Mission Notes vs. Clearwater (April 27-29)

SERIES SCHEDULE ... Wednesday at Clearwater, 1 pm; Thursday at Clearwater, 7 pm; Friday at Lakeland, 7 pm.

THE FLYING TIGERS (10-9, 3rd, 3.5 GB) ... Lakeland dropped a 12-3 loss at home on Tuesday to Brevard County as the Manatees collected 18 hits, half of them for extra bases, including three home runs. The loss was the Flying Tigers’ fifth in the last six games. Lakeland has the second lowest team batting average in the FSL with a .247 mark and has swiped a league-low five stolen bases. The Flying Tigers are also second in the FSL with 17 batters hit by pitch. The pitching staff is sixth with a 4.22 team ERA.

CLEARWATER (11-8, 2nd, 1.5 GB) ... The Threshers are coming off a split of a doubleheader with Tampa on Tuesday. Clearwater took game one by a 10-1 score behind a 3-for-5 night by Darin Ruf who had a double, homer and five runs batted in. The Threshers were shutout 4-0 in game two. Ruf is hitting .353 his last ten games while Joe Slavery and Brian Gump are batting .333 and .321, respectively in the same time frame. With the split, Clearwater is now 3-7 its last seven games and has been shutout twice in those six games. There last two wins were by a combined 18-2 score. Clearwater is sixth in the FSL with a .264 average and have allowed just 63 runs, the second fewest in the league. The Threshers’ staff ERA of 3.15 ranks third in the FSL.

SLAVERY SLAUGHTER ... Clearwater’s Joe Slavey leads all of minor league baseball with a lofty .456 average. He has 31 base hits already this season, including six doubles, a triple and a homer.

BIG MAC ... Thresher reliever Matt McSwain is 3-1 with a 1.89 ERA in one start and three relief appearances. In his one start, he tossed six shutout innings against Jupiter, holding the Hammerheads with three hits with 11 strikeouts and zero walks.

LAKELAND PROBABLE PITCHERS:

• Wednesday (4/27) - Victor Larez (2-1, 4.24) ... Tossed 7.0 shutout innings in first start on 4/11, holding Dunedin to four hits with four strikeouts and no walks ... picked up win in second game on 4/16 vs. Daytona, going 6.0 innings, allowed three runs on six hits ... took the loss on 4/21 after allowing five runs on six hits in 4.0 innings at Daytona.
• Thursday (4/28) - Trevor Feeney (2-1, 3.47) ... Picked up wins on 4/7 vs. Tampa and 4/17 vs. Dunedin ... took the loss on 4/22 vs. Daytona despite limiting the Cubs to two runs on six hits ... has allowed eight earned runs in last three 18.1 innings over three starts (3.93).
• Friday (4/29) - Jay Voss (0-0, 1.59) ... Made start on 4/23 in place of Drew Smyly (DL) ... worked 2.0 innings, allowing one hit and one run against Brevard County; struck out two and walked four.

LAST SEASON ... Clearwater took 10 of the 18 games played last season. Jordan Lennerton hit three home runs in the series while Gustavo Nunez swiped eight bases.

FLYING HIGH ... Gustavo Nunez and Tony Plagman are tied for the team lead with .338 averages. Julio Rodriguez is second with a .313 average while Brent Wyatt is third with a .295 average. Kenny Faulk is 1-0 with a 1.04 and four saves while Trevor Feeney is 2-1 with a 3.47 ERA.

WHO DAT JULIO? ... Catcher Julio Rodriguez is 9-for-16 (.563) over his last five games with two doubles and five runs batted in. He is hitting .417 (5-for-12) against lefties.

WILD WYATT ... Outfielder Brent Wyatt was 8-for-20 (.400) before having his five-game hit streak snapped on Tuesday. He is hitting .533 (8-for-15) against lefties.

DOUBLE THE FUN ... Lakeland has hit at least one double in each of the last five games and has at least one double in 16 of their 19 games this season.

NEWEST CREW MEMBER ... Starting pitcher Drew Smyly was placed on the disabled list on 4/23 with Nate Newman taking his place from extended spring training. Newman was selected by Detroit in the 17th round of the 2009 draft out of Pepperdine University. He was 0-5 with a 4.46 ERA at West Michigan last season and 2-1 with a 2.34 ERA at Oneonta in 2009. He was also drafted by Seattle in the 10th round of the 2008 draft, but did not sign.

BEEN THERE, DONE THAT ... Lakeland skipper Dave Huppert managed the Clearwater Threshers to the 2007 Florida State League Championship in his only season with the club.

LAKELAND FSL LEADERS ... Tony Plagman is second with 18 RBI ... Jordan Lennerton is fifth with 14 walks.

CLEARWATER FSL LEADERS ... As mentioned, Joe Slavery is hitting a league-leading .456 with a FSL-best 31 hits. He is also tied for second with a .472 on-base percentage ... Justin Friend is second with six saves.

HEY CUZ! ... Thresher outfielder is the cousin of NBA player Shaquille O’Neal.

THRESHER HONORED ... Clearwater’s Jonathan Pettibone is the reigning FSL’s Pitcher of the Week. Pettibone tossed seven shutout innings against Tampa on April 23 and held the Yankees to four hits with seven strikeouts and one walk.

UP ON THE FARM:

• Detroit (12-11, 2nd, 2.5 GB) ... The big Tigers are 6-4 in their last ten games and are 6-4 at home and 6-7 on the road.
• Toledo (7-12, 3rd, 7.0 GB) ... The Mud Hens have dropped six of their last ten games and at 4-6 at home and 3-6 on the road.
• Erie (9-8, 1st, 0.0 GB) ... The SeaWolves have jumped into first place in the Eastern League Western Division in which just 1.5 games separate them from the last place Richmond Flying Squirrels. Toledo is 7-4 at home and 2-4 on the road.
• West Michigan (7-9, 6th, 3.5 GB) ... The WhiteCaps are on a six-game losing streak, but have dropped just one game in the standings, falling 3.5 games behind the Lansing Lugnuts. West Michigan is 5-7 at home and 2-2 on the road.

LAKELAND PROMOTIONS ...

• Friday (April 29): Myron Noodleman: The Hippest Nerd in the Business; Pin Wheels in the Park; Team Photo Giveaway.