Late inning heroics pushes Jacksonville to 3-2 win 

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Troy Johnston’s three-run home run in the eighth inning lifted the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp to a 3-2 win over the Durham Bulls Saturday night at VyStar Ballpark in front of 7,312 fans.

Trailing 2-0 in the eighth, Jacksonville (37-25) took advantage of Durham (34-28) pitching. With one out, Jacob Berry and Harrison Spohn worked consecutive walks against Bulls reliever Evan Reifert (L, 2-1). In the ensuing at-bat, Johnston (5) crushed a three-run homer, flipping the script to put the Jumbo Shrimp ahead 3-2.

Both teams traded zeroes through the first five innings, before Durham scored two runs in the top of the sixth. Chandler Simpsonsingled on a bunt and stole both second and third. Ha-Seong Kim followed with a double scoring Simpson for the first run of the night. Bob Seymour walked, putting runners on first and second. Tristian Peters singled, scoring Kim pushing the Bulls to 2-0 lead.

Jacksonville got a great pitching effort from starter Freddy Tarnok. He tied a season-high with five innings and six punchouts. Christian Roa (W, 5-0) spun two scoreless frames, striking out three against just one walk.

Jacksonville and Durham wrap up their series Sunday at 3:05 pm. Ian Seymour (5-3, 2.95 ERA) will toe the rubber for the Bulls. Coverage begins at 2:50 p.m. on Bally Live, MLB.tv, MiLB.tv, ESPN 690, and ESPN690.com.

Gates open at 2 p.m. Sunday as Red Caps Negro League Weekend continues! Join the Jumbo Shrimp and Florida Blue for our salute to the Negro Leagues as we take the fields as the Jax Red Caps. The Red Caps played in the Negro American League from 1938-1942 in Durkeeville at what is now Henry Aaron Field at JP Small Park, presented by Florida Blue. Baptist Health Sunday Family FUNday. Join the Jumbo Shrimp for pre-game catch on the field for the first 20 minutes after gates open. Kids can also feel like the pros after each Sunday game by rounding the bases once the field is clear. Plus, each Sunday will feature complementary, PRE-GAME, face painting and balloon animals!

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.