JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Following Thursday night’s fifth inning suspension, the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp finished off a 4-2 victory before capping the night with a 7-2 win to secure a de facto doubleheader sweep over the Syracuse Mets Friday night at VyStar Ballpark in front of 5,811 fans.
In last night’s suspended contest, the Mets opened the scoring in the top of the first inning with a Nick Morabito (12) leadoff solo home run.
Jacksonville took a 2-1 lead and knocked out Syrcause starter Jonathan Santucci in the bottom of the first. Brendan Jones singled and Jonathon Long walked to bring up Deyvison De Los Santos, who singled to score Jones. A Kemp Alderman walk loaded the bases, and Johnny Olmstead’s patience earned him a walk to plate the go-ahead run.
Syracuse tied the game at two in the top of the third when Jose Ramos reached on a fielding error and advanced to third on successive passed balls. He scored on a groundout from Morabito.
Jones engineered a Jumbo Shrimp run in the home fourth against Mets reliever Brian Metoyer (L, 1-1) by stroking a ground-rule double, stealing third and scoring on a wild pitch to hand Jacksonville a 3-2 advantage.
The inclement weather arrived in the top of the fifth inning with Dax Fulton (W, 3-5) on the mound for Jacksonville and the tying run on third for Syracuse with one out. The game was suspended following a 41-minute delay. When play resumed Friday afternoon, left-hander Justin King took over on the mound and retired the side thanks to a caught stealing and a fly out.
King tossed a 1-2-3 sixth inning before giving way to Amos Willingham, who blanked the Mets over two frames, and Stephen Jones (SV, 4) locked down the save in the ninth.
The Jumbo Shrimp added on in the seventh thanks to a one-out walk from Alderman, who stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error. Olmstead brought him in with a single to set the final margin at 4-2.
Bradley Blalock (W, 3-8) authored six shutout innings with six strikeouts to win his second consecutive start in the seven-inning nightcap.
He received plenty of run support, beginning in the second inning against Mets starter Zack Peek (L, 0-1) when De Los Santos and Olmstead singled to bring up Jared Serna (10), who crushed a three-run bomb to put Jacksonville up 3-0.
The Jumbo Shrimp took advantage of multiple Syrcause defensive miscues to add to their lead in fifth. Garret Forrester led off with a hit by pitch, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pickoff throw. Jones walked, setting up an RBI single from Long to plate Forrester. Jones got to third on a wild pitch and scored shortly thereafter when another pitch sailed to the backstop. Syrcause catcher Shawn Ross corralled the ball and tossed errantly toward home plate, allowing Jones to trot in and open up a 5-0 lead.
Jacksonville padded the ledger with a two-run sixth. Olmstead doubled to begin the frame, advanced to third on a groundout and scored on a Serna sac fly. Forrester then doubled and scored on a Jones single to make it 7-0.
Syrcause would not go down quietly against the Jacksonville bullpen. Three straight walks and a Ross hit-by-pitch scored MJ Melendez from third. Eric Wagaman came in on a sac fly from Morabito to set the final line at 7-2.
The series continues Saturday at 6:35 p.m. with Jacksonville right-hander Karson Milbrandt (0-5, 7.96) scheduled to start on the mound opposite Syracuse righty and former Jumbo Shrimp **Xzavion Curry (**2-0, 4.56).
Coverage begins at 6:20 p.m. on Bally Live, MLB.tv, MiLB.tv, ESPN 690 and espn690.com.
Gates open at 5:00 and fans can enjoy Saturday Night Fireworks, presented by David Gray Home Services and 103.3 Planet Radio as well as a Safari Hat Giveaway for the first 2,000 fans also presented by David Gray Home Services and 103.3 Planet Radio: (1 giveaway per person, NOT per ticket. Giveaways only available when entering at the Main Gate on Georgia St.) On JUNGLE Night at VyStar Ballpark, fans can experience the wild side with the Jumbo Shrimp as they turn the ballpark into a whole jungle experience!
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.