Shrimp solve M-Braves for the first time in 2019 on Thursday night

PEARL, MS - After six-straight wins against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (17-30) to begin 2019, the Mississippi Braves (21-24) finally fell to the Marlins affiliate on Thursday night, 5-2. 

Jacksonville scored just three runs over the first 59 innings against the M-Braves this season. Jacksonville scored five runs during Thursday night's fifth inning to end a 13-inning scoreless streak. 

Tucker Davidson  (L, 1-3) faced the minimum through the first 4.0 innings in his ninth start of the season, and the offense handed the 23-year-old left-hander a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Drew Waters hit a one-out triple and then scored on an RBI single from Riley Unroe. 

The Jumbo Shrimp sent ten batters to the plate in the top of the fifth inning and snapped a 13-inning scoreless streak to start the series. Joe Dunand began the inning by drawing Davidson's lone walk of the night, and Bryson Brigman followed with a single. In an attempt to sacrifice the runners over 90 feet, Corey Bird reached on an error to load the bases with no one out. John Silviano brought home the first run of the inning to tie the game on a fielder's choice. Davidson struck out Rodrigo Vigil ahead of pitcher Cody Poteet (W, 3-3) for the second out of the inning. The Jacksonville hurler helped his cause with a run-scoring single down the first base line handing the Shrimp a 2-1 lead.

Silviano sprinted home on a Davidson wild pitch to make it 3-1 and then Brian Miller hit a two-run single pushing the advantage to 5-1. Jonathan Aro  took over for Davidson after 4.2 innings on the mound. The No. 20 overall prospect for the Braves gave up five runs, but only one earned on five hits with one walk and five strikeouts. Davidson still maintains the third-best ERA in the Southern League at 1.68. 

Aro went on to throw 2.1 innings of scoreless baseball, giving up three hits in his eighth relief appearance.

Mississippi was held out of the hit column from the second through seventh innings by Poteet. The Jacksonville starter retired 19 consecutive Braves to finish his 7.0 inning outing. 

The Braves pounced on reliever Brett Graves and loaded the bases with nobody out in the eighth inning. Daniel Lockhart started the frame with a single and scored on a groundout by Waters. That trimmed the deficit to 5-2 but would be as close as the home team got on Thursday. 

Jeremy Walker  tossed 2.0 one-hit innings behind Aro. Walker has walked just two batters over nine appearances and 42.2 innings this season. 

Ryan Casteel  went hitless and saw his league-best 11-game hitting streak come to an end. Waters' first-inning triple was his Double-A leading 21st extra-base hit and third three-bagger. 

The M-Braves and Jumbo Shrimp meet for game three of the series on Friday night at Trustmark Park. RHP Jasseel De La Cruz will be making his first Double-A start after posting a nine-inning no-hitter for High-A Florida on Saturday. Opposing the 21-year-old will be RHP Robert Dugger (4-5, 3.47) for the Jumbo Shrimp. First pitch is set for 6:35 pm with coverage beginning at 6:20 pm on 103.9 WYAB, TuneIn Radio, MiLB First Pitch app. and MiLB.TV (subscription required). 

Friday's Promotions:
Fan Friday Giveaway - M-Braves Pennant - The first 1,000 fans will receive a Mississippi Braves Pennant, presented By Farm Bureau.
Trustmark $10K Dash For Cash - $10K in cash will be spread out in the outfield, and ten lucky fans will have 1 minute to collect as much cash as possible, presented by Trustmark.
Kids Run The Bases - After each Friday and Sunday home game, kids 14-and-under are invited to run the bases like the pros after the game!
We Made Fist Bump Friday A Thing - As part of our Fan Friday promotion, every fan coming through the gates will receive a FREE FIST BUMP from an M-Braves representative.