Jacksonville overcomes early deficit in 6-4 win

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Matt Mervis drove in three runs and finished a double shy of the cycle as the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp came back to win 6-4 over the Rochester Red Wings Thursday afternoon at Innovative Field.

Trailing 4-1 in the sixth, Jacksonville (40-26) sent nine men to the plate to take the lead. Troy Johnston was hit by a pitch to start the frame and Jakob Marsee walked. Graham Pauley singled home Johnston, cutting the deficit to two. A double steal, coupled with a two-run triple from Matt Mervis evened the game at four. Andrew Pintar followed with an RBI single off Rochester (22-42) starter Adrian Sampson (1-2) giving the Jumbo Shrimp a 5-4 lead which they would never relinquish.

The Jumbo Shrimp increased their lead in the eighth. Mervis (4) launched a solo homer off Red Wings reliever Ryan Loutos, pushing the lead to 6-4.

Rochester struck first in the bottom of the first. Daylen Lile (2) started the frame with a solo homer off Jacksonville starter Connor Gillispie (W, 3-0).

Jacksonville evened the game in the top of the second. Mervis singled and reached second on a fielding error on Red Wings right fielder, Lile. Dalvy Rosario singled and Mervis scored on a sac fly from Brian Navarreto, tying the game at one.

The Red Wings regained the lead in the bottom of the third. After two quick outs, Jackson Cluff walked and scored on a two-run homer from Brady House (13), putting Rochester in front 3-1.

Rochester’s final tally came in the bottom of the fourth. Nick Schnell (3) crushed a solo homer, increasing the lead to three, 4-1.

Jacksonville and Rochester continue their series in Friday’s 6:45 p.m. contest. The Jumbo Shrimp will hand the ball to RHP Robinson Piña (4-3, 3.51ERA) and the Red Wings will counter with RHP Chase Solesky (2-5, 4.75 ERA). Coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN 690 and espn690.com.

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.