It’s back to the road for the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, who travel to the Memphis Redbirds for a six-game series in International League Baseball. Here’s a look ahead to this week’s action.
Who: Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp at Memphis Redbirds.
When: May 12-17.
Where: AutoZone Park, Memphis, Tenn.
Series recap: Two weekend wins earned the Jumbo Shrimp a split of a six-game home series against the Charlotte Knights. Jacksonville, just above .500 at 20-19, ranks near the top of the 20-team International League in stolen bases (72, third) and pitcher strikeouts (424, first), but struggles in batting average (.225, 19th) and home runs (28, last).
Highlight: Heriberto Hernandez supplied one of the weirdest walk-off moments of the minors this year on May 6, when he cleared the fence with two runners aboard in the bottom of the ninth to beat Charlotte 8-6. Hernandez was called out when umpires ruled he had received physical assistance on the basepaths, but the runners already across the plate secured the win for Jacksonville.
Crustacean sensation: Kemp Alderman is providing the Jumbo Shrimp with some much-needed extra-base pop. The outfielder has two home runs already in May, batting .342 for the month with a .901 OPS.
On deck: The Redbirds, Triple-A affiliates of the St. Louis Cardinals, enter the week as the league leader with a 25-14 record. Memphis also fields two of the top five Cardinal prospects for MLB.com in outfielder Joshua Baez (.229/.308/.450, 7 HR) and catcher Leo Bernal (.243/.331/.374).
Probable pitchers Tuesday: To be announced.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Shrimp Bites: Jumbo Shrimp face Memphis in baseball series
Reporting by Clayton Freeman, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
