THE FLYING TIGERS (27-26, 64-59) - Jordan Lennerton broke out his Superman cape one more time on Saturday, clubbing a one-out homer in the top of the tenth inning to break a 4-4 tie and lift Lakeland to a 5-4 win over Brevard County in extra innings. It was Lennerton’s second go-ahead home run in extra innings in the last three games and his fourth homer in his last five games. The Flying Tigers have won five of their last seven, eight of the last 11, and 19 of the last 28 contests.
THE YANKEES (33-19, 69-51) ... Tampa got thrashed by the Threshers last night, falling 18-6 at Steinbrenner Field. Clearwater out hit Tampa 20-8 while the Yankees committed four errors. The Threshers had five doubles in the contest and were 12-for-25 with runners in scoring position. With the loss, Tampa’s lead in the North Division has fallen to just one game over Daytona.
PROBABLE STARTERS ...
Sat: Jacob Turner (4-2, 3.88, 32 K, 11 BB, 46.1 IP)
Sun1: Luke Putkonen (8-6, 3.31, 76 K, 42 BB, 130.1 IP)
Sun2: TBA
Mon1: Mark Sorensen (9-11, 4.38, 93 K, 25 BB, 129.1 IP)
Mon2: Wilfredo Ramirez (0-1, 4.97, 34 K, 5 BB, 41.2 IP)
THE SERIES ... The Yankees lead the series 9-6 and has won the last four straight after Lakeland had won three straight. Tampa has out hit Lakeland .265 to .245, but the Flying Tigers have outscored the Yankees 59 to 54.
FIVE IN THREE ... The Flying Tigers and the Yankees will see quite a bit of each other over the weekend, playing five games between tonight and Monday. Thanks to rainouts on June 28 and 30 in Tampa, the two clubs will play doubleheaders on Sunday and Monday. Sunday’s DH in Tampa will begin at 1 p.m. while Monday’s twin-bill to be played in Lakeland, will get underway at 5 p.m. Both doubleheaders will be two seven-inning contests.
JOLTIN’ JORDAN ... First baseman Jordan Lennerton enters this series with a 10-game hit streak in which he is 18x40 (.450) with five homers and 12 runs batted in. In addition to homering in four of his last five games, Lennerton has driven in at least one run in nine straight games and has hits in 16 of his last 17 games. In those 17 games, he is batting .438 (28x64). Lennerton is second on the team with seven homers (two behind Billy Nowlin who is now at Erie). Five of Lennerton’s homers have come on the road.
OUTSTANDING IN HIS FIELD(S) ... Daniel Fields is 9x27 (.333) in his last seven games and with two more hits last night, now has 20 games with two hits. Fields is the team leader with 12 multi-RBI games including a four-RBI effort and three games with three runs batted in.
LATEST ROSTER MOVES ... Lakeland added three players to their roster on Friday and promoted four others. Making the jump to AAA Toledo is outfielder Chris White who had just rejoined Lakeland from Erie on Aug. 17. Speaking of Erie, catcher John Murrian and outfielders Brent Wyatt and Matt Mansilla have earned tickets to join the AA Seawolves. A pair of Gulf Coast League players join Lakeland in catcher Gabriel Purroy and outfielder Luis Castillo. Kyle Peter was activated from the disabled list where he had been since April 24 with a right shoulder sprain. Castillo, who played briefly for Lakeland last season, was hitting .323 in 19 games in the GCL while Purroy was batting .258 with a pair of homers.
FIVE LEFT ... With the most recent promotions, only five players that began the season on Lakeland’s 25-man roster remain with club - pitchers Erik Crichton, Luke Putkonen, Mark Sorensen and Adam Wilk, and shortstop Gustavo Nunez.
THAT’S A LOTTA INNINGS ... Adam Wilk, Luke Putkonen and Mark Sorensen have each pitched in 129 or more innings this season. Wilk leads the FSL with 143.2 innings while Putkonen has 130.1 innings of work and Sorensen has 129.1. This is the first time since 1997 that three Lakeland pitchers have tossed as many innings.
TEAM LEADER ... Gustavo Nunez leads Lakeland with 60 runs scored this season. The slick-fielding shortstop also leads the Flying Tigers with 106 hits and 28 stolen bases.
DE-FENSE! ... Lakeland is tied with Brevard County and Clearwater for the league lead in defense with a .977 fielding percentage. Gustavo Nunez continues to lead the league with a .958 fielding percentage. Nunez also leads all Florida State League shortstops with 569 total chances, 196 putouts, 349 assists and 696 double plays. Daniel Fields tops all qualifying outfielders with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage having not committed an error in 206 total chances. Before his recent promotion, Brent Wyatt was leading all FSL outfielders with 20 assists.
CLOSE THE DOOR ... Lakeland is 52-3 when leading after seven innings and 53-2 when leading after eight innings.
ANOTHER ONE-RUN DECISION ... Lakeland’s 5-4 win in ten innings last night at Brevard County was the Flying Tigers’ 45th game decided by just one score. Lakeland is 22-23 in those 45 games.
ONE IN, ONE OUT ... Another Lakeland alum, Alfredo Figaro has joined the big club where he appeared in one game this season on May 12 against the Yankees. Unfortunately, to make room on the Tigers’ roster, former Flying Tiger Robbie Weinhardt was sent back to Toledo.
BEST IN FOUR YEARS ... Lakeland’s current win total of 64 games, is the most wins since the 2006 team finished 68-68 under manager Mike Rojas.
THE D-SQUADS ... Once the Flying Tigers complete this series against the Yankees, it will be the Dunedin Blue Jays and Daytona Cubs providing the opposition for the rest of the 2010 season. After Monday’s home doubleheader, Lakeland hits the road for three games at Dunedin on Aug. 24-26 and then traverses the state to play the Cubs on Aug. 27-29. The squad will then have Aug. 30 off before opening a season-ending six-game homestand. The Blue Jays come to Lakeland on Aug. 31-Sept. 2 while the Cubs provide the final season opposition on Sept. 3-5.
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