Jacksonville bullpen falters in 10th, Memphis rallies for 8-3 win
Blalock’s six sharp innings gave Jacksonville a chance, but Memphis scored five times in the 10th to win 8-3.
Bradley Blalock gave Jacksonville six innings of the kind that usually keeps a home club in control, but the Jumbo Shrimp’s bullpen could not hold the line once the game reached the 10th, and Memphis turned a tied night into an 8-3 win at VyStar Ballpark before 3,671 fans.
Blalock struck out eight, allowed three hits and one earned run, and left with Jacksonville ahead 3-1. The Shrimp opened the scoring in the first when Kemp Alderman walked, Deyvison De Los Santos doubled and Agustín Ramírez brought home the first run with a sacrifice fly. Memphis answered in the second, then Jacksonville reclaimed the lead in the sixth on Graham Pauley’s two-run homer, his fifth of the season.
That edge did not last. Memphis tied the game again in the seventh, then needed only one extra frame to break it open. The Redbirds scored five times in the top of the 10th, turning a 3-3 game into an 8-3 lead after the zombie runner was placed at second. The inning included a sacrifice bunt, an intentional walk and run-scoring hits from Nolan Gorman, Leo Bernal and Matt Koperniak.
The damage fell on Jacksonville’s relief group. Sammy Jones was charged with four runs over 1 2/3 innings, and Zach Vinyard let an inherited run score as the game slipped away. By the end, Memphis had its fifth extra-inning win in 12 tries this season and improved to 48-28, while Jacksonville fell to 42-33. Jacksonville went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position and stranded 11. Memphis got three hits apiece from Bernal and Ramon Mendoza, three RBIs from Koperniak and an RBI in Gorman’s first game with the club in 2026.
Jacksonville is the reigning 2025 International League and Triple-A National champion. Brandon White was named International League Pitcher of the Week after a seven-inning, one-hit, 11-strikeout outing against Durham.
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