Johnston’s late home run lifts Jacksonville to 5-3 win
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Robinson Piña tossed a season-high 5.2 innings with seven strikeouts and Troy Johnston hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the seventh pushed the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp to a 5-3 win over the Rochester Red Wings Friday night at Innovative Field. With the game tied at two,
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Robinson Piña tossed a season-high 5.2 innings with seven strikeouts and Troy Johnston hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the seventh pushed the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp to a 5-3 win over the Rochester Red Wings Friday night at Innovative Field.
With the game tied at two, Jacksonville (41-26) regained the lead and never looked back. Albert Almora started the top of the seventh with a base hit. Two batters later, Johnston (6) crushed a two-run homer off Rochester (22-43) reliever Konnor Pilkingtongiving the Jumbo Shrimp a 4-2 lead.
The Jumbo Shrimp’s final tally came in the top of the eighth. With two outs, Maximo Acosta doubled and Almora was hit by a pitch. A double steal, coupled with a throwing error, allowed Acosta to score the fifth run of the game for Jacksonville.
Rochester plated one run in the ninth but fell short. Andrew Pinckney (7) crushed a solo home run to start the inning. Two batters later, Daylen Lile doubled and went to third on a base hit from Darren Baker. Brady House grounded into a game-ending double play, sealing the Jumbo Shrimp win.
After four scoreless frames, Jacksonville took the initial lead. Matt Mervis (5) crushed a solo homer for an initial 1-0 lead. Two batters later, Acosta doubled and scored two batters later on a single from Harrison Spohn.
The Red Wings evened the game in the bottom of the sixth. Darren Baker led off with a single. Three batters later, Drew Millas and Trey Lipscomb singled to load the bases. Nick Schnell followed with a two-run single, tying the game at two.
Jacksonville and Rochester continue their series in Saturday’s 6:45 p.m. contest. The Jumbo Shrimp will hand the ball to RHP Freddy Tarnok (2-2, 4.79 ERA) and the Red Wings will counter with RHP Cade Cavalli (2-1, 3.81 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.