Fresno, CA – Ivan Luciano totaled four hits and four RBI as the Visalia Rawhide (44-64, 16-26) defeated the Fresno Grizzlies (59-49, 23-19) 8-3 on Sunday evening at Chukchansi Park.
Visalia wins their third straight game to complete a four games to two series win over Fresno. It’s the Rawhide first series win at Chukchansi Park in the seven series the teams have played in Fresno since the Grizzlies joined the California League in 2021. Fresno does win the 2026 Highway 99 Rivalry Series 13-11.
Luciano led a big night for Visalia’s offense with three singles and a home run as the Puerto Rican catcher finished with nine hits in the series.
The Rawhide took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Abdias De La Cruz opened the scoring with an RBI single and Luciano directly followed with his own RBI single.
The Grizzlies scored two in the fourth to tie the game.
Visalia’s offense then scored in four of the final five innings to take the lead for good. Tytus Cissell led off the fifth with a single, advanced to second on a throwing error, to third on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch.
The Rawhide doubled the lead in the sixth. De La Cruz and Luciano led off with singles and De La Cruz scored on a double play.
Fresno added a run in the seventh but Luciano blasted a towering home run over the right field wall in the top of the eighth to restore a two run lead. Luciano hit his 11th home run of the season.
Visalia scored three more runs in the ninth with a hit by pitch and three walks scoring the first run. Luciano then drove a ball through the right side with the bases loaded for a two RBI single to cap the scoring.
Neiker Palacios pitched three shutouting innings in a start with four strikeouts and just two hits allowed. Augie Mojica earned his second win of the season pitching an inning with two runs coming across.
Samuel Gonalzez tossed two scoreless in relief with two strikeouts and Erick Reynoso closed out the game with a perfect ninth inning.
Carson Kerce added two hits, two runs and two walks for Visalia. The D-backs 2026 2nd round draft pick has eight hits in the first four starts of his pro career. De La Cruz finished with two hits and two RBI.
Visalia continues the road trip with a six game series in Stockton starting on Tuesday. The games against the Ports can be streamed on MLB.TV and the Bally Sports Live App.
The Rawhide return to Valley Strong Ballpark on Tuesday, August 18 to open a six game series with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.
All Rawhide tickets are available through the team’s website and at the stadium box office from 10 AM to 4 PM on weekdays.
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The Visalia Rawhide are the Single-A Affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks playing professional baseball in the Central Valley since 1946. The Rawhide's 2026 theme is "Savor the Season" as the team transforms into the Central Valley Sir Loins on Saturday gamedays.
Stay up to date with the Rawhide on the team’s website and by following the Rawhide on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and X. The Rawhide play all home games at Valley Strong Ballpark located at 300 N Giddings Street Visalia, CA 93291.
Fans can purchase season ticket packages, group ticket plans, single game tickets and team merchandise through the Rawhide website and at the stadium ticket office sponsored by Kaweah Health. All Rawhide games can be watched on MLB.TV and the Bally Sports Live App with a free radio broadcast also available online. Select home games will be aired on KNXT MyTV53. For more information, visit milb.com/visalia, email info@rawhidebaseball.com or call (559) 732-4433.