Jacksonville comeback falls short in loss to Charlotte

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After falling behind to an 11-run deficit after four innings, the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp tried to mount a comeback but fell short in their 13-11 loss to the Charlotte Knights Sunday evening at Truist Field.

Charlotte (25-41) took the lead in the third inning and never looked back. Zach Remillard led off with a single and two batters later, Yolbert Sánchez singled to put two men on. With runners at first and second, Carlos Pérez blasted a three-run home run giving the Knights a 3-2 advantage. Gavin Sheets followed with a single and *Micker Adolfo *walked. *Blake Rutherford *reached on a fielder’s choice and Sheets advanced to third. *Xavier Fernandez *singled, scoring Sheets to push the Charlotte lead to 4-2.

The Knights sent 12 batters to the plate in the fourth inning and took a massive lead. Remillard led off with another single and Sánchez doubled two batters later. With runners at second and third, Pérez walked and Sheets cleared the bases with a three-run double, knocking Jacksonville starter Will Stewart (L, 1-2) out of the game. Adolfo reached on an error, allowing Sheets to score to give Charlotte an 8-2 lead. Rutherford launched a two-run home run to put the Knights ahead 10-2. Fernandez singled and with two outs Remillard tallied his second single of the inning. Mark Payton followed with another home run, as Charlotte took a 13-2 lead.

Jacksonville started to mount a slow come back in the fifth. Santiago Chavez singled and advanced to second on a single by Bryson Brigman. Peyton Burdick flew out but Chavez advanced to third. With runners at the corners, *Brian Miller *grounded out and Chavez scored to make the score 13-3.

After a scoreless sixth, Jacksonville added two more runs in the seventh. Chavez started the inning with his second single of the game and Brigman walked. A groundout allowed both runners to advance and Miller smacked a single, scoring Chavez from third to make it a nine-run deficit. Lorenzo Quintana singled in the next at-bat to score Brigman and make the score 13-5.

Jacksonville’s biggest inning was a six-run eighth. Charles Leblanc (9) blasted a solo home run to cut the deficit to 13-6. In his debut, Bubba Hollins entered as a pinch hitter and doubled. A wild pitch during Demetrius Sims’ at-bat allowed Hollins to advance to third and he scored on a fielding error that allowed Sims to reach base. After a Chavez fly out that allowed Sims to advance to third, Brigman doubled home the Jumbo Shrimp’s eighth run. Brigman scored on back-to-back wild pitches to cut the deficit to 13-9. Burdick worked a walk and went to second on a single from Miller. Quintana smacked his second single, scoring Burdick to make the score 13-10 and Miller advanced to third. JJ Bleday hit into a fielder’s choice in the next at-bat and Miller scored from third to make it a two-run game but the rally stopped there.

The Jumbo Shrimp got a great effort from their bullpen, holding Charlotte scoreless for the final four innings. George Soriano, Zach Pop, and Jake Fishman combined for four scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and five strikeouts.

With an off day on Monday, the Jumbo Shrimp return to 121 Financial Ballpark to host the Durham Bulls for a six-game series starting Tuesday, June 21 at 7:05 p.m. Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. on ESPN 690, espn690.com and MiLB.tv.

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 marked 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.