Fowler blasts go-ahead homer in eighth to lift Jacksonville to sixth straight win

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Down by a run in the eighth inning on Friday, Dustin Fowler tattooed a two-run homer into the right field bleachers to send the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp to their sixth consecutive victory with a 3-2 win over the Memphis Redbirds in front of 6,145 fans at 121 Financial Ballpark.

Jacksonville (73-51, 4-0) has now tallied 21 last-at-bat triumphs this season, and sit at 22 games above .500, their best mark since winning the title in 2014. With a win tomorrow over Memphis (57-67, 0-4), the Jumbo Shrimp will earn their first series sweep of the season.

With the Redbirds ahead 2-1 in the eighth, Isan Díaz again worked a walk to lead off the frame, and Fowler followed with a two-run home run off of Jake Walsh (loss, 1-1) to give Jacksonville its first lead of the ballgame, 3-2.

Bryan Mitchell (win, 4-1) stranded a pair of walks on base in the seventh and left two baserunners aboard in the eighth, finishing with four strikeouts to earn the win. Andrew Bellatti (save, 11) faced the minimum in the ninth, allowing a one-out single to Nick Plummer, who was caught stealing by Brian Navarreto to seal the win.

Max Meyer shined in his Triple-A debut for Jacksonville. The Marlins’ first round pick in 2020 set a career-high with 10 strikeouts, giving up just one run on five hits over five innings of work.

The only run he allowed came on a solo homer from Plummer in the fifth inning. Memphis added another solo blast from Justin Williams in the seventh to increase the advantage to 2-0.

Jacksonville responded in the home half of the frame. Díaz drew a walk to lead off the inning and Bryson Brigman followed with a single through the right side. Then with two outs, Deven Marrero ripped a double down the left field line to score Díaz and put the Jumbo Shrimp on the board.

Jacksonville will send lefty Braxton Garrett (5-3, 3.87) to the mound to face off with fellow left-hander Matthew Liberatore (7-9, 4.33) in the home finale, slated for 6:35 p.m., on Saturday as the Jumbo Shrimp look for their first sweep of the season.

Gates open at 5:30 p.m. for Fan Appreciation Night at 121 Financial Ballpark, and the first 2,000 fans will go home with a Jumbo Shrimp Maxwell House t-shirt. Additionally, the club will be giving away great prizes all night long to say THANK YOU to the best fans in baseball! Plus, fans are encouraged to stick around after the game for the biggest postgame fireworks show of the season. It’s all presented by 121 Financial and FIS.

Coverage begins at 6:20 p.m. on Facebook.com/ESPN690jax and on MiLB.tv, which is free of cost for the remainder of the season.

*ABOUT THE JUMBO SHRIMP: *The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp offer affordable family fun at 121 Financial Ballpark. Their inaugural season garnered the Southern League’s Don Mincher Organization of the Year, Promotional Trophy and Jimmy Bragan Executive of the Year, won by general manager Harold Craw. The club added its second Promotional Trophy in three years following the 2019 season. The 2021 season marks the return of Triple-A baseball in Jacksonville. To experience the excitement with the terrific value of ticket and group options, call the Jumbo Shrimp at (904) 358-2846 or visit www.jaxshrimp.com.