SERIES SCHEDULE ... Lakeland concludes its first lap through the South Division with four home games against Fort Myers, which is tied for first place. All four games in the series are at 7:00 p.m. at Joker Marchant Stadium.
THE FLYING TIGERS (26-25, 4th-North, 13.0 GB) ... Lakeland is coming off a split of a four-game series at Palm Beach which came to a close on Sunday with a 5-3 Flying Tiger win. Lakeland has a 4-3 record in the last seven games without winning or losing consecutive games. Lakeland’s team batting average has dropped to .249, second lowest in the league while the staff ERA of 3.89 is sixth best in the Florida State League.
THE MIRACLE (28-23, T1st-South, 0.0 GB) ... Despite splitting their last ten games, Fort Myers is tied for first place in the South Division of the FSL with St. Lucie, which has gone 3-7 in its last ten games. Brian Dozier has the 10th best batting average in the FSL with a .320 mark, the third best on base percentage at .424 and is tied for fourth with 13 stolen bases. He is the only Miracle player among the league leaders. The Miracle are living up to their moniker as the team is ranked seventh with a .261 batting average and a league-low 17 home runs. The staff ERA of 4.41 is third highest in the league.
LAST SEASON ... Fort Myers took five of the eight games played last season, but the two teams split their four games played at Joker Marchant Stadium.
NO COPS NEEDED ... Fans of the stolen base may be wise to seek another series to watch this week as the Flying Tigers and the Miracle are 1-2 in fewest bases stolen this season. Lakeland has swiped the fewest bases with Gustavo Nunez stealing 11 of the Flying Tigers’ 21 thefts on the season. On the Miracle side, they are second with 25 stolen bases led by Brian Dozier’s 13 steals.
BULLISH PEN ... The Flying Tiger bullpen has been touched for just two runs over the last seven games and 19.1 innings pitched. The relievers have racked up 18 strikeouts and five walks in that time. The bullpen has a 2.61 earned run average with 151 strikeouts and 42 walks.
FAULK REMAINS PERFECT ... Closer Kenny Faulk is 13-for-13 in save situations this season and has recorded 32 strikeouts with just two walks on the season. In 21 games, Faulk is 1-1 with 13 saves.
MAGIC MICHAEL ... Reliever Michael Morrison has been scored upon just once in his last eight outings out of the bullpen with 10 strikeouts and two walks in those eight appearances.
MULTI MULTI’S ... Gustavo Nunez has 14 games with two or more hits this season including three games with three hits and one game with five. Jordan Lennerton and Brent Wyatt each have 12 games with multi hits while Tony Plagman has had 11 games with two or more hits. Avisail Garcia and Wade Gaynor each have 10 multi-hit games.
BAD BRENT ... Brent Wyatt is carrying a hot bat as of late. Since May 9, the Lakeland outfielder is 18-for-45 for a .400 clip to go with 13 walks and a .565 on base percentage. The .400 batting average is the seventh best among all Class-A players since May 9.
NICE SERIES ... Jordan Lennerton went 6-for-15 in the four games at Palm Beach with four runs batted in and a pair of doubles. Gustavo Nunez was also 6-for-15 with six runs scored.
RE-EMERGENCE ... Tony Plagman was one of the league’s hot hitters in the early going and then found the hits tougher to come by. But in his last five games, he is 7-for-18 with four runs batted in and a double and a triple.
LAKELAND FSL LEADERS ... Jared Wesson is tied for the league lead with six wins on the season while Kenny Faulk is tied for third with 13 saves. Trevor Feeney has pitched in a league-leading 65.2 innings this season. Brent Wyatt leads the FSL with a .440 on base percentage and is fifth with 29 walks. Jordan Lennerton is third with 33 base on balls this season.
PUT ME IN, COACH (AGAIN?) ... Jordan Lennerton and Tony Plagman have each played in all 51 of Lakeland’s games so far, the only two players in the FSL this season to play in every game.
GOOD START TO THE WEEK ... With Sunday’s 5-3 win over Palm Beach, Lakeland remains undefeated through six games on Sunday and is 6-1 on Mondays.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES ... Lakeland is 6-2 on Fridays, but falls to 2-7 on Saturdays.
OUTTA HERE ... Jeff Kunkel (AAA Toledo); Michael Rockett and Zach Samuels (AA Erie), and Luis Angel Sanz (Extended Spring Training) have all left the Lakeland roster for their respective assignments.
WELCOME BACK ... Shawn Teufel and Drew Smyly have been activated off the disabled list while James Meador was promoted from Extended Spring Training. Teufel went on the DL on April 19 with a strained oblique muscle while Smyly was placed on the DL on April 23 with a sore left arm. Meador was up with Lakeland for four days from May 14-17 but never got into a game for the Flying Tigers.
A TRIO OF WILDCATS ... Lakeland pitcher Scott Green (currently on the DL) and Fort Myers pitcher Logan Darnell were teammates at the University of Kentucky in 2008 while Darnell and Flying Tiger Matt Little were Wildcats together in 2010.
COLLEGE NO-NO ... Miracle pitcher Alex Wimmers was the Twins’ #1 draft pick in 2010 out of Ohio State University where in 2009, he tossed the Buckeye‘s first nine-inning no-hitter, striking out 14 against the University of Michigan.
ANOTHER TOP PICK ... Fort Myers outfielder Aaron Hicks was the Twin’s #1 pick in 2008 out of Woodrow Wilson High School in California.
NO RELATION ... Miracle pitcher Shooter Hunt, the Twin’s #1 (sandwich pick) selection in 2008 out of Tulane University, is no relation to pro golfer, Shooter McGavin of “Happy Gilmore” fame.
BIG LEAGUE BRO ... Fort Myers manager Jake Mauer is the older brother of Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer.
MIRACLE DRAWS FROM ALL OVER ... Fort Myers features players from Australia (James Beresford and Brad Tippett); Canada (Andrew Albers); The Netherlands (Tom Stuifbergen); in addition to several players from Puerto Rico and Venezuela.
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