno 14, Oklahoma City 3
Recap – Matt Duffy homered twice, drove in five runs and was one of six Grizzlies’ players with multiple hits in a 14-3 rout of the Triple-A Dodgers on Tuesday night. Fresno won its first back-to-back games in more than a month (April 18-20). Starting pitcher Cesar Valdez (2-0, 2.79) held Oklahoma City to just two runs through the first five innings and let his offense do the rest of the work, pounding Dodgers’ starter Sam LeCure (2-2, 5.44 ERA) for 11 runs on nine hits through 4 2/3 innings. LeCure was finally done after the Grizzlies rallied to score five runs on three hits, two walks and one sacrifice fly in the fifth. Jon Singleton added a solo homer in the seventh, his 13th of the year which is tied with Sacramento's Jarrett Parker for most in the PCL.
Up next – The Grizzlies will continue a four-game series against the Triple-A Dodgers at 11:05 a.m. Wednesday when RH Joe Musgrove (1-0, 2.45) takes the mound against LH Hyun-Jin Ryu, who is making his third rehab start (shoulder, groin) in the minor leagues. Musgrove, who had an impressive start of the season at Double-A Corpus Christi (2-1, 0.34 ERA and 30 K’s in 26.1 IP), will make his third career start at the Triple-A level. He recently held the Memphis Redbirds scoreless through five innings before giving up two runs in the Grizzlies’ 6-2 win on May 19. It’s also Good Karma Day at the ballpark, with fans able to pay whatever price they want for a ticket. Proceeds from Good Karma Day will benefit the Grizzlies Community Fund.
Get hitched – Grizzlies mascot Parker T. Bear has officially become an ordained minister and will tie the knot for couples at the ballpark during Thursday’s game, the team announced Tuesday.
Helping hand – Oklahoma City’s Austin Barnes hit an infield pop fly in the second inning Tuesday that should have been an easy catch for Fresno pitcher Cesar Valdez. The ball, however, slipped out of the top of Valdez’s glove and into that of first baseman A.J. Reed, who was standing 2 feet away to prevent the hiccup.
New sign – Out with the old and in with the new. The Grizzlies bought the old Luftenberg’s sign beyond left field and had it replaced earlier this week with “Growlifornia.”
SVS sighting – OF/1B Scott Van Slyke made his second rehab start Tuesday for the Triple-A Dodgers.
The Fresno Bee
This story was originally published May 24, 2016 at 9:57 PM with the headline "Grizzlies Report for May 24: Fresno 14, Oklahoma City 3."