JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Syracuse Mets rallied in the eighth inning to defeat the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 4-3 Saturday night at VyStar Ballpark in front of 7,435 fans.
MJ Melendez (14) slugged a solo homer off Jacksonville (59-58, 17-26) reliever Jack Ralston (L, 5-2) with one out in the top of the eighth to give Syracuse (58-60, 20-23) the lead for good.
Syracuse opened the scoring in the top of the first against Jumbo Shrimp starter Karson Milbrandt after Melendez walked and Ronny Mauricio (14) slugged a two-run home run to center field to give the Mets a 2-0 lead.
Johnny Olmstead (8) cut the deficit to 2-1 in the second with a solo homer off Syracuse starter Kevin Herget.
Jacksonville knotted the score at three in the sixth with a two-out rally. Cam Cannarella singled and Deyvison De Los Santos (17) launched a two-run homer to right.
Once Syracuse retook the lead, Chris Devenski (SV, 1) earned his first save with the Mets organization by stranding the potential tying run on second base in the bottom of the ninth.
The series concludes Sunday at 5:05 p.m. with Jacksonville right-hander Jace Beck (1-1, 4.95) scheduled to start on the mound opposite Syracuse righty Jonah Tong **(**3-6, 5.32).
Coverage begins at 4:50 p.m. on Bally Live, MLB.tv, MiLB.tv, ESPN 690 and espn690.com.
Gates open at 4:00 and fans can enjoy Baptist Health Sunday Family FUNday, presented by Baptist Health with pre-game catch on the field for the first 20 minutes after gates have opened and complimentary **pre-game** face painting and balloon animals, along with post-game Kids Round the Bases, presented by Goodwill Industries of North Florida. The Jumbo Shrimp are also hosting Girl Scout Night (More Info) and a Pete the Cat Meet and Greet (MORE INFO).
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.