Grizz hand Stingers a thumping

FRESNO, Calif. — Following an awful opening four innings for pitcher Kevin Gregg and the Stingers against Fresno on Monday, things turned downright ugly for Salt Lake in the fifth. The Stingers gave up a whopping 11 runs on 10 hits in that frame en route to a humiliating 19-2 loss in the final game of a four-game series.

It tied for Salt Lake's worst margin of defeat in franchise history.

Angel Chavez and Julio Ramirez did have back-to-back home runs during the fifth-inning romp, but most of Fresno's 10 hits came on bloopers that fell into the shallow outfield as the Grizzlies led 17-0 after five innings.

Ten of Fresno's 11 runs in the inning came with two outs, and the team recorded nine-straight hits before Doug Clark grounded out to Casey Kotchman to finally end the inning.

Clark's fifth-inning ground out was the first time that Salt Lake punched out the lead-off batter. Clark started the game 4-for-4 to help Fresno blow open the game. The left-fielder scored three runs and had two RBIs in that stretch.

Every Fresno batter had at least two hits, but Chavez was the offensive star for the Grizzlies. He finished 3-for-5 with four RBIs and three extra-base hits, including a three-run homer during the fifth.

Several other Grizzlies had at least two RBIs, including Ramirez, who had two solo home runs.

Salt Lake's pitching staff had been working hard to bring its team ERA down to 4.74 entering Monday's game, but it only took one evening to destroy most of that good work.

Gregg, who "celebrated" his birthday Monday, went four-and-two-thirds innings, giving up 10 runs on 14 hits. His replacement, Jonathon Rouwenhorst, didn't fare much better. Rouwenhorst allowed seven earned runs from seven hits in one-and-a-third innings.

The two teams finished their four-game series tied 2-2.

Things started ominously for Salt Lake in the first inning when Gregg loaded the bases with no outs. He escaped with just one run, but it was a sign of things to come later in the game.