Twine cracks solo shot in ninth to break up shutout
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Durham Bulls batted around in the fourth inning Friday, scoring five times, while starter Luis Patiño struck out 11 in five innings to top the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp fell 5-1 in front of 6,059 fans at 121 Financial Ballpark.
The Jumbo Shrimp (25-19) outhit the Bulls (30-15) seven to five, but went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position, stranding eight.
In a scoreless game in the fourth inning, Mike Ford led off the inning with a solo home run to put Durham on the board first. Dalton Kelly worked a walk, stole second, and came into score on a Nathan Lukes single up the middle. Tristan Gray then lifted a two-run homer to right, pushing the advantage to 4-0.
That ended the night for Braxton Garrett (loss, 3-3), who gave up four runs on three hits and four walks in 3.1 innings of work. Alexander Guillen took over and gave up a solo homer to Joseph Odom to stretch the advantage to 5-0. Guillen would get out of the inning and go on to work the next two innings scoreless.
Meanwhile, Patiño (win, 3-1) was cruising, as he gave up just four baserunners in the contest, and his final nine outs were recorded on strikeouts.
The Jacksonville bullpen finished strong with Rob Zastryzny striking out two in a scoreless seventh inning, and Andrew Bellatti and Tommy Eveld tossed a scoreless eighth and ninth respectively.
Justin Twine uncorked a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning, his third of the season, to break up the shutout.
The series continues Saturday night at 6:35 p.m. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. at 121 Financial Ballpark as the Jumbo Shrimp will be giving away a fan designed t-shirt to the first 2,000 fans through the gates. Be sure to stick around after the game for Saturday Night Fireworks presented by 121 Financial Credit Union and Atlantic Self Storage.
Coverage begins at 6:20 p.m. on ESPN 690 as well as on the ESPN 690 Facebook page and on MiLB.tv.
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.
