MEMPHIS – Matthew Etzel tied Thursday’s matinee at AutoZone Park with a two-run home run and Graham Pauley hit what turned out to be the game-winning two-run long ball in the 10th to vault the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp to a 7-6 win over the Memphis Redbirds.
Memphis (25-17) led 5-1 when Jacob Berry and Agustín Ramírez singled to lead off the eighth inning. After a strikeout, the pair executed a double steal. Berry scored on Kemp Alderman’s ground out to first. A wild pitch then brought home Ramírez to halve the deficit at 5-3.
In the ninth, Jared Serna reached on a one-out error. Etzel followed by bashing a game-tying home run.
After Tyler Zuber (2-0) tossed a scoreless ninth, with the zombie runner on second, Graham Pauley led off the 10th with a two-run shot to give Jacksonville (23-19) a 7-5 advantage.
In the bottom of the 10th, zombie runner Colton Ledbetter advanced to third on a ground out before scoring on Bryan Torres’ sacrifice fly. William Kempner then struck out Joshua Báez to earn his fourth save and finish off the Jumbo Shrimp’s fifth consecutive win.
Etzel and Berry led off the game with singles before a double play ground ball. Etzel was able to score, though, on a wild pitch for the game’s first run.
Leo Bernal answered for the Redbirds with a solo homer to tie the game in the second.
A two-out Torres single jumpstarted Memphis in the third. Báez then crushed a long two-run bomb to put the Redbirds ahead at 3-1.
Bernal began the fourth with a double. After a strikeout, Bligh Madris walked before the runners each advanced on a wild pitch. Bernal scored on a Ramon Mendoza RBI ground out to put Memphis in front by three.
Nelson Velásquez’s solo shot in the sixth gave the Redbirds a 5-1 advantage – setting up the second four-run come-from-behind victory for the Jumbo Shrimp this week.
Jacksonville vies for a series win in Friday’s 8:05 p.m. ET first pitch. RHP Bradley Blalock (1-3, 4.42 ERA) starts for the Jumbo Shrimp against Redbirds LHP Pete Hansen (0-1, 5.28 ERA). Coverage begins at 7:50 p.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.