Stripers Lose Another Nailbiter in Jacksonville, 3-2

The Gwinnett Stripers (10-12) missed several late-game opportunities on Wednesday night, falling 3-2 to the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (17-6) at VyStar Ballpark. The Stripers have lost the first two games of the series to the first-place Jumbo Shrimp by just two runs.

Decisive Plays:  Jacksonville took a 1-0 lead in the first inning against AJ Smith-Shawver on an RBI fielder’s choice from Deivison De Los Santos. Gwinnett responded with a two-run third to go up 2-1 as Eddy Alvarez walked, Carlos Rodriguez singled, and throwing errors by shortstop Maximo Acosta and third baseman Harrison Spohn allowed both to score. The Jumbo Shrimp tied it at 2-2 in the fourth on a two-out RBI single by Andrew Pintar. After the Stripers stranded two in the sixth and three in the seventh, Jacksonville broke through with a two-out RBI single from De Los Santos to take the lead in the seventh.

Key Contributors:  Following Smith-Shawver’s 3.2-inning start, the Stripers got scoreless relief from Michael Petersen (1.1 IP, 1 H, 3 SO), Dylan Dodd (0.1 IP, 1 SO), and Craig Kimbrel (1.0 IP). Rodriguez (2-for-5, steal), Charles Leblanc (2-for-3, double), and Bryan De La Cruz (2-for-4) all had multi-hit efforts. For Jacksonville, Valente Bellozo pitched 6.0 two-run innings and De Los Santos went 1-for-4 with two RBIs.

Noteworthy:  Kimbrel’s scoreless eighth inning was his first outing with Gwinnett since September 6, 2010, a span of 14 years, seven months, and seven days. That surpasses current Stripers teammate Chasen Shreve (10 years, 7 months) for the longest span between outings in Gwinnett’s 16-year history. Eddys Leonard doubled to extend his team-best hitting streak to eight games.

Next Game (Thursday, April 24):  Gwinnett at Jacksonville, 7:05 p.m. at Vystar Ballpark. Radio Broadcast: 6:50 p.m. on MyCountry993.com.