SL1 Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp Game Notes, April 13 at Pensacola

Published on April 13, 2019 under Southern League (SL1)
Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp News Release


The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp look to halt a three-gmae skid in Saturday's 7:05 p.m. ET contest at the Pensacola Blue Wahoos. RHP Jordan Yamamoto (0-1, 3.60 ERA) starts for the Jumbo Shrimp against Pensacola RHP Griffin Jax (0-0, 0.00 ERA). Coverage begins at 6:50 on MiLB.tv, Sunny 102.3 FM, TuneIn and JaxShrimp.com.

BLUE WAHOOS BLANK JUMBO SHRIMP 2-0

Pensacola southpaw Devin Smeltzer came within two outs of a complete game shutout Friday in leading the Blue Wahoos to a 2-0 victory over the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp. Smeltzer struck out eight and ceded just three hits and one walk in his 8.1 innings. Cody Stashak recorded the final two outs for his first save. Taylor Grzelakowski's RBI ground out in the first inning gave Pensacola an early advantage. In the second, Tanner English notched an RBI single to push the tally to 2-0. Jacksonville starter Jorge Guzman cruised from there, going six innings and surrendering the two runs on four hits with one walk against five strikeouts. Brett Graves fanned four in two scoreless innings of relief.

ZERO GRAVITY

Through just eight games, Jacksonville has already suffered three shutout defeats, continuing an unpleasant trend from the 2018 season. The Jumbo Shrimp had the Southern League's worst record in shutouts in 2018, finishing just 4-16 (.200). The club's 16 blankings were the most in the circuit since Jackson suffered 21 shutouts in 2015 and represent Jacksonville's second-most during the club's Marlins era, which dates back through the start of the 2019 season (20, 2013).

YOU ALWAYS CALL ME ON THE BULLPEN PHONE

Of the 70.0 innings the Jumbo Shrimp have pitched this season, a staggering 54.8 percent (38.1 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 (4.5 H/9) on the campaign for a 1.17 ERA. They have combined for 42 strikeouts (9.9 K/9) against only 10 walks (2.3 BB/9).

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 fourth in the Southern League and rank tied for 13th at the Double-A level.

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 two miscue-free games on the season, but there is an argument for the Jumbo Shrimp being a strong defensive team. Jacksonville has converted 73.0 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 3.18 FIP, an ERA estimator based on strikeouts, walks and home runs, is significantly higher than their actual 2.57 ERA.

A SONG OF FIRE AND ICE

Jacksonville's offense has mustered only 16 runs (2.0 per game) through eight games, tied for the fewest in the Southern League. The club also ranks near the bottom of the circuit in batting average (.202, 8th), on-base percentage (.276, 9th), slugging percentage (.262, 8th) and OPS (.538, 9th). The Jumbo Shrimp have been salvaged early on by a red-hot pitching staff that has ceded only 21 runs (2.6 per game). Jacksonville leads the Southern League in WHIP (1.11) while placing second in strikeouts (79) and ERA (2.57) and tied for third hits allowed (49).

STRANDED AT THE DRIVE-IN

Jacksonville went 0-for-1 with runners in scoring position on Friday, stranding a total of three men. Through eight games on the season, the Jumbo Shrimp are just 10-for-77 (.130/.227/.169) 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).

SHRIMP SCOPES

Magneuris Sierra has hits in six consecutive contests, batting 8-for-24 (.333) with four doubles, one RBI, two walks and one hit by pitch over that span... Jordan Yamamoto struck out nine in 5.0 innings in his first start of the season.

Check out the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp Statistics

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Southern League Stories from April 13, 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.

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