Pauley homer seals series win for Shrimp 

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Graham Pauley’s three-run home run in the first inning on Sunday led the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp to a 6-5 victory over the Nashville Sounds at VyStar Ballpark.

Nashville (46-33, 2-4) made their first appearance on the board in their first at-bat of the game. Blake Perkins (1) went yard, giving the Sounds a one-run lead.

Jacksonville (51-30, 4-2) answered back and then some in the following frame. Victor Mesa Jr. singled, then advanced to second on a fielder’s choice. Troy Johnston followed with a walk, putting runners on first and second. A batter later, Pauley went deep (4) bringing in three runs and making it 3-1.

The Sounds secured another run in the top of the third. Perkins kicked off the inning with a single and Drew Avans followed with a walk. During a double steal, a throwing error to third allowed Perkins to score, chipping away from Jacksonville’s lead 3-2.

The Shrimp cushioned their lead in the bottom of the fourth. Andrew Pintar walked to start the inning, followed by a double from Joe Mack. In the ensuing at-bat, Maximo Acosta walked to load the bases. After a foul out, Mesa Jr. drove in Pintar on a fielder’s choice, raising their lead 4-2.

Mack led off in the bottom of the sixth with a bomb (5) sent over the Power Alley in right field. Two batters later, Jacob Berry singled and then scored on a double from Mesa Jr., widening the gap to 6-2.

Nashville’s bats narrowed the score to one in the top of the seventh. Freddy Zamora singled and Perkins walked, putting runners on first and second. Andrew Vaughn sent a deep fly (5) to center, pulling Nashville to within 6-5.

Adam Mazur (4-4) earned the win with 4.1 strong innings of relief. Freddy Tarnok sealed Jacksonville’s third consecutive series victory by picking up the final four outs and earning his first save.

After an off day on Monday, Jacksonville travels to Charlotte to begin a three-game road set at the Charlotte Knights in Tuesday’s 7:04 p.m. contest. Coverage begins at 6:49 p.m. on ESPN 690 AM and ESPN690.com.

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.