Cooney dominant in Redbirds win

Tim Cooney once again showed why he spent time in the majors earlier this year in another dominating performance Wednesday afternoon. He pitched seven innings while only giving up two hits and no runs as the Redbirds took Game 3 of 4 against the Fresno Grizzlies 6-1. The Redbirds have now won 9 of their last 10 games.

The scoring didn’t start as early as in previous games but did start in the third inning when Xavier Scruggs hit a two run bomb to center field for his eighth home run of the season which gave the Redbirds a 2-0 lead. The Redbirds would capitalize on a fielding error by the Grizzlies in the top of the fourth to score a run making it 3-0.

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The Redbirds would again score in the top of the fifth on a solo shot by Stephen Piscotty for his seventh home run of the season making the score 4-0. Two more runs would be tacked on in the top of the sixth on an RBI triple by Rafael Ortega and then a sacrifice fly by Travis Tartamella one batter later. The only run scored for the Grizzlies would come in the top of the eighth on a solo home run by Max Stassi.

In relief for the Redbirds, Tyler Waldron pitched the eighth inning giving up two hits and that one home run. Sam Tuivailala pitched the ninth giving up no hits and one walk.

The Redbirds will look to take the series against the Grizzlies to conclude the eight game road trip tomorrow afternoon. They will also look to move to .500 on the season which they have worked toward in the last couple of weeks. John Gast will get the start for the Redbirds while Brady Rogers gets the start for the Grizzlies. First pitch for that game is set for 2:05 CT.

Other note – The Redbirds lost a big bat in the lineup in catcher Ed Easley as he was called up to the Bigs today. He takes the place of Matt Adams who was placed on the 15 Day DL. Easley has been in a tight race with Greg Garcia for the best batting average on the team. This year he is batting .295 with three home runs and 18 RBI’s. Expect Tartamella and Cody Stanley to share starts at the catcher position.

Next: Gonzales out at least three weeks