JACKSONVILLE, FLA. - For the first time in the 21st century, the Jackson Generals denied a hit to the opposition in a nine-inning game, using five pitchers to shut out the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 6-0 on Thursday.
JACKSONVILLE, FLA. - For the first time in the 21st century, the Jackson Generals denied a hit to the opposition in a nine-inning game, using five pitchers to shut out the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 6-0 on Thursday.
Justin Donatella, Daniel Gibson, Kirby Bellow, Kevin Ginkel, and Brad Goldberg pitched brilliantly despite a rain delay that lasted one hour and forty-eight minutes, suspending the action after the third inning. The win for the Generals (37-29) brings their magic number down to one, meaning a victory on Friday can clinch the First Half North Division title for the West Tennessee bunch.
Donatella, a recent addition to the North Division roster for the 2018 Southern League All-Star Game, dealt three scoreless, hitless innings with two walks and four strikeouts, dueling Jacksonville's Nick Neidert to a stalemate. After the weather delay-eerily lasting exactly as long as the previous night's delay-Generals manager Shelley Duncan tapped veteran left-hander Daniel Gibson (1-0, 0.00 ERA) to restart the action. Gibson tacked on two scoreless innings of his own, striking out three in the process and handing the ball to fellow southpaw Kirby Bellow. The former Texas Longhorn carried the baton for an inning, ceding a walk to Jacksonville without allowing a hit. That was the last baserunner the Jumbo Shrimp would have, as Kevin Ginkel and Brad Goldberg worked the final three frames with four combined strikeouts to polish off the no-no. The hit-free evening is the first combination no-hitter since the franchise re-established itself in Jackson, following only a 1999 no-hitter from the arm of Dave Manning when the team was still called the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx.
Offensively, the Generals busted out after the rain delay with back-to-back jacks, as Kevin Medrano and Domingo Leyba wrecked shop before MLB rehabber Nick Wittgren (0-1, 54.00 ERA) could even get a second out in the fourth. The seventh inning featured more back-to-back action, as consecutive run-scoring hits from Jose Vinicio and Tyler Ladendorf put Jackson up 4-0. A wild pitch and an RBI double by Domingo Leyba allowed the Generals their final two tallies in the seventh inning, with Jackson finishing the night going 3-for-6 with men in scoring position.
TOP PERFORMERS - GENERALS
RHPs Justin Donatella, Kevin Ginkel, and Brad Goldberg - 6.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K
LHPs Daniel Gibson and Kirby Bellow - 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
2B Domingo Leyba - 2-4, R, 2 RBI, 2B, HR
SS Jose Vinicio - 2-4, R, RBI
3B Kevin Medrano - 1-4, R, RBI, HR
TOP PERFORMERS - JACKSONVILLE
RHP Nick Neidert - 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
RHP Kyle Keller - 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K
NEXT GENERALS GAME:
6:05 pm CT Friday (6/15) vs. Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp |
The Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville - Jacksonville, Fla.
RHP Joel Payamps (3-2, 3.44 ERA) vs. RHP Merandy Gonzalez (0-1, 3.43 ERA)
