THE FLYING TIGERS (2-23, 4th-North, 11.0 GB) ... Lakeland rallied in late innings to overcame a 3-1 deficit to defeat Bradenton, 4-3, on Wednesday to take the series three games to one. It was the second late rally by Lakeland in three games as the Flying Tigers scored five times in the eighth inning to win Monday’s game, 5-2. The Flying Tigers are batting .251 as a team and only Palm Beach has a lowest average (.244) in the Florida State League. The staff ERA of 3.88 is sixth best in the league.
THE CARDINALS (18-29, T5th-South, 9.0 GB) ... Palm Beach fell 6-3 at Brevard County on Wednesday, snapping the Cardinals’ three-game win streak. The loss is Palm Beach’s seventh its last 11 games. Zack Cox was on fire for the Cardinals going 28-for-67 (.418) over his last 18 games with hits in 17 of those contests but has been called up to AA Springfield on Tuesday. Shelby Miller leads the FSL with 69 strikeouts for the Cardinals. Palm Beach is hitting .244 as a team, the lowest average in the league, and has scored a league-low 162 runs. However, the Cardinals pitching staff has the league’s fourth best team ERA of 3.52 on the season.
LAKELAND PROBABLE PITCHERS:
- Thursday (5/26) - Cole Nelson (2-5, 4.56) struck out six and walked one while holding Jupiter to three runs on six hits over 6.0 innings in taking the loss in his last start on May 21. It was his fourth loss in his last five starts.
- Friday (5/27) - Jared Wesson (5-3, 4.91) K’ed five and held Bradenton to one run on four hits over 6.1 innings to pick up a win in his last start on May 21. It was his second win in a row and his fourth in his last five starts.
- Saturday (5/28) - Victor Larez (3-3, 4.53) will be looking for his first win since May 2. In four starts since, he is 0-1 with three straight no-decisions. In his last start on May 23, he held Bradenton to two runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and one walk.
- Sunday (5/29) - Trevor Feeney (3-5, 5.22) was tagged for eight runs on nine hits over 4.0 innings on work in his last start on May 24. It was his fifth loss in his last seven starts.
STILL IN SIGHT ... With three runs batted in on Wednesday, Tony Plagman has climbed back into the FSL leaders with 37 RBI on the season, just two behind the leader, Daytona’s Juston Bour. Kenny Faulk’s save on Wednesday gives him 11, good for fourth best in the FSL. Brett Wyatt had two hits and two walks on Wednesday and now ranks second in the league with a .438 on base percentage.
TWICE AS NICE ... With two more doubles on Wednesday by Brent Wyatt and Tony Plagman, the Flying Tigers have cranked out 21 doubles in the last ten games.
SPEED OUTBURST ... Gustavo Nunez swiped three bases while Brent Wyatt stole one as Lakeland totalled four stolen bases on Wednesday. Despite the four swipes, the Flying Tigers are last in the league with just 18 stolen bases this season. The 18 thefts matches the total of the individual league leader, Junior Lake of Daytona who also has a dozen and a half stolen bases.
‘BOUT TIME ... The Flying Tigers’ 4-3 win over Bradenton on Wednesday was Lakeland’s first “hump day” win in seven tries.
ANOTHER ONE-RUNNER ... Wednesday’s 4-3 win was Lakeland’s 15th game decided by one run this season with Lakeland emerging victorious in nine of those contests.
COMPLETES THE SET ... Jay Voss earned a promotion to AA Erie on Tuesday. Taking his roster spot in Lakeland is Luis Angel Sanz, not to be confused with Luis Alberto Sanz, his brother, who was a catcher in four games for the 2010 Flying Tigers. The pitching Sanz, who joins Lakeland from extended spring training, is in his sixth year in the organization. He was 3-0 with a 0.56 ERA in three games at Connecticut in 2010 and 4-7 with a 5.38 ERA in 25 games, including 12 starts, at West Michigan.
KEEP THE DOOR SPINNING ... The Flying Tiger roster has taken on a look of revolving door as of late with yet another player earning a promotion as Zach Samuels joins the AA Erie SeaWolves.
RARE TRIPLE PLAY ... The Flying Tigers turned in a wild triple play on Sunday that concluded with the Bradenton manager and rightfielder being ejected. With runners on first and second, the batter sends a fly ball to Lakeland rightfielder Avisail Garcia who makes a diving catch, but the ball rolls free. The home plate umpires signals that the catch was good and there’s one out. Garcia throws the ball into the infield where the shortstop, Gustavo Nunez, grabs it and tags first base to double off that runner. Two down. Nunez then fires the ball to the third baseman, Brent Wyatt, covering second, who tags the runner who had stepped off the bag. Out number three and Lakeland’s first triple play since June 14, 2005.
LAKELAND ALUMS MAKE GOOD ... Former Flying Tigers Charlie Furbush and Andy Dirks made their presence felt for the big club on Monday. Furbush tossed 3.1 innings to pick up the win in his professional debut for the Tigers. The former Flying Tiger, who played in Lakeland in 2009 and 2010, struck out three and walked one in holding Tampa Bay to two hits. Dirks, who played for Lakeland in 2009 and who made his pro debut on May 16, hit his first major league home run on Monday against the Rays. Unfortunately, to make room on the big roster for Furbush, Detroit sent former Flying Tiger Brayan Villarreal back to Toledo.
MORE UPS AND DOWNS ... Another Lakeland alum Adam Wilk (2010) was also called up to Detroit on Wednesday, but to make room on the roster, former Flying Tiger Robbie Weinhardt (2008, 2009) was designated for assignment.
NOW THAT’S A LOTTA BASEBALL ... Clearwater and Jupiter locked horns for 23 innings on Monday with the Threshers coming out on top, 2-1, in the game that took just over five and a half hours to play. Both squads used eight pitchers each and combined for 158 at bats and 31 hits. Clearwater took a 1-0 lead in the third while Jupiter tied the game in the sixth. That’s the way the score stood for the next 16 innings before Jose Duarte singled in the winning run with one out in the bottom of the 23rd inning.
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