THE FLYING TIGERS (22-24, 59-57) - Lakeland enters this series as winners of five of their last seven games and 14 of the last 21 games. Unfortunately, the team’s dismal 2-9 start to open the second half has the club standing at 22-24 and 8.0 games back in the North Division’s second half standings. Daytona leads the race with Tampa just 1.0 game back. Overall, Lakeland is 59-57 on the season. The 59 wins is more than the 2007 and 2009 teams finished the season with. The Flying Tigers are 26-31 on the road this season and 30-38 within the Division. Lakeland is batting .261 on the year while the pitching staff has the third best ERA in the league with a 3.46 mark. One reason for the low ERA is that Lakeland has walked the fewest batters (253) of any staff in the FSL. The low walk total does not equate with a high strikeout mark, however, as Lakeland has whiffed the third fewest batters in the league.
THE THRESHERS (21-27, 58-60) ... Clearwater, coming off a 9-1 win over Tampa last night, is also on a little surge as of late winning six of its last nine games and is 10.0 games back in North Division, two games behind Lakeland and one game ahead of Dunedin, which won the first half and has already qualified for the Florida State League playoffs. The Threshers are 34-24 at home and 40-30 within the North Division. Clearwater is hitting .264 for the season while the pitching staff has a combined 3.93 ERA. One reason for the high ERA may be the fact that the Threshers are tied with Bradenton for the most homers allowed this season (76). The pitching corps does, however, rank third in strikeouts.
PROBABLE STARTERS ...
Sun: Jon Kibler (3-4, 3.86, 43 K, 16 BB, 58.1 IP)
Mon-1: Jacob Turner (3-2, 4.14, 30 K, 10 BB, 41.1 IP)
Mon-2: Wildredo Ramirez (0-1, 5.11, 29 K, 5 BB, 37.0 IP)
Tue: Luke Putkonen (8-6, 3.34, 71 K, 42 BB, 124.0 IP)
THE SERIES ... Clearwater won seven of the first nine meetings between the two clubs, but Lakeland has won three of the last five. The Flying Tigers are hitting .251 in the series with a 3.98 ERA while the Threshers are batting .274 in the 14 games while the pitching staff has a 3.94 ERA. Clearwater has outscored Lakeland by a slim 61-58 margin in the series.
DOUBLE DIP ON MONDAY ... The August 11 postponed game between the Lakeland Flying Tigers and the Clearwater Threshers will be made up in Clearwater on Monday, August 16 as part of a doubleheader. Game one is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. with the second game starting approximately 25 minutes after the conclusion of the first game. Both games will be seven inning contests and Clearwater will be the home team for both games.
MLB REHAB ... Philadelphia Phillies’ second baseman Chase Utley is currently on a rehab assignment with the Clearwater Threshers. The five-time Major League All-Star injured his thumb while sliding in the June 28 game at Cincinnati and underwent surgery on July 1. He returns to Clearwater where he batted .257 in 2001.
THROW YOUR BEST AT US ... Pitcher Jesus Sanchez leads the FSL with a 2.77 ERA to go with his 8-6 record. However, four of his losses have come at the hands of the Flying Tigers, including a 4-0 loss in his last start on August 10 in Lakeland. Sanchez is 1-4 with a 3.34 ERA against Lakeland this season and 7-2 with a 2.58 ERA against the rest of the league.
THRESHERS IN THE FSL ... Pitcher Austin Hyatt is tied for the league lead with 11 wins and is fourth in the league with a 3.04 ERA. Tim Kennelly is tenth with a .286 batting average. In addition to having the best ERA in the league as mentioned, Jesus Sanchez leads the FSL with a 1.06 WHIP (walks + hits per inning pitched) while Hyatt is second at 1.09. The duo is tied for second in opponents’ batting average with both allowing a .228 mark. Hyatt is also second with 11.50 strikeouts per nine innings. Heitor Correa has been called for a FSL-high five balks this season.
LAKELAND IN THE FSL ... Pitcher Adam Wilk is fifth in the FSL with a 3.05 ERA while Luke Putkonen is eighth with a 3.34 ERA. Wilk leads the league with 138.2 innings pitched and 1.23 walks allowed per nine innings while third with a 1.10 WHIP. Mark Sorensen is second with 1.62 walks issued per nine frames. Gustavo Nunez is tied for the league lead with 11 sacrifice bunts.
STINGY PITCHERS ... The league’s three best pitchers, in terms of allowing the fewest baserunners, are on the two staffs in this series. Clearwater’s Jesus Sanchez has allowed a league-low 10.00 baserunners (thru hits, walks and hit batsmen) while Lakeland’s Adam Wilk is second with a 10.06 ratio. The Threshers’ Austin Hyatt is third with 10.38 baserunners allowed.
FLYING HIGH ... Jordan Lennerton is 17x40 (.425) his last ten games and has hits in nine of his last ten, including five games with two or more hits. Brent Wyatt is 7x17 (.412) his last six games and 15x43 (.349) in his last 15 contests. Francisco Martinez is 7x19 (.368) his last five games. Gustavo Nunez is 19x59 (.322) his last 13 games and enters this series with a nine-game hit streak in which he is 13x40 (.325). Pat McKenna is 14x44 (.318) in the 13 games he has started since joining the club. John Murrian is 13x44 (.295) his last 12 games.
ARMS UP ... Mark Sorensen is 3-0 with a 1.47 ERA and 18 strikeouts in his last four starts. Jacon Turner is 3-1 with a 1.84 ERA and 20 strikeouts in his last six starts. Jay Voss has a 1.29 ERA in his last nine relief appearances. Jared Gayhart has seven saves and a 2.35 ERA in his last 14 trips out of the bullpen. Jon Kibler worked seven scoreless innings in his last start on Aug. 9 against the Threshers. Luke Putkonen tossed six shutout innings against Clearwater on Aug. 12 in his last start.
FSL NUMBERS ... As a whole, Florida State League teams have a .255 batting average. Combined, FSL batters have made 52,799 trips to the plate this season and scored 5,909 runs on 11,993 hits. There have been 2,378 doubles, 350 triples and 708 homers hit so far this season. Almost 750 batters have been hit by a pitch while 136 have been intentionally walked. Once on base, 1,270 total stolen bases have been accumulated while 539 have been gunned down on the base paths.
LAKELAND INSIDE THE NUMBERS ... Lakeland is 21-23 in one-run games; 10-9 in shutouts; 4-7 in extra innings; 41-15 when outhitting opponents; 46-22 when scoring four or more runs; 13-35 when being held to three or fewer runs; 7-7 on Sundays; 5-6 on Mondays; 11-8 on Tuesdays; 11-5 on Wednesdays; 8-11 on Thursdays; 10-8 on Fridays; 7-12 on Saturdays.
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