Sanoja’s sixth-inning smash powers Jacksonville to victory over Nashville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A late Javier Sanoja home run and timely hitting throughout propelled the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp to a 6-4 win over the Nashville Sounds Saturday night in front of 7,304 fans from 121 Financial Ballpark.

After Nashville (40-40, 2-3) tied the game in the fifth, Jacksonville’s (38-42, 3-2) Jonathan Davis worked a one-out walk in the sixth. Two batters later, Sanoja (3) clobbered a two-run home run, giving the Jumbo Shrimp a 5-3 advantage.

The Jumbo Shrimp bats did not cool off. Griffin Conine was hit by pitch to start the frame. Troy Johnston then reached on a fielder’s choice and stole second. He scored on an RBI single from Jhonny Pereda, extending Jacksonville’s lead to three.

The Sounds continued to fight back. Trailing 6-3, Joey Weimer led off the eighth inning with a walk. He advanced to second on a groundout and came home two batters later on an RBI single from Yonny Hernandez

Jacksonville opened the scoring in the second. Johnston and Pereda cracked back-to-back singles to put runners at first and third. Following a strikeout, Davis plated Johnston on a fielder’s choice to put the Jumbo Shrimp ahead 1-0.

Trailing by a run, Nashville battled back in the third. Hernandez singled to start the inning. One pitch later, Patrick Dorrian singled and pushed Hernandez to third. With runners at the corners, Garrett Mitchell rolled into a double play which was enough to bring home Hernandez and tie the game at a run apiece.

Locked in a 1-1 tie in the fourth, Pereda worked a leadoff walk. Marty Costes followed with an infield single. With two runners on, Davis singled to load the bases. Nashville recorded two straight outs and nearly escaped the inning until Victor Mesa Jr. ripped a two-run single to push Jacksonville in front 3-1.

Nashville’s Brian Navarreto started the fifth with a single. He advanced to second on a wild pitch and the Sounds quickly put a runner in scoring position. Hernandez doubled which put two runners on base. Dorrian laced an RBI single to bring Nashville within one. With runners at first and third, Mitchell tied the game at three on a sacrifice fly.

Jacksonville and Nashville conclude their series in Sunday’s 2:05 p.m. contest. RHP Edward Cabrera (0-1, 0.92) will start for Jacksonville and Nashville will counter with RHP Garrett Stallings (0-1, 5.36). Coverage begins at 1:50 p.m. on Bally Live, MLB.tv, MILB.tv, ESPN690, and www.espn690.com.

Gates open at 1 p.m. for a Baptist Health Sunday Family FUNday. Thanks to Baptist Health, the Jumbo Shrimp will host pre-game catch on the field for the first 20 minutes after gates open. The Jumbo Shrimp are proud to host Comic Hero Day. The Jumbo Shrimp will be taking the field in special Comic Hero jerseys and caps, featuring Captain Crustacean and Dr. Cocktail Sauce. Fans can grab their Captain Crustacean and Dr. Cocktail Sauce merch in the VyStar Credit Union Souvenir Store. Additionally, join the Jumbo Shrimp to celebrate the birthday of Southpaw, featuring all of his friends!

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.