Diaz, Harrison break out for Jumbo Shrimp

After 10 days away from Jacksonville, the Double-A Jumbo Shrimp returned home around 7 a.m. Thursday with a series opener set for 12 hours later. Isan Díaz and Monte Harrison didn't seem tired when gametime rolled around.
The top two hitters in the order combined to go 7-for-10 with two homers, three doubles and five RBIs in leading their team to a 10-9 walk-off win over Pensacola at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.

Gameday box score
Diaz (Miami's No. 8 prospect) and Harrison (No. 72 overall) were both in need of a breakout showing. Diaz headed into the opener against the Blue Wahoos batting .200/.341/.308 and he only breached the Mendoza line with two hits Wednesday. Harrison entered Thursday's game hitting .197/.329/.303. Together, the pair engineered a 16-hit night for their team from the jump.
"I think they're just getting the repetitions, starting to settle in at the Double-A level," Jumbo Shrimp manager Randy Ready told his club's site after the win. "It's the first time for them, and it's going to take a little time. That holds true for a lot of our guys on this club, and that's why we always talk about it's not how you start, it's how you finish. We're big believers in that. Let these kids get their feet wet and get going."

After Diaz flew out to center field to lead off the first inning, Harrison connected on a solo homer to left -- his first blast of the year -- to get Jacksonville on the board after a three-run Pensacola first. In the second, Diaz doubled to left with two outs and came home on Harrison's single to center. Diaz came through again in the third, driving an RBI double to left to tie the score up again in an offense-packed first few innings.
"After three innings, it's 7-7, and we got here at 7 a.m.," Ready said of his team's late -- or early -- bus arrival back home. "Triple 7s out of the gate. It was a wild start to the game and an even wilder finish."

Diaz connected on his second long ball of the season to left with one out in the sixth, and Harrison followed with a double to right. One inning later, Diaz put his team in front, 9-8, with an RBI single to right for his first four-hit game since last July 2 with Class A Advanced Carolina, back when he and Harrison were in the Milwaukee system.
"It was just crazy," Ready said. "The ball was carrying and that's a little unusual for this time of year. Guys were putting good swings on everything, on both clubs. It was a seesaw battle all the way to the last out."

Diaz now has hits in seven of his last eight games, lifting his 2018 line from .083/.271/.167 entering play on April 19 to .243/.368/.414. With hits in six straight, Harrison has boosted his slash line from .149/.319/.213 on April 21 to .225/.345/.380.
Pensacola drew even once more in the ninth when Taylor Sparks tripled to center and scored on a wild pitch by Jacksonville reliever Jeff Kinley, but the Jumbo Shrimp didn't need extras to come away with the win. Blue Wahoos reliever Alex Powers plunked Sharif Othman with a pitch to open the bottom of the frame, and three batters later, pinch-hitter Kyle Barrett doubled to left to drive Othman in with the game-winning run.