Stripers Shut Out 2-0 in Road Finale at Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Florida – Cedric De Grandpre allowed just two runs on four hits and struck out eight over 5.0 innings on Saturday night, but the Gwinnett Stripers (36-33, 74-69) were held to only four hits in a 2-0 loss to the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (29-39, 71-71) at VyStar Ballpark. Gwinnett won the series 4-2.

Decisive Plays: As they did Friday night, the Jumbo Shrimp took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a solo home run, this time coming from Jonathon Long (16). De Grandpre (L, 1-3) kept Jacksonville off the board over the next four innings but a solo homer by Matthew Etzel (19) leading off the sixth made it 2-0. Down by that score in the ninth, the Stripers made it interesting as David McCabe doubled with two outs to bring up pinch hitter Rowdy Tellez. Tellez flied out to left field, however, ending the game.

Key Contributors: McCabe had two of Gwinnett’s four hits (2-for-4, double). Following De Grandpre’s outing, relievers Ricky Vanasco and Luis Vargas combined for 3.0 scoreless, hitless frames. For Jacksonville, Patrick Monteverde (W, 5-2) tossed 6.0 scoreless innings (3 H, 1 BB, 5 SO) and Zach Pop (S, 5) worked a scoreless ninth. Long and Etzel each homered.

Noteworthy: The Stripers finish with a 39-35 record in road games this season, the club’s first winning record on the road since 2021 (33-32). Gwinnett starting pitchers own a 1.69 ERA (12 ER in 63.2 IP) and 11.03 SO/9.0 IP ratio (78 strikeouts) over 12 games in September.

Next Game (Tuesday, September 15): Gwinnett Stripers vs. Indianapolis Indians, 6:05 p.m. ET at Gwinnett Field. It’s 5-4-3 Tuesday (presented by Sahlen’s Hot Dogs) and Purr in the Park. Radio Broadcast: 5:50 p.m. on MyCountry993.com. TV Broadcast: Peachtree Sports Network, Palmetto Sports & Entertainment. Live Video Stream: Bally Sports Live.