Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp: Game Notes, April 19 vs. Birmingham
April 19, 2019 - Southern League (SL1)
Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp News Release
The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp host the Birmingham Barons in Friday's 7:05 p.m. series finale from the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. On a Red Shirt Friday, fans are encouraged to wear red to support the military and save $1 per ticket at the box office, or donate that $1 to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. Friday Night Lites spiced up by Tijuana Flats presented by Miller Lite and Coors Light means from 6-7:30 p.m., fans are welcome to enjoy specials for $1 12 oz. Miller Lite and Coors Light drafts, as well as $1 off all craft beer at the Craft Cave near the third-base gate. Initech is presenting I celebrate the guy's entire catalog..., and the Jumbo Shrimp are hosting a Good Friday Seafood Fry. This $35 all-you-can-eat pregame buffet ticket includes a reserved seat by visiting www.tinyurl.com/GoodFryday (Password: Good Fryday). The night will be capped with NAPA AutoCare Family Fireworks.
BIG INNINGS PLAGUE SHRIMP IN 7-3 DEFEAT
Magneuris Sierra extended his hitting streak to 12 games, but the Birmingham Barons pushed past the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 7-3 on Thursday from the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. Birmingham's Blake Rutherford gave the Barons the early lead by bashing a three-run home run in the second inning. A two-run double by Brian Miller in the third put Jacksonville on the board. Later in the frame, Miller scored on an error to tie the tally at three. However, in the fourth, Mitch Roman laced a two-run single to put Birmingham back in front at 5-3. Gavin Sheets collected a two-run of his own in the fifth inning to extend the Barons advantage to 7-3.
NO STEALS FOR YOU
Jumbo Shrimp catchers Santiago Chavez and Rodrigo Vigil nabbed both attempted base stealers against them on Thursday versus Birmingham. The former has now caught eight attemped base stealers, the most of any catcher in Double-A. As a team, Jacksonville has gunned down 11 potential base stealers in 21 tries, a 52.3 percent caught stealing rate that ranks in a tie for fifth in Double-A.
12 ANGRY MEN
Jacksonville outfielder Magneuris Sierra went 3-for-5 on Thursday, continuing a hot start to the season. The San Cristobal, Dominican Republic native is currently riding a 12-game hitting streak in which he is batting 18-for-49 (.367/.426/.449) with four doubles, two RBIs, four walks and one hit-by-pitch. Sierra is tied for the Southern League in hits (18) while ranking third in average (.346) and tied for fourth in doubles (four).
LIGHT OF THE SEVEN
Jacksonville's seven-man bullpen saw their scoreless innings streak end at 21 on Wednesday, but three relievers combined for 4.2 shutout frames on Thursday. The Jumbo Shrimp relief corps has put together two separate streaks of at least 20 consecutive scoreless frames (20 from April 4-8, 21 from April 11-17). Jacksonville relievers have worked 62.0 of the club's 123.0 innings on the campaign (50.4 percent). The club's bullpen has yielded just seven runs, six earned, on 30 hits (4.4 H/9) for a 0.87 ERA, striking out 69 (10.0 K/9) against 21 walks (3.0 BB/9).
SLOW COOKER
While Jacksonville's bullpen has been extraordinary in the early going of the season, the club's starting pitcher has had some ups and downs thus far. Jumbo Shrimp starters are averaging just 4.1 innings per start, going 2-9 with a 4.72 ERA. Over 61.0 innings, Jacksonville lid-lifters have walked 31 (4.6 BB/9) while giving up 10 home runs (1.5 HR/9). Only Springfield (St. Louis Cardinals) and Tulsa (Los Angeles Dodgers) have seen their starters surrender more long balls at the Double-A level.
PANIC AT THE DISCO
Jacksonville went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position on Thursday, stranding a total of eight men. Through 14 games on the season, the Jumbo Shrimp are just 17-for-120 (.142/.246/.186) 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. The 2019 Jumbo Shrimp's overall batting line is .212/.278/.277, which, while not great, is an improvement over the club's numbers with runners in scoring position.
TOUGH TIMES DON'T LAST, TOUGH TEAMS DO
Jacksonville started the season 3-2, but the Jumbo Shrimp have now lost seven of their last nine games heading into play on Friday. In the process, Jacksonville has fallen in consecutive sets. Since this nine-game stretch began on April 10, the Jumbo Shrimp have scored just 17 runs (1.9 per game), the third-fewest in Double-A, masking fairly strong pitching and defense that has yielded 31 tallies (3.4 per game, T-10th in Double-A). Jacksonville also ranks 24th in average (.217), 27th in on-base percentage (.280) and 24th in slugging percentage (.285) during this run.
SHRIMP SCOPES
Jacksonville has turned 73.4 percent of balls put in play into outs this season. For perspective, the Oakland Athletics' 73.0 mark led Major League Baseball in 2018... Jumbo Shrimp reliever Parker Bugg has now pitched 9.0 hitless innings over five appearances. The former LSU Tiger has struck out 11 against one walk during that span... Outfielder Corey Bird's four stolen bases rank in a tie for second in the Southern League.
Southern League Stories from April 19, 2019
- Blue Wahoos Split Doubleheader in Biloxi - Pensacola Blue Wahoos
- Generals, Tennessee Halt Play Due to Weather - Jackson Generals
- Lien Homers Twice, But M-Braves Drop Series Finale - Mississippi Braves
- Five-Run Barons Sixth Dooms Jacksonville - Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp
- Lookouts Prevent Sweep with 8-4 Win - Chattanooga Lookouts
- Barons Wins Fourth Straight Behind Big Sixth Inning - Birmingham Barons
- Smokies and Generals Suspended, 2-1 in the Third Inning - Knoxville Smokies
- Thomas Jankins Promoted, Justin Topa Joins Shuckers - Biloxi Shuckers
- Generals Gameday: April 19 at Tennessee - Jackson Generals
- Buzzbox Premium Cocktails, Biloxi Shuckers Announce Partnership - Biloxi Shuckers
- Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp: Game Notes, April 19 vs. Birmingham - Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp
- Chavez to Injured List, Lopez to Jacksonville - Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp
- Homestand Highlights: April 20-24 vs. Montgomery Biscuits - Mississippi Braves
- Three in a Row: Generals Shred Smokies Bullpen, Claim Series Victory - Jackson Generals
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