MEMPHIS – Matthew Etzel’s grand slam in a six-run Jacksonville ninth inning Wednesday iced a wire-to-wire 9-1 Jumbo Shrimp triumph over the Memphis Redbirds at AutoZone Park.
Jacksonville (22-19) grabbed the lead in their first at-bats and never relinquished it. Jacob Berry doubled against Memphis (25-16) starter Brycen Mautz (0-2) with one out. Graham Pauley then blasted a two-run home run for the game’s first runs.
The Redbirds responded in the second. Ramon Mendoza doubled with one out before moving to third on a ground out. Matt Koperniak’s singled brought him in to halve the lead.
The score remained deadlocked at 2-1 until the eighth inning. With one out, three consecutive singles by Berry, Pauley and Kemp Alderman brought in a Jacksonville run.
The Jumbo Shrimp blew it open in the ninth. Johnny Olmstead singled and stole second with one out before scoring on a Deyvison De Los Santos single. Berry then singled to put runners on the corners. Pauley’s fourth hit of the game was an RBI single to make it 5-1. After Alderman was hit by a pitch, Etzel drilled a grand slam to widen the gap to 9-1.
After Zach McCambley worked 2.2 innings of one-run ball in a spot start, the Jumbo Shrimp bullpen fired 6.1 shutout innings. Cade Gibson (3-0) earned the win with five strikeouts in 2.1 innings.
Jacksonville and Memphis meet in Thursday’s 12:05 p.m. ET matinee. LHP Thomas White (0-1, 3.07 ERA) starts for the Jumbo Shrimp against Redbirds RHP Hunter Dobbins (3-0, 4.23 ERA). Coverage begins at 11:50 a.m. ET on ESPN 690 AM and www.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.