Mission Notes vs. Tampa (May 6, 8-9)

SERIES SCHEDULE ... Friday (5/6) in Lakeland, 7:00 pm; Saturday (5/7) at Tampa, 6:00 pm; Monday (5/9) at Tampa, 7:00 pm.

LAKELAND (13-15, T-3rd, 7.0 GB) ... The Flying Tigers fell 5-1 to Clearwater on Thursday for their third loss in a row and the 11th loss in their last 15 games. Lakeland is batting .259 as a team and continues to rank second in the league with 20 batters hit by a pitch. The Flying Tigers have left a FSL-high 238 runners on base for an average of 8.5 per game (the league average is 7.3). Lakeland’s staff ERA of 4.03 ranks 7th in the FSL while team’s .979 fielding percentage is second best in the league.

TAMPA (9-19, 6th, 11.0 GB) ... Tampa was shutout 5-0 by Daytona last night to drop their eighth straight game. The Yankees are batting .242 but have hit 10 triples as team - the second most in the league. While Lakeland is second in the FSL with 20 hit batsmen, Tampa has been hit a league-low seven times. Tampa’s staff ERA of 5.30 is the highest in the league.

LAKELAND PROBABLE PITCHERS:

• Friday (5/06) - Jared Wesson (2-2, 8.06) had a strong outing in his last start, going 7.0 innings against Brevard County in a win on May 1 to three runs on seven hits with five strikeouts and four walks. That outing came after back-to-back outings in which he lasted a total of 7.0 innings with 12 runs allowed on 20 hits.
• Saturday (5/07) - Victor Larez (3-2, 3.41) had his best outing since opening in his last start working 6.2 innings against Brevard County on May 2. He allowed just one run on five hits with four strikeouts and two walks to pick up the win.
• Saturday (5/08) - Trevor Feeney (2-3, 4.98) took the loss in his last start on May 3 despite holding Clearwater to three runs – two earned – in 7.0 innings of work with a season-high eight batters. It was his longest outing of the season, but his third consecutive loss.

EARLIER THIS SEASON ... The two clubs split their season-opening four-game series in April 7-10. Lakeland won 7-5 in the first game in Lakeland after opening a 6-0 lead after four and capped the series with 5-2 win in Tampa. In between, the Yankees took game two, 7-6 in 10 innings at Tampa, despite four Flying Tigers with two or more hits. Game three came down to the wire with the Yankees winning 2-1 in Lakeland. The Flying Tigers had the bases loaded in the ninth, but could get a run across.

GUSTO FOR GUSTAVO ... Shortstop Gustavo Nunez went 5-for-6 on Wednesday before having his 10-game hit streak snapped on Thursday. He batted 19-for-49 during the streak for a .388 clip and is now hitting .349 on the season to rank seventh in the Florida State League. He is also tied for fourth in the league with 37 hits. He is the second player in the FSL to collect five hits in one game and the first Lakeland player since Bryan Holaday knocked out five hits in his professional debut on July 9, 2010 against Clearwater. Another Bryan, Bryan Pounds, also had five hits for Lakeland last season on April 14 at Brevard County.

WADE WONDER ... Wade Gaynor is tops among league third baseman with a .964 fielding percentage (with just three errors on the season) and is third in the Florida State League with nine doubles. He had a nine-game hit streak snapped on Thursday in which he was hitting 14-for-34 (.412).

TIGER TRIVIA ... Prior the Bryans (Holaday and Pounds) getting five hits in a single game last season, who was the last Lakeland player to collect five hits in one game? (Answer at the end of the column).

HANGIN’ IN THERE ... Despite not being on the same hot hitting tear he started the season with, designated hitter Tony Plagman continues to rank second in the FSL with 25 runs batted in.

PUT ME IN COACH ... Michael Rockett hasn’t seen that much playing time so far this season, but as of late, when given a chance, he has taken advantage of the opportunity. In his last three games, the Lakeland outfielder is 6-for-16 (.375) with two doubles.

WHAT’S THE PH? ... Brett Wyatt pinch-hit for Daniel Fields on April 28 at Clearwater and singled for Lakeland. It was just the second pinch-hitter for Lakeland this season. Ryan Soares was the first substitute batter on April 23 against Brevard County.

FREE PASS ... First baseman Jordan Lennerton is in a three-way tie for the league-lead with 23 walks this season.

MULTI-JULIO ... Catcher Julio Rodriguez had half of Lakeland’s hits in Wednesday’s game with a double and two singles. It was the second time this season he has collected three base hits in one game and is the sixth time he has had multi-hits in a game. He has hits in 11 of his last 12 games to raise his batting average .136 points from .188 to .324 which is now second best on the team.

BOMBS AWAY ... Tampa’s Sean Black and the Flying Tigers’ Trevor Feeney have each allowed a league-high six homers while Yankee Preston Clairborne is next with five dingers surrendered.

K’s A PLENTY ... Lakeland outfielder Daniel Fields has struck out a league-high with 34 strikeouts while Tampa teammates Taylor Grote and Zoilo Almonte are tied for fourth with 30 whiffs.

BEAT THE TRAFFIC ... Lakeland has trailed after five innings in 11 games this season and have come from behind to win just one game. On the other side of the scoresheet, the club is 10-1 when leading after five innings. They are 2-4 in those games in which the score is tied after five frames.

EARLY LEAD? ... Lakeland has scored first in 17 games this season, and has won ten of those games. Conversely, when the opponent scores first, the Flying Tigers have come back to win six of the eight games.

NEW/OLD CREW MEMBER ... Lakeland send pitcher Nate Newman to West Michigan on May 4 and added catcher Jeff Kunkel to the roster. Kunkel joins Lakeland from AA Erie where he played in six games. He began the season at AAA Toledo and played in two contest. This is Kunkel’s fourth stop in Lakeland having played in 66 games over three seasons in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

TRIVIA ANSWER ... Justin Henry went 5-for-6 on August 2, 2009 against St. Lucie.