Stripers Rally in Ninth, Split Series at Jacksonville

Allan Winans held the Jumbo Shrimp to two runs in his first start back with Gwinnett. (Josh Conner)

The Gwinnett Stripers (45-56) scored three times in the ninth inning on Sunday, then withstood a Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (46-55) comeback attempt in the bottom of the ninth to win 4-3 at 121 Financial Ballpark. Gwinnett earned a split of the six-game set with its fourth straight series finale victory.

Decisive Plays: Jacob Amaya homered (11) off Allan Winans to give Jacksonville a 2-0 lead in the third. In the fifth, Yolmer Sanchez tripled and scored on Joe Hudson’s RBI groundout to cut the deficit to 2-1. The game stayed that way until the ninth, when the Stripers loaded the bases on a Dalton Guthrie hit-by-pitch, Braden Shewmake single, and Vaughn Grissom walk. Joe Dunand tied it at 2-2 with a sacrifice fly, Jesus Aguilar gave Gwinnett its first lead with an RBI single, and Sanchez added insurance with a sacrifice fly. In the bottom of the ninth, Grant Holmes (S, 8) yielded a sacrifice fly to Amaya to make it 4-3, but the game ended when Hudson threw out Jake Mangum trying to steal second.

Key Contributors: Seth Elledge (W, 3-1) was one of four pitchers to deliver a scoreless outing for the Stripers in relief of Winans (ND, 3.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO). Sanchez had Gwinnett’s only extra-base hit with the triple. Aguilar went 1-for-4 with the go-ahead RBI. For Jacksonville, Amaya went 2-for-4 with the homer and three RBIs.

Noteworthy: Gwinnett is now 2-41 when trailing after eight innings this season, thanks to the club’s 20th come-from-behind win. The Stripers are also now 8-13 in games decided in the last at-bat. Grissom extended his team-best on-base streak to 25 games with his ninth-inning walk.

Next Game (Tuesday, August 1): Gwinnett vs. Indianapolis, 7:05 p.m. ET at Coolray Field. Broadcast: 6:50 p.m. ET on MyCountry993.com and Bally Live. It’s Family Value Tuesday at Coolray Field, with $2 Hot Dogs and $1 Desserts.