JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A pair of sixth inning home runs vaulted the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp to a 4-3 win over the Nashville Sounds Sunday afternoon at VyStar Ballpark to secure a series split in the season’s penultimate homestand.
Facing a 3-1 deficit against Sounds (71-60, 28-28) starter Colton Gordon (L, 1-7), Brendan Jones began the sixth with a base hit and came around on the fourth home run hit this week by Matthew Etzel (17) to tie the game at three. Three batters later, Graham Pauley (7) blasted a solo homer to right to put the Jumbo Shrimp (66-64, 24-32) on top for good.
Stephen Jones (SV, 7) locked down the win in the ninth for Jacksonville, but it was not without adversity. Jones allowed a one-out walk to Jacob Hurtubise, who reached third on a single from Daniel Guilarte, who then stole second to set up a second and third situation. The game ended when Eduardo Garcia lined out to left fielder Jonathon Long, who threw out Guilarte tagging from second to third before Hurtubise could score the tying run.
Nashville opened the scoring in the top of the first in a rather unorthodox manner. A double from Tyler Black and an infield single from Ethan Murray set up a first and third situation. Brock Wilken flied out to deep left field, where Long made a leaping catch and started a relay back to first base to double off Murray, while Black scored on the play to give the Sounds a 1-0 lead.
The Sounds tacked on another in the second when Hurtubise walked and stole second while an errant pickoff throw allowed him to circle the bases and put Nashville up 2-0.
Garrett Forrester (2) cut the deficit to 2-1 with a solo home run with one out in the third.
Nashville got that run right back in the fourth on a solo shot from Jeferson Quero (15) to push the Sounds’ advantage to 3-1.
The Jumbo Shrimp begin their penultimate road trip of the season Tuesday against the Norfolk Tides. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. and coverage begins at 6:20 p.m. on ESPN 690 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 2025 International League and Triple-A National Champions, the Jumbo Shrimp call 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.