Lehigh Valley blows out Jacksonville 14-5

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After falling behind early, the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp couldn’t overcome an early deficit in their 14-5 loss to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs Friday night at 121 Financial Ballpark in front of 5,132 fans.

Lehigh Valley (54-50, 20-11) took the lead in the top of the first and never looked back. Cal Stevenson led off with a walk and went to third on a double from Scott Kingery. Darick Hall grounded out but Stevenson scored the first run of the game. Kingery went to third on the groundball and scored on a wild pitch increasing the lead to 2-0. Rafael Marchan walked and went to second on a base hit from Kody Clemens. Rodolfo Castro followed with a double, scoring Marchan to push the lead to three. Clemens was thrown out at home trying to score from first and Castro advanced to third on the throw. During the at-bat of Jim Haley, a wild pitch plated Castro as the fourth run of the inning.

The IronPigs increased their lead on Matt Kroom’s (5) solo home run to open the inning pushing the lead to 5-0.

Lehigh Valley continued to bash Jacksonville (50-55, 15-15) pitching in the third frame. Castro was hit by a pitch to start the inning and Haley singled. Cody Roberts knocked a base hit to load the bases and Kroom hit a sac fly increasing the lead to 6-0. Two batters later, Kingery walked to load the bases and Hall drew a bases loaded walk to give the IronPigs a 7-0 advantage. Marchan singled with the bases loaded, scoring Roberts for an 8-0 lead. A single coupled with an error pushed across two more runs, blowing the game open 10-0.

Jacksonville responded in the bottom of the fourth. Deyvison De Los Santos started the frame with a base hit and advanced to second on a ground out. With two outs, Jhonny Pereda singled to put runners at the corners. Tristan Gray smacked an RBI double as the Jumbo Shrimp broke through on the scoreboard, 10-1. Pereda went to third on the double and scored on a two-run single by Griffin Conine to cut the deficit to 10-3. José Devers drove in Conine with a triple and Javier Sanoja knocked in Devers with a base hit to make it a five-run game, 10-5.

The IronPigs continued to pad their lead in the top of the seventh. Kroom led off the inning with his second home run of the evening for an 11-5 lead. Stevenson singled and Kingery (22) blasted a two-run homer for a 13-5 advantage for Lehigh Valley.

The final run for Lehigh Valley crossed in the top of the ninth. With two outs, Clemens (9) walloped a solo home run capping off a 14-run output for the IronPigs.

Jacksonville and Lehigh Valley continue their series Saturday with first pitch set for 6:35 p.m. Coverage begins at 6:20 p.m. on Bally Live, MLB.tv, MiLB.tv, ESPN 690 AM and www.ESPN690.com. The IronPigs will hand the ball to RHP Max Castillo (0-5, 8.76).

Gates open at 5 p.m. for Back to School Spirit Night presented by Delta Tau Xi. First Coast News On Your Side will be collecting school supplies at their table on the main concourse level behind home plate. Anyone who donates supplies will receive a ticket to a future game. The collected supplies will be donated to the United Way Northeast Florida Full Service Schools in Jacksonville.

Be sure to be one of the first 2,000 fans through the gates for the Back to School Water Bottle giveaway, presented by Wolfson Children’s Hospital and make sure to stick around for postgame fireworks, also presented by Wolfson Children’s Hospital.

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.