Jacksonville moves into second place in Southeast Division
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Edward Cabrera and Nick Neidert were exceptional on the mound for Jacksonville Friday, leading the Jumbo Shrimp to a doubleheader sweep of the Charlotte Knights, winning game one 3-1 and game two 4-2 in front of 5,073 fans at 121 Financial Ballpark.
Game 1:
Cabrera (win, 2-1) matched a season-high with 12 strikeouts over six innings, allowing only one run on two hits on his way to winning his first game at the Triple-A level. Cabrera battled though some command difficulty early to strand the bases loaded in the second.
Blake Rutherford tripled to lead off the third inning and scored on a Gavin Sheets sac fly, but that was the only run Charlotte would muster against him. Cabrera retired 12 of the final 13 batters he faced including recording six consecutive strikeouts in three-up, three-down fourth and fifth innings, respectively.
Jacksonville took the lead in the second inning. Lorenzo Quintana lifted an opposite field home run to lead off the second against Jace Fry (loss, 1-2). Monte Harrison followed by drawing a walk and then stole two bases before scoring on a sac fly from Zack Zehner.
The Jumbo Shrimp added one more run in the fourth on a solo home run by Lewin Díaz, his 16th of the season, to make it a 3-1 Shrimp advantage.
Andrew Bellatti (save, 3) worked a scoreless seventh, picking up a strikeout to finish off the win.
Game 2:
Despite giving up two runs on three hits in the first inning, Neidert (win, 6-1) buckled down thereafter, yielding no runs on just four base runners the rest of the way in a seven-inning complete game effort over Charlotte.
Laz Rivera and Rutherford lined back-to-back singles to open the ballgame, and Yermin Mercedes followed with a sacrifice fly to plate Rivera. One batter later, Sheets ripped a single up the middle to give the Knights a 2-0 advantage just four batters in.
Jacksonville would chip away offensively. In the bottom of the first, Harrison reached on an infield single, and made it around to third base on a groundout and steal. Nick Fortes lined a double down the left field line to score Harrison and extend his hitting streak to six in a row, cutting the deficit to 2-1.
In the second, Joe Dunand walked to lead off the inning. J.D. Osborne grounded a potential double-play ball to third base, but instead, an error pushed a pair of Jumbo Shrimp into scoring position. Devin Hairston then plated Dunand with an RBI groundout to tie the score at 2-2 against starter John Parke.
The game remained tied at 2-2 when Ofreidy Gomez (loss, 0-1) took over out of the Knights bullpen in the fifth. Harrison ripped a double down the left field line to open the inning, and Díaz put the Jumbo Shrimp ahead with an RBI single up the middle one batter later.
Jacksonville added an insurance run in the sixth. With one out, Dustin Fowler notched a triple to the gap in left-center before scoring on an Osborne double down the left field line one batter later to make it 4-2.
Meanwhile, Neidert cruised to the finish line. He retired 11 of the final 12 batters he faced and did not give up a hit after the fourth inning.
After a day off Saturday, the Jumbo Shrimp and Knights close out the series Sunday at 6:35 p.m. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. for Baptist Health Sunday Family FUNday featuring face painting and balloon animals, as well as postgame kids-run-the-bases.
Coverage begins at 6:20 p.m. on MiLB.tv, ESPN 690 AM and www.ESPN690.com.
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.
