Jumbo Shrimp wrap up Gwinnett series with walkoff win

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Lorenzo Quintana’s walk-off single in the ninth inning on Sunday pushed the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp to a 5-4 win against the Gwinnett Stripers in front of 5,887 fans at 121 Financial Ballpark.

Jacksonville (10-8) had the first two men sent down on strikes to start the ninth with the score knotted at four, but RJ Alaniz (L, 0-1) proceeded to walk Brian Miller, Peyton Burdick, and Lewin Díaz to load the bases. On the first pitch, Quintanasmacked a fly ball to the right field warning track, just out of the reach of Gwinnett right fielder Justin Dean, to score Miller from third and give the Jumbo Shrimp the 5-4 win.

For the third night in a row, Gwinnett (6-12) was able to push across runs in the late innings. In the top of the ninth, Dean reached on a fielder’s choice and scored on a one-out double by Braden Shewmake. Pat Valaika followed with a double to score Shewmake and tie the game at 4-4.

The Jumbo Shrimp got on the board early in the bottom of the first. Miller singled and advanced to second on a walk by Burdick. A walk coupled with an error on ball four to Peyton Burdick advanced Miller to third. With runners at the corners, Díaz hit a sac fly to center field, scoring Miller for the 1-0 advantage.

Jacksonville continued to roll in the bottom of the second. JJ Bleday led off with a walk and went to second on a single by Charles Leblanc. A double play left Leblanc on second with two outs for Joe Dunand (1), who tallied his sixth hit in his last 12 at-bats with a two-run home run to push the Jumbo Shrimp lead to 3-0.

Gwinnett responded quickly with two runs in the top of the third. With one out, Delino DeShields Jr. reached on an infield single and went to second on a walk by Ronald Acuña Jr. A wild pitch allowed DeShields to advance to third and Acuña later stole second. After Shewmake struck out, Valaika stroked a single, scoring both DeShields and Acuña to pull the Stripers to within one, 3-2.

Max Meyer looked strong again on the mound, tossing five innings with seven strikeouts. Jackson Rose had a very impressive Triple-A debut with two scoreless innings in relief with two strikeouts. Jake Fishman (W, 3-0) earned his third win of the season, pitching the final two frames.

Jacksonville had a one-run lead in the eighth and after five scoreless innings, they were able to add one more to their total. With one out, Díaz walked and following a strikeout, Nick Fortes singled to put Díaz on third. With runners at the corners, Bleday smacked a single to left, scoring Díaz to give the Jumbo Shrimp a two-run cushion 4-2.

The Jumbo Shrimp hit the road for a six-game series with the Charlotte Knights starting Tuesday, April 26. First pitch for Tuesday’s contest is 11:05 a.m. Coverage begins at 10:50 a.m. on ESPN 690 and 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 marked 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.