THE FLYING TIGERS (17-20, 54-53) - Lakeland erupted for seven runs in the top of the fifth inning last night enroute to a 9-5 win over St. Lucie. The win is Lakeland’s third in a row and ninth in the last 12 games and puts Lakeland in fourth place in the North Division, 7.5 games out of first place. The streak also puts Lakeland one game over .500 for the first time since June 27. Lakeland’s fielding percentage of .977 is tied for best in the Florida State League.
THE STONE CRABS (17-22, 60-48) ... Charlotte split a doubleheader with Dunedin last night as each team claimed a 5-0 win.The Stone Crabs lost the opener and took the nightcap and now stand at 17-22 and are 4.0 games behind Bradenton. Stephen Vogt is the Florida State League’s top hitter with a .329 average while Isaias Velasquez is 10th with a .282 mark. On the mound, Nick Barnese (8-4) and Joseph Cruz (9-6) are third and fourth in the FSL with ERAs of 3.01 and 3.15, respectively. Matthew Moore tops all pitchers in the league with 157 strikeouts while holding opponents to a league low .222 batting average. Charlotte, 2008 Florida State League champions and winners of the first half of the South Division this season, are an affiliate of Rays.
PROBABLE STARTERS ...
Wed: Jacob Turner (2-1, 4.99 ERA, 21 K, 8 BB, 30.2 IP)
Thu: Luke Putkonen (7-6, 3.54 ERA, 64 K, 37 BB, 112.0 IP)
Mon: Mark Sorensen (6-11, 4.58 ERA, 84 K, 33 BB, 110.1 IP)
Tue: Adam Wilk (8-4, 3.18 ERA, 86 K, 16 BB, 127.1 IP)
THE SERIES ... The Flying Tigers won three of four games played earlier this season in Lakeland including the last three straight. In game one, Henry Wrigley hit a two-run homer lifting Charlotte to a 2-1 win in the opener, spoiling a 13-strikeout performance by Charlie Furbush. In the second game, Luke Putkonen, Tyler Conn and Erik Crichton combined on a three-hit shutout in a 3-0 Flying Tiger win. Rawley Bishop went 3-for-4 while Kody Kaiser extended his hit steak to eight games as Lakeland took game three, 3-1. Alden Carrithers and Brent Wyatt racked up five hits between them to spark a 4-3 Lakeland victory in the final game.
DOOR SPINS AGAIN ... Rob Waite earned a promotion to AA Erie on Tuesday and was replaced on the roster by Shawn Teufel. A 6’3” lefthanded pitcher, Teufel was the 25th round pick of the Tigers in this year’s draft out of Liberty University. Lakeland is his third stop on the organizational ladder having already played for Connecticut and West Michigan. Teufel, who was 10-4 at Liberty with a 2.44 ERA, is the son of former Major League Tim Teufel.
ANOTHER MONTH, ANOTHER HOME RUN ... Something about tearing off a new page on a calendar that gets to Brent Wyatt. On June 1, Wyatt homered at Bradenton for his second homer of the season. Exactly one month later, he hit his second home run on July 1 at Clearwater. This past Monday, August 2, Wyatt clubbed a grand slam and also singled to drive in a run. His five runs batted in is a season-high for Lakeland. Wyatt did his damage in just two at bats after entering the game in the sixth inning as a pinch-runner.
WALKING ON SUNSHINE ... Lakeland pitches have issued the fewest walks of any FSL team while Lakeland batters have drawn the most walks of any FSL team.
IT’S OK TO KO ... Normally, a team that strikes out ten times a game might be looking for some answers at the plate. However, the only answers the Flying Tigers have found the last five games is victories. Despite totalling 53 strikeouts the last five games, Lakeland is 4-1 in those contests.
THE GREAT GAYHART ... Reliever Jared Gayhart is 1-0 with five saves and a 1.35 ERA in his last 10 appearances.
JOLLY JORDAN ... First baseman Jordan Lennerton is batting .314 (11x35) over his last nine games despite striking out 12 times in those games.
MARVELOUS MURRIAN ... Catcher John Murrian is hitting .417 (5x12) his last three games and is batting .303 (10x33) in his last nine games.
GO, GO, GUSTAVO ... Shortstop Gustavo Nunez is batting .306 (11x36) over his last eight games and leads the Florida State League with 11 sacrifice hits. Defensively, he leads all FSL shortstops in fielding percentage (.963), total chances (507), putouts (173), assists (315) and double plays participated in (63).
WILD WYATT ... Brent Wyatt leads all Florida State League outfielders with 18 assists.
LIVING UP TO HIS NAME ... With a name that defines your position, you better back it up and that is exactly what Daniel Fields has done this season. Thru 77 games played, he has not committed an error and leads the league with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.
STONE CRAB SHORT HOPS ... Pitcher Matt Bush was a first-round pick of the San Diego Padres in 2004 and was later traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in 2009 and then released before signing with the Rays. Shortstop Tim Beckham was the Ray’s top pick in the 2008 draft. Reliever Brian Shouse appeared in 45 games last year for the Texas Rangers while utfielder Rocco Baldelli played for the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2003-04, 2006-08 seasons and the Boston Red Sox in 2009.
ONE RESCUED, ONE EXILED ... Former Lakeland Flying Tiger Jeff Larish (2006), recently released by Detroit, was claimed off waivers by the Oakland Athletics and assigned to their AAA affiliate in Sacramento. Meanwhile, a long-time Lakeland alum, Anderson Hernandez (2001-04) has been designated for assignment by Houston.
ORGANIZATIONAL RECORDS
Detroit - 53-53, 3rd in AL Central Division
Toledo - 55-56, 4th in West Division
Erie - 45-65 - 6th in Western Division
Lakeland - 17-20, 4th in North Division
West Michigan - 14-23, 7th in Eastern Division
Connecticut - 23-21, 2nd in Stedler Division
Gulf Coast - 17-21, 5th in North Division
Dominican - 16-34, 5th in San Pedro Division
Venezuelan - 20-43, 7th in VSL
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