Shrimp Bites: Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp at Norfolk Tides series preview, May 31-June 5
The Jumbo Shrimp will travel to the Norfolk Tides for six games from Tuesday, May 31 through Sunday, June 5. Here's what to know about the series:
Who: Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp vs. Norfolk Tides.
When: Tuesday through Sunday:
T: 6:35 p.m.
W: 6:35 p.m.
TH: 12:05 p.m.
F: 7:05 p.m.
SA: 6:35 p.m.
SU: 1:05 p.m.
Where: Harbor Park Stadium, Norfolk, Va.
Series recap: After dropping consecutive series to Nashville and Durham, the Jumbo Shrimp stopped that skid with a split against the struggling Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. Jacksonville still has considerable ground to make up on International League East leader Rochester, though, as the Jumbo Shrimp road trip continues on to Norfolk.
Highlight: Freshly back from the injured list, Brian Miller made an impact in Saturday's 3-0 victory over the RailRiders. The speedy outfielder cracked a three-run double in the sixth, scoring Lewin Diaz, Lorenzo Quintana and Peyton Burdick for the game's only runs.
Crustacean sensation: In two weeks since his promotion to the Jumbo Shrimp from Double-A Pensacola, Jerar Encarnacion has already shown he packs a punch at the Triple-A level. Through his first 11 games, he has a batting average of .273, an OPS of .849 and three home runs, one in the series opener against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre). If he improves his contact — he's averaging more than a strikeout per game in Jacksonville so far — the 24-year-old, ranked by MLB.com as the Marlins' No. 22 prospect, could be in line for a National League call-up at some point.
On deck: The Tides, affiliated with the American League East's Baltimore Orioles, rank in the bottom half of the Triple-A standings with a particularly poor record (9-20) against opponents over .500. Norfolk fields the Orioles' top two pitching prospects in left-hander D.L. Hall (0-0, 4.61 ERA) and right-hander Grayson Rodriguez (5-1, 2.32 ERA), both former first-rounders. There are also players with Northeast Florida ties in former Bolles School outfielder DJ Stewart as well as pitcher Mike Baumann from Jacksonville University. One player the Jumbo Shrimp won't be facing is Adley Rutschman, the top-ranked prospect in the minors but called up to the big league club just over a week ago.
Probable pitchers Tuesday: To be determined.
Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp-Norfolk Tides series preview, May 31
