Bullpen retires final 12 batters in 8-2 victory
NORFOLK, Va. –After falling behind 2-1 in the third inning, the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp plated seven unanswered runs, rattling off ten hits in the ballgame, and storming past the Norfolk Tides in an 8-2 win at Harbor Park, Wednesday.
Jacksonville (55-43) has now won three games in a row, and has hit a combined eight home runs over that stretch. Norfolk (39-57) issued eight walks and hit two batters in addition to the ten hits they allowed.
Zack Zehner crushed the first pitch of the third inning over the party deck in left field to put the Jumbo Shrimp on the board first at 1-0. It was his fourth home run of the season.
The Tides responded quickly in the bottom half off the inning. Mason McCoy led off with a double, and made it to third base on the play on a wild pitch from Brandon Leibrandt. Later in the inning, J.C. Escarra doubled and came into score on a Ryan McKenna RBI single.
Leibrandt would work 4.1 innings, giving up two runs on three hits, he walked three, and struck out two.
The Shrimp answered quickly. In the top of the fourth inning, Payton Henry walked to lead off the frame, and Brian Miller followed with a single to center. Two batters later Zehner again swung first pitch and doubled to the gap in left-center to bring home Henry. Eddy Alvarez drove in Miller with an RBI single off of Kevin Smith (loss, 2-4) to give Jacksonville the lead back.
Two innings later, after Alvarez was hit by a pitch to begin the frame, Monte Harrison crushed his ninth home run of the season, and third in his last six games, to right field to increase the lead to 5-2.
Jacksonville pulled away in the eighth. Alvarez was again hit by a pitch and Harrison reached on an infield single to begin the inning. Deven Marrero then came through with an RBI single and Lorenzo Quintana plated a run with a sac fly. Later in the inning, Bryson Brigman capped the rally with an RBI double to right, as every Jacksonville hitter reached base in the ballgame.
Meanwhile the bullpen retired the final 12 Norfolk batters that came to the plate. Parker Bugg (win, 6-1) worked 2.2 scoreless innings, while Rob Zastryzny set down all six men he faced in the final two frames.
The series continues with an afternoon game Thursday, as righty Pablo López (0-0, 0.00) makes his second rehab start for Jacksonville, against Norfolk right-hander Ofelky Peralta (3-0, 5.06) with first pitch set for 12:05 p.m. Coverage begins at 11:50 a.m. on facebook.com/espn690jax.
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.
