SL1 Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp: Game Notes, April 12 at Pensacola

April 12, 2019 - Southern League (SL1)
Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp News Release


The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp play at Pensacola in Friday's 7:35 p.m. ET first pitch against the Blue Wahoos. RHP Jorge Guzman (0-0, 1.80 ERA) starts for the Jumbo Shrimp against Pensacola LHP Devin Smeltzer (1-0, 0.00 ERA). Coverage begins at 7:20 on MiLB.tv, Sunny 102.3 FM, TuneIn and JaxShrimp.com.

JUMBO SHRIMP EDGED 4-3 BY PENSACOLA

Three late runs were not enough Thursday in the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp's 4-3 loss to the Pensacola Blue Wahoos. Pensacola took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI single by Mitchell Kranson. The score remained 1-0 until the sixth, when Jimmy Kerrigan doubled in a pair of runs to extend the Blue Wahoos advantage to 3-0. Jacksonville picked up a pair of tallies in the seventh on an RBI single from Magneuris Sierra and Pensacola error. A Jumbo Shrimp miscue in the bottom of the seventh made it 4-2 in favor of the Blue Wahoos. In the top of the eighth, Joe Dunand's RBI ground out plated Justin Twine, but Jacksonville could not get any closer in a 4-3 defeat.

YOU ALWAYS CALL ME ON THE BULLPEN PHONE

Thursday's contest in Pensacola was the second time in seven games that a Jacksonville starting pitcher managed less than one inning pitched. After Jumbo Shrimp starter Robert Dugger left after two batters with an apparent injury, Jacksonville's bullpen surrendered just two earned runs in eight innings of work. Of the 62.0 innings the Jumbo Shrimp have pitched this season, a staggering 58.6 percent (36.1 frames) have been tossed by Jacksonville relievers. The heavy workload in the early portion of the season has not yet affected the club's results out of the bullpen. Jumbo Shrimp relief pitchers have ceded just six runs, five earned, on 19 hits (4.6 H/9) on the campaign for a 1.24 ERA. They have combined for 38 strikeouts (9.4 K/9) against only nine walks (2.2 BB/9).

DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS

Jacksonville committed three errors on Thursday and the club's seven on the season rank in the bottom half of the Southern League. The Jumbo Shrimp have also played just one miscue-free game on the season, but there is an argument for the Jumbo Shrimp being a strong defensive team. Jacksonville has converted 72.8 percent of batted balls put in play into outs this season. For perspective, the Oakland Athletics' 73.0 mark led Major League Baseball in 2018. The Shrimp's strong early defensive numbers, coupled with the small sample size of one week of play, can partly explain why the club's 3.33 FIP, an ERA estimator based on strikeouts, walks and home runs, is significantly higher than their 2.61 ERA.

A SONG OF FIRE AND ICE

Jacksonville's offense has mustered only 16 runs (2.3 per game) through seven games, ranking near the bottom of the Southern League in batting average (.214, 7th), on-base percentage (.290, 9th), slugging percentage (.282, 7th) and OPS (.572, 8th). The Jumbo Shrimp have been salvaged early on by a red-hot pitching staff that has ceded only 19 runs (2.7 per game). Jacksonville leads the Southern League in WHIP (1.11) while placing second in strikeouts (70) and third in both ERA (2.61) and hits allowed (45).

STRANDED AT THE DRIVE-IN

Jacksonville went just 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position on Thursday, stranding a total of seven men. Through seven games on the season, the Jumbo Shrimp are just 10-for-76 (.132/.230/.171) with ducks on the pond. The good news is that, throughout every single level in the history of baseball, situational hitting numbers normalize with bigger sample sizes as the season goes on. For example, the 2018 Shrimp hit .224/.317/.350 (.667 OPS) with runners in scoring position, almost exactly akin to their overall batting line of .235/.312/.361 (.673 OPS).

THE CHICKS DON'T DIG THIS

The Jumbo Shrimp and Richmond Flying Squirrels (San Francisco Giants) are the only two Double-A clubs yet to hit a home run so far during the 2019 campaign. Even though Jacksonville has not hit a ball to clear the fence thus far, the Jumbo Shrimp have hit their fair share of doubles; Jacksonville's 11 two-baggers are tied for second in the Southern League and rank tied for ninth at the Double-A level.

SHRIMP SCOPES

Magneuris Sierra has hits in five consecutive contests, batting 7-for-22 (.318) with four doubles, one RBI and one walk over that span... Justin Twine collected a triple on Thursday, his fourth straight game with a knock. He is 7-for-15 (.467) during this run... Jumbo Shrimp starting pitchers are averaging just 3.2 innings per start... The Jacksonville offense will face its first left-handed starting pitcher of the season on Friday in Pensacola southpaw Devin Smeltzer. The Jumbo Shrimp have recorded only 23 plate appearances against lefties so far this year.

Check out the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp Statistics



Southern League Stories from April 12, 2019


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central