Jacksonville tallies 16 hits, scores double-digit runs for second straight day
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – For the second consecutive day, Lewin Díaz and Jesús Sánchez each belted home runs, leading the Jumbo Shrimp to a 10-7 victory Wednesday over the Norfolk Tides from 121 Financial Ballpark.
Sánchez tallied a career-high five hits, finishing the day a double shy of the cycle. As a team, Jacksonville (2-0) produced a 16-hit outburst, as all ten players who played reached base in the ballgame. For the second consecutive day, the Jumbo Shrimp pitching staff only walked one Norfolk (0-2) hitter.
Jacksonville jumped on the board in the first inning. With one away, Díaz was hit by a pitch, and two batters later, Sánchez hit a triple into the left field corner to bring him home, and make it 1-0.
Norfolk answered in the second. Rylan Bannon reached on an error, and Tyler Nevin followed with a two-run homer, his second long ball in as many days, resulting in the first, and only, Jacksonville deficit of the season thus far, at 2-1.
The Jumbo Shrimp were quick to answer. They batted around in the second inning, scoring four runs, highlighted by a Diaz two-run double down the left field line to surge back in front, 5-2.
Jahmai Jones belted a two-run homer for the Tides in the third to trim the deficit to one against Jacksonville starter Shawn Morimando. The lefty worked 3.2 innings, giving up four runs on five hits. He struck out one, and did not walk a batter.
Luis Madero (1-0) followed in relief with 3.1 innings of work, allowing just one run.
The offense added on to the lead in the middle innings. In the fifth, Sánchez sent a moonshot homer out of the ballpark to right, scoring Eddy Alvarez, who had led off the inning by working a walk. Then in the sixth, Díaz blasted a two-run bomb of his own into the right field bleachers to make it 10-5 Jumbo Shrimp.
Zach Thompson worked the final two innings for Jacksonville, allowing a pair of runs in the ninth, on a triple by Jones and a single by Yusniel Diaz, respectively.
The series continues on Thursday when the Jumbo Shrimp send right-hander Cody Poteet to the mound to face off with fellow righty Spenser Watkins for Norfolk. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. and pregame coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. on ESPN 690 and online at MiLB.tv and ESPN690.com, as well as on the MiLB first pitch app.
Thursday’s game is a Budweiser Thirsty Thursday at 121 Financial Ballpark, and fans can purchase $2 (12-oz. draft) and $3 (24-oz. draft) Budweiser products, with gates opening at 6 p.m.
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.
