Jacksonville drops game four to Rochester

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Despite seven strikeouts from Dax Fulton, the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp fell 6-1 to the Rochester Red Wings Friday night at VyStar Ballpark.

Rochester (51-76, 24-31) struck first in the second as Andrew Pinckney singled to start the frame and stole second and third. Jackson Cluff followed with a walk and Francisco Mejía reached via a fielder's choice with Pinckney being tagged out at home. With runners at first and second, Nasim Nuñez smacked a double, scoring both Cluff and Mejía, giving the Red Wings the early 2-0 lead.

The Red Wings built on their momentum in the fourth. With two outs, Mejía and Nuñez singled. With runners at the corners, Nuñez stole second base and Christian Franklin smacked an RBI single scoring Mejía and Nuñez, extending the lead to four.

Rochester padded their lead in the fifth as Yohandy Morales opened with a double. In the ensuing at-bat, Nick Schnell tripled plating Morales, making it 5-0.

Jacksonville (76-53, 29-25) plated their first run of the game in the seventh. Sasaki reached on an error and stole second. In the next at-bat, Matthew Etzel whacked an RBI single driving in Sasaki for the first Jumbo Shrimp run, 5-1.

The Red Wings’ final tally came in the ninth. Morales started the frame with a walk and stole second. One batter later, Pinckney singled which plated Morales, increasing the lead to 6-1.

Jacksonville and Rochester will resume the series in Saturday’s match up starting at 6:35 p.m. at VyStar Ballpark. RHP Riley Cornelio (1-2, 5.60 ERA) for the Red Wings. Coverage will begin at 6:20 p.m. on Bally Live, MLB.tv, MiLB.tv, ESPN 690 AM and www.ESPN690.com.

Join us Saturday as the Jumbo Shrimp kick off their second Honey Drippers Weekend of the season! The Jumbo Shrimp will play in their colorful jerseys and caps to pay homage to the delicious frozen treat that is enjoyed in the South by many names, but known in Duval as a Honey Dripper. Stay for the end of the game for Saturday Night Fireworks after the game presented by VyStar Credit Union and Boeing.

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 VyStar 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.