THE FLYING TIGERS (11-9, tied for second, 1.0 GB) ... Lakeland enters this series with a two-game win streak following a 4-3 last night in Daytona. Gustavo Nunez had three hits while Rawley Bishop drove in three runs with a single and a home run. Charlie Furbush went 6.0 innings and struck out eight while scattering five hits. Erik Crichton picked up the win in relief while Matt Hoffman worked the ninth to record his first save. Lakeland returns home to Marchant Stadium where the team is 6-2. Brent Wyatt leads the Flying Tigers with a .357 average (third in the FSL) while Bishop is batting .323 on a season. Brayan Villarreal is tied for the league lead with 32 strikeouts while Charlie Furbush is tied for third with 29 punch outs. Lakeland is batting .244 as a team and has a 3.02 team ERA (second in the league).
DUNEDIN (11-9, tied for second, 1.0 GB) ... The Blue Jays are coming off a 7-4 loss to Tampa on Thursday night. The loss is Dunedin’s third in its last five games. Yan Gomes leads the team with a .395 average while Raul Barron is hitting at a .340 average. Daniel Perales is tied for second in the FSL with four homers. Henderson Alvarez is off to an incredible start on the mound with a 3-0 record and a miniscule 0.37 ERA. The Blue Jays are hitting .266 as a team (second in the FSL) with a 3.84 ERA.
LAKELAND PROBABLE PITCHERS:
FRIDAY: Luke Putkonen (1-1, 4.50) ... exited his last start in the second inning due to an injury ... worked his longest outing of 6.1 innings in prior start on April 18 ... struck out six in that game for season high.
SATURDAY: Mark Sorensen (2-1, 2.10) ... gave up season highs of 11 hits and five runs (four earned) in last start on April 25 vs. Tampa ... had no strikeouts after punching out 15 in first three starts ... both wins of season came in home games ... lost start vs. Dunedin last season giving up four earned runs in 5.1 IP.
SUNDAY: Brayan Villarreal (2-2, 2.70) ... tossed Lakeland’s first complete game on April 27 in last start at Daytona ... gave up just three hits, but two were home runs ... has struck out at least six in each start.
THE SERIES ... These two teams enter this series tied for second place in the North Division, just 1.0 game behind Clearwater. Both squads are 6-4 in the last 10 games. Lakeland won the series last season by a 9-8 margin. Kody Kaiser was 8x17 with 10 runs scored and five runs batted while Josh Workman was 7x20 with two doubles in 2009 vs. the Blue Jays.
POWER SURGE ... After hitting just two homers in the first 14 games, Lakeland has homered seven times in the last six games. Rawley Bishop has hit three round-trippers since April 23 while Kody Kaiser has gone yard twice in the same time frame. Andy Bouchie, John Murrian and Bryan Pounds have also homered since the 23rd.
FLYING HIGH ... Rawley Bishop has two hits in each of his last games, and now has eight multi-hit games since April 13. He has also driven in eight runs over the last five games ... Alden Carrithers is 7x17 (.412) in the last four games ... Daniel Fields has hits in eight of his last nine games (.303) ... Kody Kaiser had a seven-game hit streak snapped last night. He is now 12x37 (.324) his last eight games ... John Murrian is 6x12 (.500) in the last three games with two doubles and a home run ... Gustavo Nunez is 16x52 (.308) since April 15 ... Bryan Pounds is 7x23 (.304) over his last six games ... Brent Wyatt has a six-game hit streak in which he is 10x22 (.455).
IN THE ORGANIZATION ... Brent Wyatt’s .357 average is tops among Detroit minor leaguers while Rawley Bishop is third with a .323 average. Alden Carrithers (.277) and Kody Kaiser (.268) are also in the top ten ... Brayan Villarreal is seventh with a 2.70 ERA while Mark Sorensen is 10th with a 3.00 mark. Villarreal’s 32 strikeouts leads the organization while Charlie Furbush is close behind with 29 K’s.
FORMER FLYING TIGERS ON THE ALL-STAR BALLOT ... Scott Sizemore (Detroit) is listed among American League second baseman. Sizemore batted .286 with 11 doubles and 14 stolen bases for the 2008 Flying Tigers. He is hitting .259 in 18 games for Detroit this season ... Curtis Granderson (NY Yankees), Cameron Maybin (Florida), Cody Ross (Florida) are outfield candidates. Granderson batted .286 with 136 hits, 29 doubles, 10 triples, 11 homers and 51 RBI for the 2003 Lakeland Tigers and is hitting .243 for the Yankees this season. Maybin hit .304 with 14 doubles, 10 homers and 44 RBI for the 2007 Lakeland club while Ross batted .276 with 133 hits, 34 doubles, five triples, 15 homers and 28 stolen bases for the 2001 Lakeland Tigers. Maybin is hitting .259 and Ross is batting .266 for the Marlins.
FELLOW DIRTBAGS ... Lakeland’s Adam Wilk and Dunedin’s Andrew Liebel were college teammates for two seasons at Cal State Long Beach whose team is known as the “Dirtbags”
EX-TIGER IN THE HOUSE ... Daniel DeLucia was a 35th round pick of Detroit in the 2008 draft and played that summer for Oneonta. He was released by the Tigers following the 2009 Spring Training.
ORGANIZATIONAL RECORDS:
Detroit (13-10, 2nd place, 1.5 GB, W2, 6-4 last 10 games)
Toledo (13-9, 2nd place, 1.0 GB, W1, 6-4 last 10 games)
Erie (10-10, 5th place, 3.5 GB, W6, 8-2 last 10 games)
Lakeland (11-9, tied 2nd place, 1.0 GB, W2, 6-4 last 10 games)
West Michigan (7-14, 7th place, 9.0 GB, W1, 2-8 last 10 games)
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