Jacksonville pummels Durham, blast seven home runs in 12-6 win
DURHAM, N.C. – Seven home runs, including back-to-back-to-back home runs in the ninth, propelled the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp to a 12-6 victory against the Durham Bulls, Sunday at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Trailing 5-4 in the third, Troy Johnston worked a leadoff walk for Jacksonville (60-41, 13-13). Two batters later,
DURHAM, N.C. – Seven home runs, including back-to-back-to-back home runs in the ninth, propelled the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp to a 12-6 victory against the Durham Bulls, Sunday at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
Trailing 5-4 in the third, Troy Johnston worked a leadoff walk for Jacksonville (60-41, 13-13). Two batters later, Matt Mervis smoked an RBI triple, tying the game at five. Maximo Acosta walked and stole second. With runners at second and third, Jacob Berry cracked a sacrifice fly, making it 6-5. With Acosta at third, Rob Brantly (1) smashed a two-run home run, extending the Jumbo Shrimp’s lead against Durham (61-39, 16-9), 8-5.
Leading by three in the sixth inning, Johnston (12) joined the home run party with a two-out solo blast, extending Jacksonville’s lead to four.
The Bulls answered in the bottom of the sixth. With one out, Andrew Stevenson (5) clobbered a solo home run, cutting Durham’s deficit to three.
In the ninth, Jacksonville’s bats pummeled the Bulls’ pitching even more. Mervis (11) greeted Durham’s new pitcher with a solo blast. Acosta (8) followed with home run of his own, going back-to-back. The Jumbo Shrimp then went back-to-back-to-back when Berry (8) smashed a solo home run, making it 12-6. The seven home runs hit by Jacksonville were the most in a game since June 4, 2010.
The Shrimp wasted no time in the series finale. Jakob Marsee (14) demolished a leadoff home run in the first, making it 1-0.
Durham responded in the bottom of the first. With one out, Curtis Mead singled. With a runner at first, Bob Seymour (26) mashed a two-run blast, giving the Bulls a 2-1 lead.
Trailing by a run in the second, Berry and Brantly laced back-to-back one-out singles. With runners at first and second, Brian Navarreto (4) walloped a three-run home run, putting the Jumbo Shrimp ahead, 4-2.
The Bulls battled back in the second. Stevenson singled and two batters later, Ben Rortvedt walked. Following the walk, Tristan Peters (11) launched a three-run jack, giving Durham a one-run lead, 5-4.
Following a day off, Jacksonville returns to VyStar Ballpark for a matchup with the Columbus Clippers. First pitch on Tuesday is slated for 7:05 p.m. Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. on Bally Live, MLB.tv, MiLB.tv, ESPN 690, and ESPN690.com.
International League Championship Series: The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp clinched the first half of the 2025 season with a 47-28 record and will host the International League Championship series at VyStar Ballpark from September 23-24, 25(If necessary).Playoff packages are already on sale and can be found [*HERE**](https://mlb.tickets.com/?agency=MILB_MPV&orgid=56689&packageId=60451&packageListId=60447#/event/PKG/seatmap/?selectBuyers=false&minPrice=55&maxPrice=65&quantity=1&sort=price_desc&ada=false&seatSelection=true&onlyCoupon=true&onlyVoucher=false).
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.