Jacksonville wins first series of season to cap opening homestand
JACKSONVILLE, Fla – The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp scored five runs in the first two innings on Sunday, and added on valuable insurance runs late, to take the series finale from the Norfolk Tides, 9-7 from 121 Financial Ballpark.
Jacksonville (4-2) tallied double-digit hits for the fourth time in the six-game series. They also had all nine men in the lineup reach base for the fourth time in six games.
Norfolk (2-4) scored first, for the first time in the series, with a sacrifice fly in the first inning to take a 1-0 lead.
The Jumbo Shrimp were quick to answer. In the bottom of the first inning, Monte Harrison singled with one out, and after stealing second, he scored on an RBI single from Lewin Díaz. Jesus Sánchez then followed with a triple to the alley in right-center, bringing in Díaz. Sánchez also scored on the play as a result of an overthrow on a relay to third to make it 3-1.
The Shrimp added on in the second. Tristan Pompey doubled off the left field wall with one out and scored on an RBI single from José Devers one batter later. Harrison then ripped a single to right, and was able to get himself in a rundown between first and second to allow Devers to score and make it 5-1.
The seesaw battle continued in the third. With the bases loaded, Rylan Bannon doubled into the left field corner to clear the basesto make it 5-4. After Bannon moved to third on the throw, Yusniel Diaz then flew out to right field. Bannon tagged up from third, looking to score the game-tying run, but Sanchez gunned him down at the plate on a laser throw to keep the Jumbo Shrimp in front.
Jacksonville never trailed the rest of the way. Braxton Garrett (1-0) picked up his first victory of the season for the Jumbo Shrimp, as he worked five innings, giving up four runs on five hits, walked two, and struck out three in his second start of the year.
Brian Navarreto homered to left in the fifth to make it 6-4. Then in the seventh, after Norfolk plated a run in the top half of the inning, Devers and Harrison lined back-to-back singles to score two valuable insurance runs to increase the margin to 9-5.
The Tides scored a run in the eighth and one more in the ninth, but Steve Okert came in to strike out Seth Mejias-Brean, who represented the tying run, to preserve the win and pick up his first save.
The Jumbo Shrimp are off on Monday as they travel to Durham for a six-game series against the Bulls. First pitch on Tuesday night is set for 6:45 p.m., as lefty Shawn Morimando (0-0, 7.36) makes his second start of the season. Pregame coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN 690 as well as online at espn690.com as well as on MiLB.tv and the MiLB First Pitch app.
ABOUT THE JUMBO SHRIMP: The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp offer affordable family fun at 121 Financial Ballpark. Their inaugural season garnered the Southern League’s Don Mincher Organization of the Year, Promotional Trophy and Jimmy Bragan Executive of the Year, won by general manager Harold Craw. The club added its second Promotional Trophy in three years following the 2019 season. The 2021 season marks the return of Triple-A baseball in Jacksonville. To experience the excitement with the terrific value of ticket and group options, call the Jumbo Shrimp at (904) 358-2846 or visit www.jaxshrimp.com.
