Fulton dominates, Alderman homer lifts Jacksonville past Charlotte 3-0

Dax Fulton did more than protect a lead. He gave Jacksonville the kind of six-inning, starter-like outing that can change how a front office thinks about a young arm, and he did it with a career-high-tying 10 strikeouts in a 3-0 shutout of Charlotte at VyStar Ballpark.

For a 24-year-old left-hander drafted by Miami in the second round in 2020, the line mattered beyond the zeros. Fulton never let the Knights build momentum, and Charlotte finished with only six hits in the game. That combination, bat-missing stuff and limited damage, is the sort of efficient work that can keep a pitcher in the conversation for a later-season look if the Marlins need more starting depth.

Jacksonville did all of its scoring in the sixth, and the inning was built around two outs and quick damage. Joe Mack started the rally with a single, Kemp Alderman then turned on a pitch from Charlotte right-hander Chase Plywell for a two-run homer to the opposite field, and Nathan Martorella followed with another sixth-inning blast to push the lead to 3-0. Alderman’s homer was his second of the season, and Martorella’s was his second as well.

That was enough because Jacksonville’s bullpen finished the job cleanly. Zack Brzykcy, Josh White and Josh Ekness covered the final three scoreless innings, preserving a win that looked routine on the scoreboard but carried more weight in the larger picture. The Jumbo Shrimp entered at 8-8 and the Knights at 7-9, and the opener of the series showed why Jacksonville still plays with the confidence of a defending champion. The club won the 2025 International League title and the Triple-A National Championship, and last September’s league crown came in front of 4,540 fans at VyStar Ballpark, the franchise’s first since 1968.

Tuesday afternoon drew 5,438 to the ballpark, and the atmosphere matched a homestand that also included Jackie Robinson Day and a Wear it Home Wednesday promotion. The next game in the set was scheduled for Wednesday with Patrick Monteverde facing Duncan Davitt, but Jacksonville had already made the first statement: when Fulton is commanding the strike zone and the lineup gets one clean opening, the Shrimp can turn a compact inning into a full game of separation.