Suns take advantage of rough night for Shuckers, 4-1

BILOXI – Tuesday night's game is one the Shuckers would like to soon forget.

The Jacksonville Suns took advantage of four errors and eight walks issued by Biloxi pitchers in a 4-1 victory at MGM Park before a crowd of 1,865.

The win evened the five-game series at 1-1 after Biloxi won the opener 5-1 on Monday night.

Biloxi had been playing clean ball of late, but that proved to not be the case Tuesday.

“It's just one of those days that the defense let us down,” Shuckers manager Mike Guerrero said. “That hasn't been happening much. We'll come back and get it tomorrow.”

The Shuckers dropped to 5-7 in the second half in the Southern League South, one game behind first-place Mobile. The Suns also stand at 5-7.

Shuckers starting pitcher Taylor Jungmann is trying to work his way back to the big leagues after a successful stint with the Milwaukee Brewers last season, but his control issues came to light again Tuesday.

The right-hander struggled badly to find the plate early in the game, walking six in the first three innings. He managed to settle down in the fourth and fifth, limiting Jacksonville to a pair of runs (one earned) on three hits.

Jungmann (0-1) walked six and struck out four in five innings. He threw 85 pitches, 41 strikes.

“He's got to get his feel back out there,” Guerrero said. “It's his second outing after a break. He's just on his way back. We're trying to build him up because he's got to get a feel back for the strike zone where he wants to throw the fastball, breaking ball and in any count, pitching in and out. Once he finds his release point, he's going to be fine.”

Garrett Cooper's 12-game hitting streak came to a close along with his run of reaching base in 25 consecutive contests, a Biloxi club record.

Shuckers catcher Jacob Nottingham committed a pair of throwing errors. Second baseman Javier Betancourt and third baseman Gabriel Noriega both added errors of their own.

Betancourt had a nice night at the plate as he continues to work his way back from his mid-season struggles. He finished 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles, knocking in the lone run of the game for the Shuckers in the third inning.

“I've been working so hard,” Betancourt said. “It's just kind of paying off right now. I feel pretty happy that I can see the ball. I'm making good contact right now, but I'm still working.”

Tyrone Taylor continued his hot hitting for Biloxi, going 2-for-4 to push his hitting streak to six games.

Of the four men who scored for Jacksonville Tuesday night, three reached base on walks and the fourth got on base in the fifth on a throwing error by Noriega.

Jacksonville received a nice start from Patrick Johnson, who allowed one run on four hits in six innings. He struck out six and walked none to improve to 4-4.

Center fielder Yefri Perez was the lone Sun with multiple hits, going 2-for-5 with a run scored.

The Shuckers will host the Suns at 7:10 p.m. on Wednesday in game three of the series. Left-hander Wei-Chung Wang, who has been Biloxi's most consistent starter with a 3-3 mark and 3.75 ERA, will start the game. The Suns will go with left-hander Eric Jokish (0-0, 0.00).

This story was originally published July 5, 2016 at 10:18 PM with the headline "Suns take advantage of rough night for Shuckers, 4-1."