Game 125: Jumbo Shrimp vs Redbirds
Saturday, September 25, 2021–6:35 p.m. ET
Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (73–51, 4–0) vs. Memphis Redbirds (57–67, 0–4)
121 Financial Ballpark — Jacksonville, Fla.
LAST TIME OUT:
Max Meyer dazzled in his Triple-A debut, striking out a career-high ten in five innings and giving up just one run on two hits. Jacksonville trailed however, 2–0, in the seventh inning, when Deven Marrero put the Shrimp on the board with an RBI double down the left field line. Then in the eighth inning, after a leadoff walk to Isan Díaz, Dustin Fowler roped a go-ahead two-run home run to right field to give Jacksonville its first lead of the contest. Andrew Bellatti worked a scoreless ninth inning to pick up his 11th save of the season, securing a win for Bryan Mitchell, who struck out four in 1.2 scoreless innings in relief.
GAME INFO:
The Jumbo Shrimp will close out the 2021 home schedule with the finale of a five game series against the Memphis Redbirds. Jacksonville will be going for their first sweep of the season, and aiming for their first seven-game winning streak of the year. At 72–51 the Jumbo Shrimp are 22 games above .500, their best mark since winning the league title in 2014. Jacksonville has won 15 of their last 20 games.
MEET THE REDBIRDS:
Memphis is the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The Redbirds finished the regular season with a 57–63 record, good for fifth place in the Southeast Division.
The Redbirds are managed by Ben Johnson, who returns for his second season in Memphis. Johnson is actually a native of Memphis and was drafted by the Cardinals in 1999, and additionally is now managing for the first time in affiliated ball. He previously was an assistant coach for the Durham Bulls and was the manager of the Arizona/Goodyear Centennials of the Freedom Pro Baseball League.
Memphis is home to five of the top 10 prospects in St. Louis’s farm system, and 10 of their top 30. Infielder Nolan Gorman is the Cardinals’ top-rated prospect, while left-handed pitcher Matthew Liberatore is second. Justin Williams has homered in back-to-back games for Memphis, and the outfielder also recorded a pair of doubles in a three-hit effort Friday.
PITCHING MATCHUP:
LHP Braxton Garrett (5–3, 3.87 ERA)
Braxton Garrett will make his 17th start tonight for the Jumbo Shrimp. Last time out against Norfolk, Garrett went four innings giving up three runs (one earned) and struck out four. He has given up two earned or fewer in 11 of his 16 outings, including in each of his last five starts. Garrett was a first-round draft pick for the Miami Marlins in 2016 and made his MLB debut last year, starting a total of two games for the Fish. He went 1–1 with a 5.87 ERA. Garrett has four pitches in his arsenal: a fastball, curveball, changeup, and slider.
RHP Jordan Hicks (MLB rehab)
Jordan Hicks will make a MLB rehab start for the Redbirds. The righty has been on the shelf since May, when he began suffering right elbow inflammation. He was moved to the 60-day IL shortly thereafter. Hicks is one of the hardest throwers in the major leagues, and has been clocked as throwing as hard as 105 miles per hour. He made his MLB debut in March 29, 2018, after being drafted by the Cardinals in the third round of 2015 out of Cypress Creek High School, passing on a commitment to Tulane. Hicks made 10 relief outings this season after opting out the 2020 campaign. He features a sinker, slider, changeup, and fastball.
Matthew Liberatore (7–9, 4.33 ERA) is expected to follow Hicks. The lefty is the second ranked prospect in the Cardinals organization. He was origninally drafted by the Rays in the first round of 2018 out of high school, and was traded to St. Louis in a deal that sent Randy Arozarena in 2020. He features a fastball, curveball, slider, and changeup.
LINEUP
- Brian Miller, RF
- Bryson Brigman, SS
- Lorenzo Quintana, 1B
- Dustin Fowler, LF
- Monte Harrison, CF
- Joe Dunand, 3B
- Justin Twine, 2B
- Santiago Chavez, C
- Braxton Garrett, P
NEWS FROM THE TROUPE:
- Fellow Fast Forward Sports group squad, the Akron Rubberducks claimed the Double-A Northeast league championship last night, scoring six unanswered runs in the final two frames on their way to a walk of win over Bowie, to sweep the best-of-five series.
TRIPLE-A SOUTHEAST DIVISION STANDINGS
FISH FAMILY
Here is a look at the Marlins organizational scoreboard.
MLB: Miami Marlins (64–89) vs Tampa Bay Rays (95–59) @ 6:10 p.m. ET
BROADCAST INFORMATION:
Today’s game will be broadcast on the following platforms:
Radio: ESPN 690 AM
Online Stream: MiLB.TV, Facebook.com/ESPN690Jax
Phone/Tablet: ESPN690.com, JaxShrimp.com, MiLB First Pitch App
