THE FLYING TIGERS (19-22, 56-55) - Winners of six of their last nine contests, the Flying Tigers are in fourth place in the North Division, 8.5 games behind the first-place Tampa Yankees. Lakeland is tied for fourth in the league with a .260 batting average and third with a 3.52 staff ERA.
THE THRESHERS (18-25, 55-58) ... Clearwater, winner of four of its last six games, enters the series in last place in the North Division, 10.5 games behind the Yankees. The Threshers are third in the league with a .262 batting average and tenth with a 3.91 staff ERA. Clearwater pitchers have surrendered 73 home runs this season - most of any FSL team.
PROBABLE STARTERS ...
Wed: Jon Kibler, LAK (2-1, 4.99, 21 K, 8 BB, 30.2 IP) vs. Edgar Garcia, CLR (2-2, 4.29, 66 K, 21 BB, 65.0 IP)
Thu: Jacob Turner, LAK (7-6, 3.54, 64 K, 37 BB, 112.0 IP) vs. Phillippe Aumont, CLR (2-3, 3.97, 49 K, 29 BB, 45.1 IP)
Mon: Luke Putkonen, LAK (6-11, 4.58, 84 K, 33 BB, 110.1 IP) vs. Hector Correa (6-11, 5.63, 73 K, 48 BB, 115.0 IP)
THE SERIES ... Clearwater enjoys a 8-4 advantage in this year’s series, but Lakeland has won two of the last three.
STARTERS GETTING IT DONE ... In their last four games, Jacob Turner, Luke Putkonen, Mark Sorensen and Adam Wilk had earned their keep, posting a 2.13 ERA as a group. The quartet has struck out 15 and walked four over 25.1 innings pitched.
SPEAKING OF WILK ... Adam Wilk is third in the FSL with a 2.99 ERA to go with his 9.4 record and leads the league with 135.1 innings pitched. He is also third with a 1.07 WHIP (walks and hits per inning) and has walked just 1.06 batters per nine innings - best in the Florida State League. In his last two games, he has allowed just one run while striking out 10 and walking none.
DEFENSE HOLDING TOUGH ... Lakeland continues to lead the Florida State League with a .978 fielding percentage. Gustavo Nunez also continues to lead all FSL shortstops in fielding percentage with a .964 mark as well as total chances (524), putouts (180), assists (325) and double plays (64). Center fielder Daniel Fields has played 80 games and handled 182 chances without committing an error.
THEY WEREN’T STRIKING OUT ENOUGH? ... Lakeland is 6-3 in its last nine games and the answer may be their ability to strike out? Eight times in the last nine games the Flying Tigers have struck out 10 or more times, including a season high 19 in Saturday’s game.
COULD GET DRAFTY ... Fans might get a chill courtesy of swings and misses during the Clearwater series as the Threshers pitchers rank third in the league with 882 strikeouts (Charlotte is first with 959). With 103 K’s in their last nine games, Lakeland batters have struck out 844 times - fifth most of any FSL club.
FOND MEMORIES ... Catcher Bryan Holaday has happy memories of his last meeting with the Threshers. In addition to making his professional debut against Clearwater, Holaday made it a memorable one as the Tigers’ sixth-round pick went 5x5 with a double and three runs scored in the game. The game came just two days after Holaday had signed his contract with Detroit.
TIME FOR JAIL BREAK? ... Lakeland enters this series with 110 stolen bases - fourth most in the FSL while Clearwater catchers are last in the league throwing out just 23.2 percent of would-be base stealers. Clearwater is third in the league with 118 thefts and Lakeland catchers are ninth, throwing out 27.1 percent.
TOUGHEST TO STEAL AGAINST ... Lakeland has the most success throwing out base stealers when Mark Sorensen is on the mound. Opponents have stolen just three bases and been caught stealing seven times with Sorensen pitching. The 70 percent is the best among all FSL pitchers. Sorensen is 2-0 with a 1.47 ERA and 16 strikeouts with one walk his last three starts.
TURNING THEM BACK ... Jacob Turner is 2-1 with a 2.25 ERA with 15 strikeouts and five walks his last five starts.
LENNERTON BRINGS THE STICK ... Jordan Lennerton has a five-game hit streak entering this series and is 10x21 during those five games for a .476 clip.
NUNEZ STEPPING UP AT THE PLATE ... Known for his defense, shortstop Gustavo Nunez may now cause opponents to notice his bat as well. In his last eight games, Nunez is 12x38 for a .316 mark. He is team’s active leader with 26 multi-hit games.
FROM THE PEN ... Jared Gayhart is 1-1 with sixs saves in the last 12 appearances out of the Lakeland bullpen. The former 13th round pick has allowed just three earned runs in 14.2 innings in that stretch for a 1.84 ERA. Jay Voss has a 1.38 ERA in his last eight appearances.
10-YEAR VET ... Clearwater pitcher Juan Sandoval is in his 10th season in professional baseball. Originally signed by Seattle as a non-drafted free agent in 2000, Sandoval was a member of the Mariners’ organization for eight seasons before going to the Brewers in a Rule V draft in 2008. He was signed by the Phillies to a minor league contract in 2010.
FORMER LAKELAND SKIPPER PROMOTED ... Former Lakeland manager Mike Rojas was named Director of Player Development by Detroit on Friday. He will work directly with Dan Lunetta, the club’s Director of Minor League Operations, in overseeing the Tigers minor league system. In his new role, Rojas is directly responsible for all the on-field instruction at the minor league level during Spring Training, the regular season and instructional league.
Rojas joined the Tigers organization as the manager at Single A Oneonta in 2004, before he served as the manager at High-A Lakeland for two seasons (2005-06) and Triple A Toledo for one season (2007). He was named the organization’s minor league field coordinator prior to the 2008 season, a position he held until the recent promotion.
EX-TIGER LARISH MAKES IMPACT ... Former Lakeland Tiger Jeff Larish (2006) recently joined the Oakland organization and quickly made an impact with the A’s Triple-A affiliate in Sacramento. In just his third day with his new club, Larish drove in 10 runs in a doubleheader on Aug. 6. Larish went 2x4 in the opening game with a three-run homer. In the nightcap, the former Detroit fifth-round pick hit two home runs for seven runs batted in.
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