JACKSONVILLE, FL - Friday night's rubber match at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville sat in a scoreless tie until the Biloxi Shuckers (63-41, 22-12 2nd half) rattled off a three-run seventh inning and held on to top the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (49-55, 20-14 2nd half), 3-1. Both starting pitchers tossed
JACKSONVILLE, FL - Friday night's rubber match at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville sat in a scoreless tie until the Biloxi Shuckers (63-41, 22-12 2nd half) rattled off a three-run seventh inning and held on to top the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (49-55, 20-14 2nd half), 3-1. Both starting pitchers tossed scoreless baseball until the rainy evening turned into a battle of the bullpens.
Dylan File (W, 6-1) started his night by utilizing the defense, working double plays in the first and third inning while allowing just three baserunners over his first three frames. The right-hander worked around a Riley Mahan double in the fourth with a pair of strikeouts and then maneuvered around a jam in the sixth. Billy Fleming and Anfernee Seymour started with singles and Bryson Brigman dropped a sac bunt to advance both runners into scoring position. The Shuckers opted to intentionally walk Mahan to load the bases with one out and have File face the heart of the order. File proceeded to strikeout Stone Garrett and coaxed Lazaro Alonso into a groundout to strand the bases full. File departed after six innings of shutout work, allowing five hits, walking two and striking out eight.
His counterpart, Daniel Castano, worked around a pair of first inning singles from Patrick Leonard and Dillon Thomas and didn't allow another base runner the rest of the way. The lefty retired 16 batters in a row and struck out five over six shutout innings in a no decision.
Biloxi broke through against Chad Smith (L ,1-1) out of the Jacksonville bullpen in the seventh. Leonard led off with his second base hit of the night and Thomas followed up with his ninth home run of the season to give the Shuckers a 2-0 lead. Cooper Hummel was hit by a pitch with one out, advanced to second on a fielder's choice, and then moved to third on a throwing error. Max McDowell dropped a bunt to bring home Hummel and cap a three-run inning.
Cody Ponce (H, 8) allowed the lone run on the night when Brigman and Mahan notched consecutive two-out doubles in the eighth inning to make it a 3-1 game. Nate Griep (S, 17) entered in the ninth, walked Justin Twine with one out, but then retired the next to hitters to lock up the save and the victory.
The Shuckers return home to MGM Park on Saturday to begin a ten-game homestand starting with a five-game series against the Jackson Generals. The Shuckers will send RHP Bowden Francis (5-6, 4.10) to the mound and Jackson will throw RHP Cole Stapler (2-0, 4.91). It's Shuck Yeah Saturday and The Amazing Tyler will be at MGM Park entertaining fans all throughout the night with his incredible balancing skills.The game can be heard locally in Biloxi on Cruisin' WGCM AM 1240/100.9 FM, TuneIn Radio or the MiLB First Pitch App and can be seen on MiLB.TV. Fans can save $10 off their subscription when they use the promo code 'Shuckers' at checkout.
Half-Season Shuck Nation Memberships, Flex Plans and Group Outings for the 2019 Biloxi Shuckers season are on sale now and are available for purchase by calling 228-233-3465, online at biloxishuckers.com or by visiting the MGM Park front office. The Biloxi Shuckers will host Game 1 and Game 2 of the South Division Championship Series on September 4 & 5 at MGM Park. Tickets for all six potential playoff games at MGM Park are on sale now.
ABOUT THE BILOXI SHUCKERS:
The Biloxi Shuckers are the Double-A Affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Shuckers play at MGM Park in Biloxi, Mississippi. For more information please visit biloxishuckers.com and follow us on Twitter @biloxishuckers and at facebook.com/biloxishuckers.
