THE FLYING TIGERS (30-28, 4th, 12.0 GB) ... Lakeland swept Fort Myers a series ago in four games and then was swept by Tampa in three games. The Flying Tigers are 13-15 on the road and 17-13 at home. Jared Wesson is tied for the FSL lead with seven wins while Kenny Faulk is third with 15 saves. Gustavo Nunez is tied for second in the league with seven triples while Jordan Lennerton is second with 40 walks. Lakeland is hitting .254 as a team with a 3.81 ERA which is fifth best in the FSL.
THE CUBS (42-16, 1st, 5.0 Game Lead) ... Daytona has won 72 percent of its game so far this season thanks to a 12-game win streak from May 18-29. The Cubs have also had a streak of nine wins as well as two six-game win streaks, including winning six consecutive games to open the season. Evan Crawford leads the club with a .344 average (second in the FSL) while Justin Bour is batting .327 on the season (good for seventh best) to go with his league-leading 15 home runs and 47 runs batted in. Daytona has the highest team batting average in the FSL at .279, scored the most runs in the league (318) and hit the most homers (51). The Cubs’ pitching staff has allowed the third fewest runs in the FSL and thus, has the third best ERA with a 3.36 staff mark.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS ...
- Wednesday (6/8) - Victor Larez (4-3, 3.77 ERA) tossed seven shutout innings in his last start on June 2, holding Fort Myers to five hits with five strikeouts. It was his first decision in his last five starts. In his last three games (two starts and one relief appearance) Larez has allowed just a pair of runs while striking out 13 and walking four.
- Thursday (6/9) - Drew Smyly (1-2, 3.77 ERA) picked up his first win of the season with six solid innings pitched in his last start on June 3 against Fort Myers. He allowed a pair of runs on five hits with five strikeouts. Smyly pitched in three games this season before heading to the disabled list with a sore left arm and was on the DL from April 23 to May 28.
- Friday (6/10) - Trevor Feeney (4-6, 4.76 ERA) took the loss in his last start on June 4 against Tampa despite holding the Yankees to two runs on four hits over eight innings. It was his second straight quality start having worked seven innings on May 29 in picking up the win over Palm Beach allowing three runs on eight hits and six strikeouts.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A SERIES MAKES ... Lakeland swept four games from Fort Myers on May 31-June 3 outscoring the South Division leaders by a 31-to-13 margin. Tampa then swept Lakeland in three games June 4-6 in a tighter series, outscoring the Flying Tigers by a combined 11-to-4 score.
DOUBLE-DIGIT STREAK ... With a single in his third at bat on Monday, Jordan Lennerton extended his hit streak to 11 games. During the streak, Lennerton is 17-for-38 with six runs scored, six doubles and five runs batted in. His streak is the second longest active streak in the FSL and matches Gustavo Nunez’s 11-game stretch from April 21 to May 4 for longest on the Flying Tigers this season.
A LITTLE HELP? ... Lakeland’s starters have a 2.86 ERA over the last ten games, but has received just an average of 4.4 runs per game (thanks in large part to a 13-run outburst on May 31) in support. In the Tampa series, Lakeland scored just four runs while the trio of starters held the Yankees to a combined eight runs.
CAGEY COREY ... Second baseman Corey Jones takes a seven-game hit streak into the Daytona series and has gone 11-for-27 in that stretch for a .407 clip.
GUSTY ... Shortstop Gustavo Nunez has hits in 10 of his last 12 games and has gone 17-for-49 (.347) with 11 runs scored and two triples and double.
TONY THE TIGER ... First baseman/DH Tony Plagman is 8-for-23 (.348) over his last six games with four runs scored, four runs driven in, three doubles and a home run.
A WALK FOR FAULK ... The walk issued by Kenny Faulk on Monday was his first in his last 13 appearances. The two innings pitched on Monday against Tampa was his longest outing of the season and also marked the first game he has entered in a non-save situation in his last eight appearances.
STEADY STOHR ... The three runs allowed by reliever Tyler Stohr on June 4 against Tampa was more than he has surrendered in his last 15 appearances combined. The one walk he issued in that game was only his third in his last 15 outings as well.
MOST WINS ... Lakeland’s 30 wins in the most of the four Detroit minor league affiliates at this point in the season.
SOARES GROUNDED ... Former Flying Tiger Ryan Soares, who had been assigned to West Michigan on June 2, fractured his right ulna when hit by a pitch on Saturday, June 4 and has been placed on the Whitecaps’ disabled list. It was only his second game with the club.
FREQUENT FLYER MILES ... Pitcher Zach Samuels might be feeling like a yo-yo as of late. He was added to the Flying Tiger roster from extended spring training on April 16. On May 24 he earned a promotion to AA Erie and appeared in one game, tossing four scoreless innings. Samuels was then sent back to Lakeland on June 3, works one scoreless inning that evening and then sent back to Erie on June 5.
FOUR HEADED TO THE CLASSIC ... Four Flying Tigers have earned a trip to the 50th Florida State League All-Star Classic. Shortstop Gustavo Nunez, catcher Julio Rodriguez, designated hitter Tony Plagman and closer Kenny Faulk will head to Clearwater for the June 18 game at Bright House Networks Field.
ROSTER RUMBLIN’S ... Lakeland welcomed back a pair of familiar faces to the roster on Sunday. Rejoining the team from West Michigan is Dan Gentzler who was 1-3 in 10 games with the Whitecaps. Also returning to Lakeland is Luke Putkonen who earned his first win with seven scoreless innings pitched on Saturday night for Erie. Putkonen, who was 0-7 prior to Saturday’s victory, finished 9-7 with a 3.18 ERA for Lakeland in 2010.
PLAN AHEAD ... Lakeland will play at home next Saturday, June 11, at a special 4:00 start. It’s a Sunset Celebration with post game activities, music, and fireworks presented by the Ledger Media Group.
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