Jacksonville swept by Lehigh Valley in de facto doubleheader

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp were swept in their de facto doubleheader by the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, 8-4 and 5-0 Thursday night at 121 Financial Ballpark.

Wednesday’s suspended contest picked up in the bottom of the fourth with Jacksonville (50-54, 15-14) trailing Lehigh Valley (53-50,19-11), 7-2. The IronPigs tallied their eighth run of the game in the top of the sixth. Scott Kingery (21) blasted a solo home run, his second big fly of the game, extending the lead to 8-2.

The Jumbo Shrimp plated two runs in the bottom of the seventh. Jhonny Pereda (4) swatted a leadoff home run cutting the deficit to five, 8-3. Three batters later, Jonathan Davis singled and scored on an RBI triple from Javier Sanoja to make it a four-run game, 8-4.

Jacksonville and Lehigh Valley traded zeroes throughout game two. The IronPigs broke through in the top of the sixth. Cody Roberts led off with a base hit and went to second on a single from Cal Stevenson. Buddy Kennedy flied out to center and both runners advanced to second and third. Darick Hall was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Rafael Marchan hit a sac fly, scoring Roberts from third to give Lehigh Valley a 1-0 advantage. Stevenson advanced to third on the flyout and scored on a base hit from Kody Clemens extending the lead to 2-0.

The IronPigs added three more runs in the top of the seventh. Símon Muzziotti led off with a walk and stole second. Kingery knocked in Muzziotti with a base hit increasing the lead to 3-0. After Kingery was thrown out trying to steal second, Roberts walked and scored on a double from Stevenson. Kennedy followed with a single, pushing Stevenson to third. A rundown play, coupled with an error allowed Stevenson to score the fifth run of the game for Lehigh Valley.

Despite a brilliant outing from Yonny Chirinos where he struck out a season-high nine batters and took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, the Jumbo Shrimp fell 5-0.

Jacksonville and Lehigh Valley continue their series Friday with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. on Bally Live, MLB.tv, MiLB.tv, ESPN 690 AM and www.ESPN690.com.

Gates open at 6:00 p.m. for Red Shirt Friday where fans who wear red can save $1 at the Miller Electric Box Office or donate that dollar to charity. Join the Jumbo Shrimp for Friday Night Lites, presented by Miller Lite. There will be $2 (12-oz.) Miller Lite and $1 off craft beer in the Craft Cave. Make sure to stick around after the game for post-game fireworks, presented by Union Home Mortgage.

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 121 Financial 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.