THE FLYING TIGERS ... Audy Ciriaco went 3-for-4 and belted a two-run homer in the top of the fifth inning to break a 1-1 tie and lift Lakeland to a 3-1 win at Brevard County in the series finale on Monday. After Andrew Hess held the Manatees to one run on three hits in four innings, Lester Oliveros and Brett Jacobson combined to hold Clearwater to just a pair of hits over the final five innings to secure the win. Lakeland is now 19-23 in the second half and 48-59 overrall. The Flying Tigers are 10th with a .246 average and ninth with a 3.84 staff ERA.
CLEARWATER ... The Threshers downed Tampa, 7-2, last night behind a complete game four-hitter by Drew Naylor. It is Naylor’s third complete game of the season, a total which leads the league. The victory was just the third in the last nine games for Clearwater and improved their second half mark to 21-20 and pulls them to within 9.0 games of division-leading Tampa. Overall, the Threshers are 53-54 on the year. The team ranks seventh with a .251 batting average and 10th with a 3.85 team ERA.
THE SERIES .. These two clubs have faced each other nine times this season with the Threshers winning six of those games. The Flying Tigers played a little home-run derby in the game on July 5 as Chris Carlson, Devin Thomas, Michael Bertram and Audy Ciriaco all homered in a losing cause in the 10-6 Clearwater win. The next night the long-ball continued as Bertram clubbed Lakeland’s third grand slam of the season while Carlson added his second round-tripper of the series. Lakeland has batted .283 in the series with Clearwater batting .280 in the nine games. The Flying Tiger pitching staff has a 4.86 ERA against the Threshers while forcing the Clearwater staff into a 5.09 ERA.
ONE-GAME HOMESTAND ... Tonight is the first of four one-game homestands in August for the Flying Tigers as they concentrate on near-by Northern Division opponents. Games two and three against the Threshers will be played in Clearwater on Aug. 12 and 13, respectively. Lakeland is also at home for a single game on Aug. 19 against Clearwater once again and Aug. 21 and 23 against Tampa.
THRESHER REHABBER ... J.C. Romero is on a major league rehab assignment for Philadelphia trying to recuperate from a strained left forearm that has had him on the disabled list since July 20. Romero missed the first 50 games of the season serving a suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s policy against performance-enhancing substances.
BIGGEST COMEBACK OF THE SEASON ... Lakeland has not had much luck when falling behind its opponents but proved otherwise on Saturday in the opening game of the Brevard County series. With Mark Sorenson struggling in his second outing as a Flying Tiger, the Manatees raced to a 4-0 lead after just three frames. Lakeland came back with a pair of runs on a RBI-double by Justin Henry and a run-scoring single by Max Leon. After Brevard County answered with a solo run in the sixth, Lakeland erupted for a six-run seventh inning as Audy Ciriaco, Leon, Devin Thomas, and Adrian Casanova each singled to drive in runs. The Flying Tigers also took advantage of a Manatee error, two walks and a hit batsman to record their biggest comeback win of the year.
LETHAL LINDER ... Chad Linder tossed two innings of relief at Brevard County in the opening game of the series on Saturday and recorded strikeouts for each of his six outs.
MANATEE PAYBACK ... On May 16, Audy Ciriaco hit a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift Lakeland to a 10-6 win over Brevard County. On Sunday, Aug. 9, Steffan Wilson returned the favor, hitting a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the 10th to lift the Manatees to a 6-2 victory over Lakeland.
A FIRST FOR COLEMAN ... Lakeland pitching coach Joe Coleman was ejected in the sixth inning of Sunday’s game at Brevard County by home plate umpire Jordan Ferrell. It was the first time Coleman had been ejected in his career at Lakeland.
FSL RANKINGS ... Chris Carlson remains in a three-way tie for second place with 13 home runs as none of the league leaders have gone deep in some time. Ft. Myers’ Chris Palmelee remains stuck in the lead with 14 dingers ... L.J. Gagnier is fifth with 104 strikeouts and trails the league leader David Bromberg of Ft. Myers by nine strikeouts.
14 AND COUNTING ... Including tonight’s contest, Lakeland has just 14 home games left, including just eight left in August. The Flying Tigers close out the 2009 season with a six-game homestand in September.
SCHEDULE CHANGE FOR AUG. 12 GAME AT CLEARWATER ... The Flying Tigers will continue a suspended game on Aug. 12 at Clearwater at 5 p.m. Lakeland was leading the game 1-0 in the fourth inning back on July 7 before rains forced the suspension. The game will pick up at that point and played out to a scheduled nine innings with a seven-inning contest to follow.
LOVE AND THEFT ... The country band Love and Theft will be featured in a post-game concert following Lakeland’s game at Clearwater on Thursday night.
JACOBSON-SATIONAL ... Brett Jacobson has five saves in his last six outings and has not allowed a run in 7.1 innings over those six games.
FLYING HIGH ... Max Leon has had hits in each of his last four games and is 5x13 (.385) during the streak ... Audy Ciriaco is 11x29 (.379) with five RBI over the last seven games ... Justin Henry is 7x19 (.368) over the last five games ... Joe Tucker is 14x45 (.311) since July 28 ... Adrian Casanova is 5x18 (.277) with five runs batted in over his last five games ... Devin Thomas is on a six-game hit streak in which he is 7x26 (.269).
GROUNDED ... Jordan Newton had lifted his average to .274 on Aug. 7 but has gone 0x9 his last three games ... Jeramy Laster is 1x24 (.042) with 12 strikeouts his last nine games ... Luis Grullon is still looking for his first hit as a Flying Tiger having gone 0x16 in his first eight games in a Lakeland uniform.
THE COMMANDER … Andy Barkett is in his second season with Lakeland with a 115-129 record (67-70 in year one). In his rookie season as manager, he led Oneonta to a 44-32 record in the New York-Penn League in 2007.
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