Late Jacksonville rally falls short in 3-2 loss 

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp mounted a ninth inning rally but fell just short in a 3-2 loss to the Memphis Redbirds Wednesday night at AutoZone Park.

Trailing 3-0 in the ninth, Jacksonville (32-38) battled back against Memphis (36-34) reliever Kolton Ingram. Victor Mesa Jr. started the inning with a double and went to third on a groundout from Griffin Conine. Jonah Bride drove in Mesa Jr. with a base hit, cutting the deficit to 3-1. After a fly out, Tristan Gray drew a walk, pushing Bride up to second. Jhonny Pereda knocked a base hit, scoring Gray from second pulling the Jumbo Shrimp to within one. With runners on first and second, Jonathan Davis walked to load the bases but a fielder’s choice in the next at-bat ended Jacksonville’s threat.

For the second consecutive game, the Redbirds took the initial lead in the bottom of the first. Thomas Saggese led off the inning with a long double against Jumbo Shrimp starter Edward Cabrera (L, 0-1). A wild pitch coupled with a ground ball from Willson Contreras plated Saggese as the first run of the game, giving Memphis an early 1-0 lead.

The Redbirds added to their lead in the third inning. Alfonso Rivas started the frame with a walk. He advanced to second on a wild pitch two batters later and then scored on a throwing error that allowed Saggese to reach base.

Memphis kept their two-run lead through most of the contest before adding a third run in the bottom of the eighth. Jared Young (8) started the inning with a long solo shot to increase the lead to 3-0.

Jacksonville and Memphis continue the series Thursday at 8:05 p.m. ET from AutoZone Park. The Jumbo Shrimp will hand the ball to RHP Max Meyer (0-3, 6.46 ERA) and the Redbirds will counter with LHP Zack Thompson (2-2, 3.86 ERA). Coverage begins at 7:50p.m. ET on ESPN 690 and espn690.com.

ABOUT THE JUMBO SHRIMP: The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins and compete in the International League. The team calls 121 Financial Ballpark home for baseball but also a wide variety of additional community focused events with a goal of providing Affordable, Family, FUN to Northeast Florida. Winners of many marketing and sales awards and recognition since the team was rebranded prior to the 2017 season, the Jumbo Shrimp continually lead the state of Florida in attendance across all minor league professional sports organizations.