Jacksonville squeaks out one-run win over Syracuse

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – JJ Bleday (20) blasted a two-run home run in a 10-batter first inning as the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp squeaked out an 8-7 win over the Syracuse Mets Saturday night at NBT Bank Stadium.

Jacksonville (48-41) saw 10 batters come to the plate in the first inning as they jumped out to an early lead, knocking Syracuse (39-50) starter Connor Grey (L, 4-4) out of the game. Brian Miller led off with a triple and scored on a single from Peyton Burdick to put Jacksonville ahead 1-0. Lewin Díaz followed with a double, scoring Burdick to push the lead to 2-0. A groundout allowed Díaz to move to third and Bleday blasted a two-run home run to double the Jacksonville lead to 4-0. Charles Leblancfollowed with a double and advanced to third on a single from Luis Aviles Jr. With runners at the corners, Erik González smacked the fourth consecutive hit that scored Leblanc as the Jumbo Shrimp took a 5-0 lead.

Syracuse used the second inning to start the climb back. With one out, Gosuke Katoh singled and went to second on a two-out single from Marrero. Johneshwy Fargas reached on an error to load the bases. Nick Plummer and Travis Blankenhorn worked back-to-back walks with the bases loaded to score two runs and cut the deficit to 5-2.

The Mets got one more run in the bottom of the third. Khalil Lee walked and Nick Dini singled to put runners on first and second. Following a strikeout, Kramer Robertson singled to load the bases and Deven Marrero tallied an RBI on a groundout to make the score 5-3.

Jacksonville started heating back up in the fourth inning. Santiago Chavez led off with a single and advanced to third two outs later. A wild pitch allowed Chavez to score from third, giving the Jumbo Shrimp a three-run cushion 6-3.

Two more runs crossed the plate for Jacksonville in the fifth inning. Encarnacion and Bleday swatted back-to-back singles. After a strikeout, Aviles Jr. knocked a two-run single, giving the Jumbo Shrimp an 8-3 lead.

Syracuse struck some late magic in the seventh inning. With two outs, Dini reached on an error while Katoh and Robertson both walked to load the bases. Marrero tallied a two-run single to close the gap, 8-5.

Syracuse entered the ninth inning trailing three but made things interesting. Lee(8) started the inning with a solo home run off Jacksonville reliever *Tommy Nance *(S, 1). Dini walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Two batters later, he scored on a groundout from Robertson to make it an 8-7 game. Nance was able to strike out Marrero to secure the Jumbo Shrimp win.

Syracuse will hand the ball to LHP Thomas Szapucki (2-6, 3.60) for Sunday’s 1:05 p.m. contest. Coverage begins at 12:50 p.m. ET on ESPN 690 and espn690.com.

ABOUT THE JUMBO SHRIMP: The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp offer affordable family fun at 121 Financial Ballpark. Their inaugural season garnered the Southern League’s Don Mincher Organization of the Year, Promotional Trophy and Jimmy Bragan Executive of the Year, won by general manager Harold Craw. The club added its second Promotional Trophy in three years following the 2019 season. The 2021 season marked the return of Triple-A baseball in Jacksonville. To experience the excitement with the terrific value of ticket and group options, call the Jumbo Shrimp at (904) 358-2846 or visit www.jaxshrimp.com.