MEMPHIS – Matthew Etzel and Jesús Bastidas each homered on Friday, but the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp’s five-game winning streak came to an end with a 7-5 loss to the Memphis Redbirds at AutoZone Park.
With the score tied at five, Ramon Mendoza and Joshua Báez bashed back-to-back home runs to start the eighth against Jumbo Shrimp (23-20) reliever Luis Palacios (1-1), giving the Redbirds (26-17) a 7-5 advantage.
Ryan Fernandez then worked a perfect ninth to seal the win for Memphis.
Jacksonville got on the board first with a two-out rally in the second. Etzel walked and then Bastidas was hit by a pitch. Ethan O’Donnell and Jared Serna followed with RBI singles for the game’s first runs.
Memphis immediately tied in the bottom of the second. Jimmy Crooks led off with a single and Mendoza walked. A passed ball advanced both runners and a Bligh Madris sacrifice fly brought in Crooks. Mendoza then scored on a wild pitch to tie things at two.
The Redbirds grabbed their first lead in the fourth. Crooks singled and scored on a Mendoza double. Madris smashed a two-run shot to right to widen the gap to 5-2.
The Jumbo Shrimp charged back in the fifth. Graham Pauley walked with one out. Two batters later, Etzel clocked a two-run homer. Bastidas then tied it at five by blasting a back-to-back shot.
Jacksonville will try again for a series win in Saturday’s 7:35 p.m. ET first pitch. RHP Ryan Gusto (4-2, 5.16 ERA) starts for the Jumbo Shrimp against Redbirds LHP Quinn Mathews (01-3, 5.54 ERA). Coverage begins at 7:20 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.