Mission Notes vs. Dunedin (June 29-July 1)

SERIES SCHEDULE ... All three games will be played in Dunedin with 7:00 p.m. start times.

THE FLYING TIGERS (38-36, 2-2, T-2nd, 1.0 GB) ... Lakeland took two of three from Clearwater in its most recent series including a 7-1 victory in Tuesday’s game behind eight strikeouts by Drew Smyly and four hits by Avisail Garcia. Lakeland is batting .263 as a team and has a 3.78 staff earned run average. The Flying Tigers have stolen the fewest bases as a team (32) of any team in the FSL.

THE BLUE JAYS (42-34, 3-3, T-2nd, 1.0 GB) ... Dunedin is coming off a 3-0 shutout at Daytona on Tuesday and is 4-3 in the its last seven games, alternating wins and losses. A.J. Jimenez leads the Blue Jays with a .313 average in 55 games while three hitters have double digit home runs in Brad Glenn (16, tied for the league lead), Jon Talley (10) and Sean Ochinko (10). Dunedin’s closer, Wes Etheridge leads the FSL with 28 saves in 28 save opportunities and has a 1.40 earned run average. Dunedin bats .256 as a team and has a 3.88 staff ERA. The Blue Jays lead the league with 159 doubles and are second with 61 home runs.

LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS ...

• Wednesday (6/29) - Luke Putkonen (0-2, 7.11 ERA) will be looking for his first victory since joining the club on June 9. He has dropped his last two decisions, allowing six runs in each game, and also pitched six innings in each game while allowing 18 hits in the two games.
• Thursday (6/30) - Trevor Feeney (5-7, 4.52 ERA) took the loss in his last start, allowing four runs on a pair of homers in five innings against Brevard County. Giving up the long ball is something Feeney has had problems with this year, surrendering 11 dingers on the season. After tossing seven shutout innings against Daytona on June 10, he has allowed seven runs over his last two starts.
• Friday (7/01) - Cole Nelson (4-9, 5.01 ERA) picked up the win in his last start on June 26 against Clearwater with five strikeouts. He held the Threshers to two runs on four hits over 6.0 innings pitched. It was his second consecutive game working 6.0 innings and holding opponents to two earned runs. Nelson has struck out 20 batters over his last four starts.

THIS SEASON ... The Blue Jays have won four of the six previous meetings, but Lakeland took the last series two games to three back on April 17-19. Gustavo Nunez had batted .565 in the six games while Wade Gaynor was 7-of-23 for a .304 average and two home runs. Gaynor drove in seven of Lakeland’s 25 runs in the series.

BIG LEAGUE VISITOR ... Detroit Tiger Carlos Guillen is with the Lakeland team on a rehab assignment, recovering from microfracture knee surgery. He has been on the disabled list since last August.

THE PEN IS MIGHTIER ... The Flying Tigers’ bullpen has not allowed a run in their last 14.2 innings and just one run over the last 21.1 innings dating back to June 16 and has combined for 17 strikeouts and two walks.

HITS ARE GOOD ... Lakeland is 25-9 when outhitting their opponents and 9-24 when being outhit. In seven games in which the two teams have had the same number of hits, Lakeland has won four times.

HAIL, HAIL, AVISAIL ... Avisail Garcia collected four hits in Tuesday’s game and has six hits in his last eight at bats. The Flying Tiger right fielder is 8-for-16 (.500) with four runs scored, two runs batted in and a double over four games. The four hits marked the third time Garcia has had four hits in a game and the 18th time this year he has had two or more hits in a game - the second most on the team.

JONES IN THE ZONE ... Corey Jones carried a 17-game hit streak from May 29 to June 22 and now has hits in 19 of his 21 games. The Flying Tigers’ second baseman is 30-for-80 (.375) since May 29 with 11 runs scored, six doubles and 12 runs driven in.

ONE LEFT ... Prior to Tuesday’s game, Tony Plagman and Jordan Lennerton had played in every one of their team’s game this season–the only two players in the league to do so. However, Lennerton was given a day off on Tuesday as Carlos Guillen started as the DH, leaving Plagman tied for the league lead in games played with 74.

WOO-HO JULIO ... Julio Rodriguez has three hits in two of his last three games and is 7-for-11 (.636) during those three games. The two three-hit games gives him three on the season and now has 12 multi-hit games.

BERGOLLA, BERGOLLA ... William Bergolla has had two hits in each of his last two games and is 4-for-9 in those two games.

INSIDE THE LONG BALL ... Here is a breakdown of Lakeland’s record when various batters have hit a home run: Daniel Fields (4-0); Avisail Garcia (4-1); Wade Gaynor (4-2); Corey Jones (1-0); Jordan Lennerton (2-2); Tony Plagman (5-5); Julio Rodriguez (1-0); Brent Wyatt (0-2).

LAKELAND IN THE FSL ... Brent Wyatt leads with a .431 on-base percentage (ranks seventh among all Class A players) ... Kenny Faulk is second with 19 saves; third among relievers with 11.78 strikeouts, fifth with 1.44 walks and 8.90 baserunners allowed per nine innings ... Trevor Feeney is second with 91.2 innings pitched and third among starters with 1.57 walks issued per nine innings ... Jordan Lennerton is third with 53 walks ... Tony Plagman is fourth with 52 runs batted in ... Lakeland is tied for the league lead with a .982 fielding percentage ... Wade Gaynor leads all third baseman with a .960 fielding percentage while Daniel Fields leads all outfielders with a .994 fielding mark ... Julio Rodriguez has thrown out 39.0 percent of opposing would-be base stealers which ranks second.

LEAGUE TOTALS ... As a league, the FSL teams are batting a combined .262 with a 3.87 league earned run average.

A LOOK AT THE DETROIT ORGANIZATION ... Detroit leads the American League Central Division with a 43-37 record and has a 1.0 game lead over Cleveland ... Toledo is in last place in the International League’s West Division with a 32-48 record, 21.5 games out of first place ... Erie is fourth in the Eastern League Western Division with a 38-39 record and is 6.0 games out of first place ... Lakeland is 38-36 overall and is 2-2 in the second half in the Florida State League North Division, 1.0 games out of first place ... West Michigan is 34-40 overall and 2-3 in the second half of the Midwest League Eastern Division, 2.0 games back ... Connecticut is off to a 5-5 start and is in third place in the New York-Penn League Stedler Division, 1.0 game out of first place ... the GCL Tigers are 3-5 and are tied for third in the Gulf Coast League’s North Division, 3.0 games back.

ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERS ... Tony Plagman leads with 52 RBI and is second with 10 homers ... Jared Wesson leads with eight wins ... Kenny Faulk leads with 19 saves ... Lakeland’s .263 team batting average is second highest in the organza ti on while the staff ERA of 3.78 is fourth best ... former Flying Tigers Rawley Bishop, Brandon Douglas, Gustavo Nunez and Justin Henry, all playing at Erie, are all tied for the organizational lead with 14 stolen bases.