THE SERIES .... All three games of this series will be played in Dunedin with each starting at 6:30 pm. All three games can be heard on the Blue Jays website, www.dunedinbluejays.com.
UP NEXT ... Lakeland continues its long road trip with a four-game series at Jupiter on June 1-4. The Flying Tigers next home game will be Tuesday, June 5 when Lakeland host Charlotte in the first of a four-game series.
THE FLYING TIGERS (24-24, 3rd, 8.0 GB) ... Luis Angel Sanz and Matt Crouse combined on an eight-hitter as Lakeland recorded its first shutout of the season, blanking Tampa 4-0 on Sunday. The win snapped a five-game losing streak by the Flying Tigers, the team’s longest of the season. The recent skid experienced by Lakeland (3-8 over the last 11 games) has dropped the club eight games behind the leading Dunedin Blue Jays. The bats have cooled a little as well and the club has dropped to third in the FSL with a .263 team batting average. Lakeland has stranded the most runners of any FSL club averaging 7.7 men stranded per game.
THE BLUE JAYS (33-17, 1st, 0.0 GB) ... Dunedin used an eight-run fourth inning to bash Brevard County by a 12-5 score on Sunday. Jonathan Jones doubled in three runs in the inning while Jon Talley punctuated the frame with a grand slam. The win was the Blue Hays fourth in a row. Talley leads the club with a .321 average which is fourth in the FSL while Kevin Nolan is sixth with a .311 mark and second with 61 hits. Marcus Knecht is tied for third in the league with eight homers and second with 37 RBI while Ryan Schimpf has six round-trippers. Sean Nolin has a 5-0 record and is sixth in the league with a 2.25 ERA and third with 57 strikeouts while Egan Smith is 6-3 with a 3.23 earned run average. Smith’s six wins is tied for the FSL lead while closer Danny Barnes is second in the minor leagues with 16 saves. Dunedin has taken over the FSL lead with a .265 team batting average. The Blue Jays also lead the league in runs scored, hits and doubles and is second in triples and third in homers. The Blue Jays have stranded one less runner than Lakeland on the year.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS ...
5/25 - LHP Alex Burgos (2-6, 5.55 ERA) ... Burgos is 1-3 with a 6.86 ERA in his last four starts with 11 strikeouts and 21 walks. In his last start on May 23, he surrendered five runs on three hits and five walks on the road in Bradenton.
5/26 - RHP Brian Stroud (0-1, 7.71 ERA) ... Stroud will be making his third start since joining the club on May 18. He was touched for five runs on seven hits in his last start on May 24, but did strike out four at Bradenton.
5/27 - RHP Brian Flynn (4-2, 3.47 ERA) ... After opening the season with a 3-0 record and a 0.92 ERA, Stroud is 1-2 in his last seven starts. In his last start at home May 25 against Tampa, he too allowed five runs on five hits with six strikeouts and three walks.
THIS YEAR ... The two clubs have split their previous six games this season each winning two games on their home turf. Nick Castellanos has gone 14x26 (.538) in the series while James McCann and Tyler Collins each have nine hits in the six games. Lakeland hit .312 as a team in the previous six games while Dunedin batted .261 in the series.
BUMP IN THE ROAD ... Although he was held hitless on May 26, Nick Castellanos has gone 14x26 (.538) his last seven games with six runs scored and three doubles. The Flying Tigers third baseman continues to lead the minor leagues with a .414 average. His 77 hits is 16 more than any other FSL player while his 16 doubles, .476 on-base percentage and .554 slugging percentage and 103 total bases all lead the league.
BROTHER IN ARMS ... Luis Angel Sanz took the mound on Sunday, May 27 for just his second start of the season. In his previous start and previous two relief appearances, he gave up a total of 17 runs (13 earned). On Sunday, Sanz would be pitching to his younger brother, Luis Alberto Sanz, and the result was five shutout innings with five strikeouts.
ROCKY ROAD ... The effort by Luis Angel Sanz on Sunday snapped a stretch of five bad outings by the Flying Tigers starting pitchers. Over the five games prior to Sanz’s start, the starters allowed 26 runs (22 earned for a 7.33 ERA) on 34 hits and 11 walks.
PEN IS BULLISH ... While the starters have struggled, the relief staff has performed at a higher standard being touched for just four runs in the last six games. Although the bullpen has surrendered 13 hits in the 17 innings, the corps has allowed just two earned runs over that span.
STANDOUT ARMS ... Matt Crouse typifies the effort of the bullpen as of late working four shutout innings on Sunday holding the Yankees to just one hit. Crouse has allowed six earned runs (four in one bad outing) in 12 outings this season with 25 strikeouts and just seven walks. His .151 opponent batting average is fourth in the league while his 6.85 baserunners allowed per nine innings is second best in the FSL among relievers. Tyler Clark has limited opponents to a .141 batting average while is second lowest among FSL relievers. Clark’s 7.65 baserunners per nine innings is fifth best among relievers in the league. Victor Larez has allowed just one run in his last eight outings with 16 strikeouts and six walks. Matt Little was touched for one run in his last outing on May 24, just his second run allowing in his last 10 outings with 18 strikeouts and seven walks. Bruce Rondon has not allowed a run in his last 10 outings.
FOUR SQUARED ... Dixon Machado has hits in his last four games with five hits in 13 at bats for a .385 mark. Likewise, Marcus Lemon is making the most of his increased playing time going 5x15 (.333) in his last four games.
PERFECT MEDICINE? ... Lakeland has not homered in the last 10 games and has only one homer since May 11. This series might be what the doctor ordered as Dunedin pitchers have surrendered the third most homers in the Florida State League.
WORKING HIS WAY BACK ... Needing some offensive punch, the Toronto Blue Jays signed veteran slugger Vladimir Guerrero to a minor league contract on May 10. He played his first game for Dunedin on Sunday and could see action in the series with the Flying Tigers.
FIRST ROUNDERS ... Blue Jay Trystan Magnuson was Toronto’s first selection (56th overall) in the 2007 draft out of Louisville while Asher Wojciechowski was the Blue Jays’ first round pick (41st overall) in the 2010 draft out of The Citadel.
ROCKET’S SON ... Dunedin infielder Koby Clemens is the oldest son of seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens.
ROSTER SHUFFLE ... Patrick Cooper was sent to AA Erie on May 25 with Guido Knudson joining the club from extended spring training. Knudson was a 28th round pick last season out of the University of California at San Diego where he was 29-12 in four seasons.
CLOSING IN ON 1700 ... Manager Dave Huppert is in his second season with Lakeland and his 24th season as a minor league manager. Huppert, who entered the 2012 season as the second winningest active minor league manager, brings a 1,696-1,559 record into the Tampa series. With four more wins, Huppert will become the first active minor league manager to reach 1,700 wins. (Tom Kotchman, manager of the Orem club in the Angels’ organization finished the 2011 season with the most wins as a active manager with 1,678, but the Owls season does not begin until June). The all-time record for wins belongs to Stan Wasiak of the Dodger’s organization, who won 2,497 games.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Friday, May 25, 2012
Mission Notes vs Tampa (May 25-27)
THE SERIES .... Lakeland welcomes the Yankees to Joker Marchant Stadium for a weekend series that gets underway with a 7:11 pm game on Friday. Saturday’s game is at 6 pm with Sunday’s game to follow at 1 pm.
THE FLYING TIGERS (23-22, 3rd, 6.0 GB) ... Lakeland will be looking to get back on track after dropping three straight in Bradenton. The Flying Tigers have now lost six of their last eight games to fall 6.0 games behind Dunedin. Despite the skid, Lakeland remains atop the Florida State League with a .265 team batting average. Nick Castellanos continues to lead minor league baseball with a .411 batting average and is the only batter to be hitting .400 or better.
THE YANKEES (21-26, 4th, 9.0 GB) ... Tampa took three out of four games at Palm Beach in its latest series. Two of those wins came in 10 innings as the Yankees have now won four their last five since losing five of the previous six contests. Rob Segedin is tied for first in the Florida State League with 15 doubles, third with 33 runs scored and 86 total bases, and fourth with 53 hits. Segedin leads the Yankees with a .294 average, six homers and 27 runs batted in. Mark Montgomery is fifth in the Florida State League with eight saves. The Tampa closer is 3-1 with a 1.23 ERA in 16 appearances.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS ...
5/25 - LHP Brian Flynn (4-1, 2.94 ERA) ... Flynn has one win and four no decisions in his last five starts despite posting a 3.25 ERA with 23 strikeouts. Flynn, who has surrendered one run in each of his last three starts, leads the Flying Tigers with 38 strikeouts in 52.0 innings, but has also issued the second most walks with 14.
5/26 - LHP Shawn Teufel (1-3, 7.67 ERA) ... Teufel is 0-2 with two no decisions since returning from a two-game stint in AAA Toledo. In his last start on May 21 at Bradenton, he worked 5.0 innings and allowed three runs on seven hits, but walked four batters.
5/27 - RHP Luis Angel Sanz (1-1, 7.50 ERA) ... Sanz made his first start of the season on May 22 at Bradenton, striking out six and walking one in 7.0 innings. He was victimized by his defense which committed five errors on the night, allowing six runs - three earned.
THIS YEAR ... Lakeland has won each of the previous seven meetings this season. Nick Castellanos has 13 hits in the seven games with Tyler Collins knocking out 10 hits, including nine in the first three games. Avisail Garcia and Wade Gaynor each have eight hits in the series with Gaynor collecting three triples. No Flying Tiger has homered against Tampa in the seven previous meetings. Alex Burgos has two wins in the series.
ROSTER SHUFFLE ... Avisail Garcia was placed on the disabled list on Wednesday, May 23 joining Kevin Eichhorn and Daniel Fields. On Thursday, May 24, Wade Gaynor was promoted to AA Erie with Jeff Holm joining the club from West Michigan and Zach Maggard added from extended spring training. Holm was batting .294 in 17 games for the Whitecaps. Maggard played at nearby Florida Southern College.
PLAGMAN HITS FOR THE CYCLE ... Former Flying Tiger Tony Plagman had a night to remember on May 22, hitting for the cycle in Erie’s 8-7 win over Reading. Plagman got his big night off with a bang, slamming a grand slam in a six-run first inning for the SeaWolves. After reaching on a fielder’s choice in his second at bat, Plagman doubled in the fifth inning. He then picked up the hard part of the cycle, tripling in the seventh. To put the crowning touch on the night, he drove in the winning run with a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth.
POWER OUTAGE ... Lakeland has hit just one home run in the last 12 games. Tyler Collins clubbed a two-run shot on May 17 against St. Lucie for the only Flying Tiger round-tripper since May 11.
JUMP ON THE STARTERS ... Flying Tiger starting pitchers have allowed 16 runs in their last three games.
CONSISTENT CASTELLANOS ... Nick Castellanos collected hits in each of the four games at Bradenton going 9x15 (.600) and has at least one hit in 41 of his 45 games played this season. In addition to leading the minor leagues with a .411 average, the Flying Tigers third baseman leads the Florida State League with 72 hits, 96 total bases, .472 on-base and .549 slugging percentages and is tied for second with 14 doubles. He is also fourth with 28 runs batted in. Castellanos is also consistent on the field, leading the league with 105 total chances and 78 assists at third base.
SLAMMING THE DOOR ... Closer Bruce Rondon is nine for ten in save opportunities this season. His nine saves is tied for third in the FSL. He has allowed just one run over his last 13.1 innings in 12 appearances with 20 strikeouts. He has also walked just one batter in his last eight trips out of the bullpen.
SLAMMING THE DOOR, PT. II ... Thanks largely in part to Bruce Rondon’s skill coming out of the pen, the Flying Tigers are a perfect 18-0 when taking a lead into the ninth inning.
UNTOUCHABLE ... Tyler Clark has not allowed a hit or run in his last 10.1 innings over six appearances. He has struck out 15 batters and walked five over that span.
CUTTING ‘EM DONE ... James McCann has gunned down 23 would be base stealers this season – the most of any catcher in the Florida State League. He has thrown out 46.9 percent of the runners trying to steal – a figure that also leads the league.
WHAT’S THE POINT? ... Usually a team that scores first in a game wins that game. It’s true for every team in the Florida State League, but Lakeland is only 12-9 when putting the first number on the scoreboard for a .571 winning percentage – lowest in the league. On the other side, the Flying Tigers are 15-5 when the opponent scores first for a .750 winning percentage – third best in the FSL.
SOLID AT FIRST ... James Robbins has been a rock at the first sack for Lakeland. The Flying Tigers first baseman has not committed an error in 423 chances at first base and leads the lead with his 1.000 fielding percentage. He also leads the FSL with 394 putouts.
UP NEXT ... Lakeland will next hit the road for a seven-game road trip opening with three games at Dunedin on May 29-31 and then heading to Jupiter for games on June 1-4. The Flying Tigers’ next home game will be Tuesday, June 5 against Charlotte.
CLOSING IN ON 1700 ... Manager Dave Huppert is in his second season with Lakeland and his 24th season as a minor league manager. Huppert, who entered the 2012 season as the second winningest active minor league manager, brings a 1,695-1,557 record into the Tampa series. With five more wins, Huppert will become the first active minor league manager to reach 1,700 wins. (Tom Kotchman, manager of the Orem club in the Angels’ organization finished the 2011 season with the most wins as a active manager with 1,678, but the Owls season does not begin until June). The all-time record for wins belongs to Stan Wasiak of the Dodger’s organization, who won 2,497 games.
THE ORGANIZATION ... Detroit, loser of three straight, is third in the American League Central Division with a 20-24 record, 6.0 games behind Cleveland .... Toledo, which has also lost three straight, is in second place in the International League West Division with a 23-24 record, 3.5 games out of first place ... Erie is 22-23 and in third place in the Eastern League Western Division, 6.5 games out ... West Michigan is 21-26 in the Midwest League Eastern Division, 12.5 games back in seventh place.
THE FLYING TIGERS (23-22, 3rd, 6.0 GB) ... Lakeland will be looking to get back on track after dropping three straight in Bradenton. The Flying Tigers have now lost six of their last eight games to fall 6.0 games behind Dunedin. Despite the skid, Lakeland remains atop the Florida State League with a .265 team batting average. Nick Castellanos continues to lead minor league baseball with a .411 batting average and is the only batter to be hitting .400 or better.
THE YANKEES (21-26, 4th, 9.0 GB) ... Tampa took three out of four games at Palm Beach in its latest series. Two of those wins came in 10 innings as the Yankees have now won four their last five since losing five of the previous six contests. Rob Segedin is tied for first in the Florida State League with 15 doubles, third with 33 runs scored and 86 total bases, and fourth with 53 hits. Segedin leads the Yankees with a .294 average, six homers and 27 runs batted in. Mark Montgomery is fifth in the Florida State League with eight saves. The Tampa closer is 3-1 with a 1.23 ERA in 16 appearances.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS ...
5/25 - LHP Brian Flynn (4-1, 2.94 ERA) ... Flynn has one win and four no decisions in his last five starts despite posting a 3.25 ERA with 23 strikeouts. Flynn, who has surrendered one run in each of his last three starts, leads the Flying Tigers with 38 strikeouts in 52.0 innings, but has also issued the second most walks with 14.
5/26 - LHP Shawn Teufel (1-3, 7.67 ERA) ... Teufel is 0-2 with two no decisions since returning from a two-game stint in AAA Toledo. In his last start on May 21 at Bradenton, he worked 5.0 innings and allowed three runs on seven hits, but walked four batters.
5/27 - RHP Luis Angel Sanz (1-1, 7.50 ERA) ... Sanz made his first start of the season on May 22 at Bradenton, striking out six and walking one in 7.0 innings. He was victimized by his defense which committed five errors on the night, allowing six runs - three earned.
THIS YEAR ... Lakeland has won each of the previous seven meetings this season. Nick Castellanos has 13 hits in the seven games with Tyler Collins knocking out 10 hits, including nine in the first three games. Avisail Garcia and Wade Gaynor each have eight hits in the series with Gaynor collecting three triples. No Flying Tiger has homered against Tampa in the seven previous meetings. Alex Burgos has two wins in the series.
ROSTER SHUFFLE ... Avisail Garcia was placed on the disabled list on Wednesday, May 23 joining Kevin Eichhorn and Daniel Fields. On Thursday, May 24, Wade Gaynor was promoted to AA Erie with Jeff Holm joining the club from West Michigan and Zach Maggard added from extended spring training. Holm was batting .294 in 17 games for the Whitecaps. Maggard played at nearby Florida Southern College.
PLAGMAN HITS FOR THE CYCLE ... Former Flying Tiger Tony Plagman had a night to remember on May 22, hitting for the cycle in Erie’s 8-7 win over Reading. Plagman got his big night off with a bang, slamming a grand slam in a six-run first inning for the SeaWolves. After reaching on a fielder’s choice in his second at bat, Plagman doubled in the fifth inning. He then picked up the hard part of the cycle, tripling in the seventh. To put the crowning touch on the night, he drove in the winning run with a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth.
POWER OUTAGE ... Lakeland has hit just one home run in the last 12 games. Tyler Collins clubbed a two-run shot on May 17 against St. Lucie for the only Flying Tiger round-tripper since May 11.
JUMP ON THE STARTERS ... Flying Tiger starting pitchers have allowed 16 runs in their last three games.
CONSISTENT CASTELLANOS ... Nick Castellanos collected hits in each of the four games at Bradenton going 9x15 (.600) and has at least one hit in 41 of his 45 games played this season. In addition to leading the minor leagues with a .411 average, the Flying Tigers third baseman leads the Florida State League with 72 hits, 96 total bases, .472 on-base and .549 slugging percentages and is tied for second with 14 doubles. He is also fourth with 28 runs batted in. Castellanos is also consistent on the field, leading the league with 105 total chances and 78 assists at third base.
SLAMMING THE DOOR ... Closer Bruce Rondon is nine for ten in save opportunities this season. His nine saves is tied for third in the FSL. He has allowed just one run over his last 13.1 innings in 12 appearances with 20 strikeouts. He has also walked just one batter in his last eight trips out of the bullpen.
SLAMMING THE DOOR, PT. II ... Thanks largely in part to Bruce Rondon’s skill coming out of the pen, the Flying Tigers are a perfect 18-0 when taking a lead into the ninth inning.
UNTOUCHABLE ... Tyler Clark has not allowed a hit or run in his last 10.1 innings over six appearances. He has struck out 15 batters and walked five over that span.
CUTTING ‘EM DONE ... James McCann has gunned down 23 would be base stealers this season – the most of any catcher in the Florida State League. He has thrown out 46.9 percent of the runners trying to steal – a figure that also leads the league.
WHAT’S THE POINT? ... Usually a team that scores first in a game wins that game. It’s true for every team in the Florida State League, but Lakeland is only 12-9 when putting the first number on the scoreboard for a .571 winning percentage – lowest in the league. On the other side, the Flying Tigers are 15-5 when the opponent scores first for a .750 winning percentage – third best in the FSL.
SOLID AT FIRST ... James Robbins has been a rock at the first sack for Lakeland. The Flying Tigers first baseman has not committed an error in 423 chances at first base and leads the lead with his 1.000 fielding percentage. He also leads the FSL with 394 putouts.
UP NEXT ... Lakeland will next hit the road for a seven-game road trip opening with three games at Dunedin on May 29-31 and then heading to Jupiter for games on June 1-4. The Flying Tigers’ next home game will be Tuesday, June 5 against Charlotte.
CLOSING IN ON 1700 ... Manager Dave Huppert is in his second season with Lakeland and his 24th season as a minor league manager. Huppert, who entered the 2012 season as the second winningest active minor league manager, brings a 1,695-1,557 record into the Tampa series. With five more wins, Huppert will become the first active minor league manager to reach 1,700 wins. (Tom Kotchman, manager of the Orem club in the Angels’ organization finished the 2011 season with the most wins as a active manager with 1,678, but the Owls season does not begin until June). The all-time record for wins belongs to Stan Wasiak of the Dodger’s organization, who won 2,497 games.
THE ORGANIZATION ... Detroit, loser of three straight, is third in the American League Central Division with a 20-24 record, 6.0 games behind Cleveland .... Toledo, which has also lost three straight, is in second place in the International League West Division with a 23-24 record, 3.5 games out of first place ... Erie is 22-23 and in third place in the Eastern League Western Division, 6.5 games out ... West Michigan is 21-26 in the Midwest League Eastern Division, 12.5 games back in seventh place.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Mission Notes vs. Bradenton (May 21-24)
THE SERIES .... All four games in the series will be played at Bradenton’s McKechnie Stadium with Monday’s game at 10 a.m. The final three games will be 6:30 p.m. starts. The games may be heard on the Marauders’ website, www.bradentonmarauders.com.
THE FLYING TIGERS (22-19, T-2nd-North, 5.0 GB) ... Lakeland got past St. Lucie 2-1 on Sunday to snap a three-game losing streak to the Mets. Coming into the series tied for the FSL-lead with a .270 batting average, Lakeland knocked out 12 hits in game one, but was held to just six hits in the final three games by the league’s best pitching staff. Dixon Machado had five hits in the series, including three hits in game two. Lakeland has a 5-7 record against South Division teams this season and is 12-9 in road games. Lakeland remains tied for the league lead with a .267 team batting average and is eighth with a 3.88 staff ERA.
THE MARAUDERS (19-24, 4th-South, 15.0 GB) ... Bradenton enters this series having lost six of its last seven games. Mel Rojas leads the club with a .289 average while Stefan Welch is second with a .277 mark and a team-leading six homers. Drew Maggi has a .264 average to go with his team-best 13 stolen bases which ranks second in the FSL. Gerrit Cole is 2-1 on the year with a 2.93 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 40.0 innings pitched. Jameson Taillon is 2-3, but has a 2.55 ERA and 40 punch outs in 42.1 innings pitched. Bradenton ranks ninth in the league with a .244 team batting average and is fourth with a 3.21 staff ERA.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS ...
5/21 - LHP Shawn Teufel (1-3, 8.18 ERA) ... Teufel is 0-2 with a 10.66 ERA since rejoining Lakeland April 26 after going 1-1 in two games for AAA Toledo. In his last outing on May 16 against Tampa, he allowed five runs on eight hits over 6.0 innings, but did record five strikeouts without a walk.
5/22 - TBA
5/23 - LHP Alex Burgos (2-5, 5.15 ERA) ... Burgos took the loss in his last outing giving up six runs – two earned – in 5.1 innings against St. Lucie on May 18. He has struck out five batters in each of his last two starts, but has walked nine batters in the two games.
5/24 - RHP Brian Stroud (0-0, 6.23 ERA) ... Stroud will be making his second appearance of the 2012 season having joined Lakeland on April 30 from extended spring training. In his only start, he worked 4.1 innings on May 19 against St. Lucie, allowing three runs on seven hits.
TRIPLE PLAY ... Lakeland won six of the eight meetings in 2011, but the first meeting is the most memorable. In that game on May 22 in Lakeland, the Flying Tigers turned a triple play that led to two Bradenton ejections. Here’s the recap from MLB.com, “Robbie Grossman and Aaron Baker walked to open the eighth for the Marauders against reliever Kevin Hess. Adalberto Santos hit a popup to shallow right field, where Avisail Garcia made an apparent sliding catch. As Garcia rolled over, however, the ball got away from him and both runners advanced a base. First base umpire Jose Rivera ruled it a catch, and the Flying Tigers were able to double Grossman off second base and nab Baker for the triple play. (Marauder manager) Carlos Garcia had charged across the diamond from the third-base coach’s box to argue with Rivera, who tossed him while the play was unfolding. Grossman was ejected after the inning and had to be separated from Rivera by teammates.”
INSIDE THE MARAUDERS ROSTER ... Gerrit Cole was a first round pick of Pittsburgh in 2011 draft out of UCLA and signed for an $8 million signing bonus. Cole was also a first round pick by the New York Yankees in 2008 out of high school, but did not sign. Jameson Taillon was the Pirates’ first round pick in the 2010 draft out of high school and was ranked by MLB.com as the No. 8 prospect in baseball entering the 2012 season. Taillon was 8-1 with a 1.78 ERA as a high school senior with 114 strikeouts in 62.0 innings pitched. Evan Chambers attended Lakeland High School and was Pittsburgh’s third-round draft pick in 2009. Wes Freeman is also from Lakeland and attended All Saints Academy in Winter Haven before playing collegiately at the University of Central Florida. Mel Rojas is the son of former major league Mel Rojas, Sr. who played 10 years in the major including the 1999 season for Detroit.
NINE FOR NINE ... Lakeland closer Bruce Rondon is a perfect nine-for-nine in save opportunities in 2011. His nine saves is second in the FSL.
AVI-SAILING ALONG ... Avisail Garcia is 12x43 (.279) with seven runs scored and four RBI in his last eight games.
GAYNING GROUND ... Wade Gaynor is 13x40 (.325) with three doubles and three triples in his last 12 games.
ONE OR THE OTHER ... Dixon Machado was held to three hits over a 10-game stretch, but scored at least one run in nine of those games. Since then, he has five hits in four games, but has not scored.
THE McCANN CAN ... James McCann has hits in seven of his last nine games (9x31, .290) with five runs scored and seven runs batted in.
HERNAN FIRE ... Hernan Perez has hits in 11 of his last 15 games (14x50, .280) and has scored in four of the last six games.
I’M EIGHTEEN ... Nick Castellanos was held hitless in game two of the St. Lucie series on May 18 to snap his 18-game hit streak – the longest in the Florida State League this season. The third baseman was 31x72 (.431) during the streak with four doubles, two triples and a home run with 12 runs batted in. It was only third time this season Castellanos was held without a hit. Unfortunately, the Mets duplicated the feat on May 20, holding him hitless in three at bats. After cranking out 10 hits in five games, Nick Castellanos is 1x9 is his last three games, but still leads the FSL with a .394 average, 63 hits, 86 total bases, and a .456 slugging percentage.
NUMBER NINE ... Luis Castillo also had a hitting mark come to an end in the St. Lucie series, seeing a nine-game streak snapped. The center fielder was 13x38 (.342) with four doubles during the stretch, but is 1x12 the last three games.
GROUNDED ... Tyler Collins is 4x27 (.148) the last seven games while James Robbins is 2x19 (.105).
ELUSIVE GOOSE EGG ... Lakeland is the only team in the FSL not to have thrown a shutout this season.
ROSTER SHUFFLE ... Lakeland added Brian Stroud to the roster on May 18 from extended spring training. Stroud was 0-3 with a 8.27 ERA for Lakeland in 2011. He was a 31st round pick by Detroit in 2011 out of Western Michigan University.
UP NEXT ... Following this series, the Flying Tigers return home to face the Tampa Yankees in a three-game set May 25-27. Lakeland is 7-0 versus Tampa so far this season.
CLOSING IN ON 1700 ... Manager Dave Huppert is in his second season with Lakeland and his 24th season as a minor league manager. Huppert, who entered the 2012 season as the second winningest active minor league manager, brings a 1,694-1,555 record into the Bradenton series. With six more wins, Huppert will become the first active minor league manager to reach 1,700 wins. (Tom Kotchman, manager of the Orem club in the Angels’ organization finished the 2011 season with the most wins as a active manager with 1,678, but the Owls season does not begin until June.). The all-time record for wins belongs to Stan Wasiak of the Dodger’s organization, who won 2,497 games.
THE FLYING TIGERS (22-19, T-2nd-North, 5.0 GB) ... Lakeland got past St. Lucie 2-1 on Sunday to snap a three-game losing streak to the Mets. Coming into the series tied for the FSL-lead with a .270 batting average, Lakeland knocked out 12 hits in game one, but was held to just six hits in the final three games by the league’s best pitching staff. Dixon Machado had five hits in the series, including three hits in game two. Lakeland has a 5-7 record against South Division teams this season and is 12-9 in road games. Lakeland remains tied for the league lead with a .267 team batting average and is eighth with a 3.88 staff ERA.
THE MARAUDERS (19-24, 4th-South, 15.0 GB) ... Bradenton enters this series having lost six of its last seven games. Mel Rojas leads the club with a .289 average while Stefan Welch is second with a .277 mark and a team-leading six homers. Drew Maggi has a .264 average to go with his team-best 13 stolen bases which ranks second in the FSL. Gerrit Cole is 2-1 on the year with a 2.93 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 40.0 innings pitched. Jameson Taillon is 2-3, but has a 2.55 ERA and 40 punch outs in 42.1 innings pitched. Bradenton ranks ninth in the league with a .244 team batting average and is fourth with a 3.21 staff ERA.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS ...
5/21 - LHP Shawn Teufel (1-3, 8.18 ERA) ... Teufel is 0-2 with a 10.66 ERA since rejoining Lakeland April 26 after going 1-1 in two games for AAA Toledo. In his last outing on May 16 against Tampa, he allowed five runs on eight hits over 6.0 innings, but did record five strikeouts without a walk.
5/22 - TBA
5/23 - LHP Alex Burgos (2-5, 5.15 ERA) ... Burgos took the loss in his last outing giving up six runs – two earned – in 5.1 innings against St. Lucie on May 18. He has struck out five batters in each of his last two starts, but has walked nine batters in the two games.
5/24 - RHP Brian Stroud (0-0, 6.23 ERA) ... Stroud will be making his second appearance of the 2012 season having joined Lakeland on April 30 from extended spring training. In his only start, he worked 4.1 innings on May 19 against St. Lucie, allowing three runs on seven hits.
TRIPLE PLAY ... Lakeland won six of the eight meetings in 2011, but the first meeting is the most memorable. In that game on May 22 in Lakeland, the Flying Tigers turned a triple play that led to two Bradenton ejections. Here’s the recap from MLB.com, “Robbie Grossman and Aaron Baker walked to open the eighth for the Marauders against reliever Kevin Hess. Adalberto Santos hit a popup to shallow right field, where Avisail Garcia made an apparent sliding catch. As Garcia rolled over, however, the ball got away from him and both runners advanced a base. First base umpire Jose Rivera ruled it a catch, and the Flying Tigers were able to double Grossman off second base and nab Baker for the triple play. (Marauder manager) Carlos Garcia had charged across the diamond from the third-base coach’s box to argue with Rivera, who tossed him while the play was unfolding. Grossman was ejected after the inning and had to be separated from Rivera by teammates.”
INSIDE THE MARAUDERS ROSTER ... Gerrit Cole was a first round pick of Pittsburgh in 2011 draft out of UCLA and signed for an $8 million signing bonus. Cole was also a first round pick by the New York Yankees in 2008 out of high school, but did not sign. Jameson Taillon was the Pirates’ first round pick in the 2010 draft out of high school and was ranked by MLB.com as the No. 8 prospect in baseball entering the 2012 season. Taillon was 8-1 with a 1.78 ERA as a high school senior with 114 strikeouts in 62.0 innings pitched. Evan Chambers attended Lakeland High School and was Pittsburgh’s third-round draft pick in 2009. Wes Freeman is also from Lakeland and attended All Saints Academy in Winter Haven before playing collegiately at the University of Central Florida. Mel Rojas is the son of former major league Mel Rojas, Sr. who played 10 years in the major including the 1999 season for Detroit.
NINE FOR NINE ... Lakeland closer Bruce Rondon is a perfect nine-for-nine in save opportunities in 2011. His nine saves is second in the FSL.
AVI-SAILING ALONG ... Avisail Garcia is 12x43 (.279) with seven runs scored and four RBI in his last eight games.
GAYNING GROUND ... Wade Gaynor is 13x40 (.325) with three doubles and three triples in his last 12 games.
ONE OR THE OTHER ... Dixon Machado was held to three hits over a 10-game stretch, but scored at least one run in nine of those games. Since then, he has five hits in four games, but has not scored.
THE McCANN CAN ... James McCann has hits in seven of his last nine games (9x31, .290) with five runs scored and seven runs batted in.
HERNAN FIRE ... Hernan Perez has hits in 11 of his last 15 games (14x50, .280) and has scored in four of the last six games.
I’M EIGHTEEN ... Nick Castellanos was held hitless in game two of the St. Lucie series on May 18 to snap his 18-game hit streak – the longest in the Florida State League this season. The third baseman was 31x72 (.431) during the streak with four doubles, two triples and a home run with 12 runs batted in. It was only third time this season Castellanos was held without a hit. Unfortunately, the Mets duplicated the feat on May 20, holding him hitless in three at bats. After cranking out 10 hits in five games, Nick Castellanos is 1x9 is his last three games, but still leads the FSL with a .394 average, 63 hits, 86 total bases, and a .456 slugging percentage.
NUMBER NINE ... Luis Castillo also had a hitting mark come to an end in the St. Lucie series, seeing a nine-game streak snapped. The center fielder was 13x38 (.342) with four doubles during the stretch, but is 1x12 the last three games.
GROUNDED ... Tyler Collins is 4x27 (.148) the last seven games while James Robbins is 2x19 (.105).
ELUSIVE GOOSE EGG ... Lakeland is the only team in the FSL not to have thrown a shutout this season.
ROSTER SHUFFLE ... Lakeland added Brian Stroud to the roster on May 18 from extended spring training. Stroud was 0-3 with a 8.27 ERA for Lakeland in 2011. He was a 31st round pick by Detroit in 2011 out of Western Michigan University.
UP NEXT ... Following this series, the Flying Tigers return home to face the Tampa Yankees in a three-game set May 25-27. Lakeland is 7-0 versus Tampa so far this season.
CLOSING IN ON 1700 ... Manager Dave Huppert is in his second season with Lakeland and his 24th season as a minor league manager. Huppert, who entered the 2012 season as the second winningest active minor league manager, brings a 1,694-1,555 record into the Bradenton series. With six more wins, Huppert will become the first active minor league manager to reach 1,700 wins. (Tom Kotchman, manager of the Orem club in the Angels’ organization finished the 2011 season with the most wins as a active manager with 1,678, but the Owls season does not begin until June.). The all-time record for wins belongs to Stan Wasiak of the Dodger’s organization, who won 2,497 games.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Mission Notes vs. St. Lucie (May 17-21)
THE SERIES .... All four games of this series will be played in Lakeland May 17-20 with all four starting at different times. Thursday’s game is at 6:30 pm followed by Friday’s 7:11 pm first pitch. Saturday’s contest gets underway at 6 pm with Sunday’s game beginning at 1 pm. The series features the top two hitting teams in the Florida State League with each squad batting .270 on the season.
THE FLYING TIGERS (21-16, 2nd-North, 3.0 GB) ... Lakeland is returning from a four-game road trip at Tampa in which the Flying Tigers swept the Yankees to climb within three games of the first place Blue Jays. Lakeland has now won four straight and eight of the last 12 games. While the Flying Tigers have batted .254 the last nine games and the starting pitching staff has a 3.76 ERA with 35 strikeouts and 15 walks, the bullpen may be the star with a 2.17 ERA, 29 punch outs and 11 free passes.
THE METS (31-8, 1st-South, 0.0 GB) ... St. Lucie is coming off a doubleheader sweep of Bradenton on Wednesday, winning game one 6-3 and game two 4-0. The sweep gives the Mets the best record in all of professional baseball and they are the only team still to still have a single digit in the loss column.. The Mets have won three straight, six of their last seven and 17 of their last 21 games. Wilmer Flores leads the squad with a .321 average (5th in the FSL) and 23 runs batted in and is second with six home runs. Cory Vaughn is tied for the FSL lead with eight dingers and second on the Mets with 20 RBI. The duo has helped the Mets hit 34 homers, six more than any other FSL squad. Cory Mazzoni is 3-0 with a 2.55 ERA while Chase Huchingson is 4-3 with a 2.80 ERA and Angel Cuan is 3-1 on the season with a 2.84 in six starts. Adrian Rosario is second in the league with 10 saves. No surprise that St. Lucie leads the Florida State League with a 2.60 ERA - 54 points lower that any other FSL pitching staff.
PROBABLE STARTERS ... (With the Flying Tigers recently losing two of their starting rotation in Jacob Turner, who was promoted to AAA Toledo, and Kevin Eichhorn, who was placed on the DL, the author is taking a pass on probable starters for this series.)
LAST YEAR ... The two clubs split their eight games in 2011. Lakeland won games one and four in St. Lucie by a combined 17-8 score while the Mets posted back-to-back shutouts in games two and three. In the rematch in Lakeland, St. Lucie won 6-5 and 8-2 sandwiched around a pair of Flying Tigers wins of 4-3 and 2-1.
INSIDE THE METS ROSTER ... St. Lucie pitcher Hamilton Bennett tossed a perfect game for Tennessee Wesleyan College on May 1, 2010 becoming just the 20th player in the NAIA to accomplish the feat ... catcher Francisco Pena is the son of former major leaguer Tony Pena while Cory Vaughn’s father is former big-leaguer Greg Vaughn ... infielder Robbie Shields was drafted in 2009 out of Lakeland’s Florida Southern College.
HE WAS JUST 17 ... Nick Castellanos collected a single and double in the Flying Tigers’ 6-5 win on Wednesday to extend his hit streak to a league-best 17 games. During the streak, the Lakeland third baseman is 29x69 (.420) with four doubles, two triples, a homer, and 12 runs batted in. In his last four games Castellanos is 8x19 (.421). The streak ties Corey Jones’ feat of last season and is the longest for a Flying Tiger since Kody Kaiser had hits in 21 straight games from July 29 to August 14, 2010.
ON TOP LOOKING DOWN ... Nick Castellanos maintains his minor-league leading average with a .405 mark on the season - 10 points higher that Jared Goedert of Akron who has a .395 mark. Castellanos hits righthanders better, tagging them for a .425 mark compared to a .357 average against lefties. With runners on base, his average is a lofty .478 on the year. His lead in the FSL is a comfortable 52 points over Andy Ashce of Clearwater who is hitting .353 for the Threshers. Castellanos also leads the league with 60 hits, a .451 on-base percentage, 82 total bases, and a .554 slugging percentage.
CRAZY EIGHT ... Luis Castillo enters the series with an eight-game hit streak in which he is 11x33 (.333) with four doubles and three runs.
HAVE A SERIES ... Playing in three of the four games at Tampa, Wade Gaynor collected six hits in 11 at bats with two doubles and two triples and had two runs scored and four runs driven in.
INSIDE THE ‘PEN ... Tyler Clark has not been scored upon in his last four games and has allowed runs in just two of his nine appearances this season ... Matt Crouse has not allowed a run in seven relief appearances while allowing just five hits ... Matt Little has surrendered just one run in his last eight appearances and has 15 strikeouts and five walks in those outings ... closer Bruce Rondon has saves in seven of his last eight outings and has not allowed a run in his last eight games with 13 strikeouts and two walks ... Tyler White picked up his first win of the year with 3.0 shutout innings against Tampa on May 16. He struck out five Yankees and allowed just one hit ... Ryan Woolley also picked up his first win on May 15 at Tampa allowing one run in 2.0 innings of relief.
ALL DEPENDS ON HOW YOU LOOK AT IT ... Dixon Machado is hitless in his last six games and only has three hits since May 5, but has scored a run in 9 of 10 games in that span, including crossing the plate in eight consecutive games from May 5-14.
GOOD TO BE HOME ... Tyler Collins got just a double in 16 at bats in the Tampa series, but returns to Joker Marchant Stadium where he has a .393 average compared to his .229 road average. James McCann had two hits at Tampa but has a .333 average in Lakeland and a .197 record away from the friendly confines. Avisail Garcia fared a little better against the Yankees with three hits, but like Collins and McCann, hits far better in home games with a .446 average at Joker Marchant in contrast to his .233 mark in road games.
LUCKY SEVEN ... With Wednesday’s victory over the Yankees, Lakeland has now won all seven meetings with Tampa this season, matching the team’s number of wins in the entire 20-game series in 2011.
FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING ... Scoring three runs in the top of the ninth on Wednesday for a 6-5 win at Tampa gave the Flying Tigers their first win in 14 games in which they trailed after eight innings.
ROSTER SHUFFLE ... Detroit promoted Jacob Turner to AAA Toledo on Saturday, May 12 with Patrick Cooper added to the roster from West Michigan. On May 15, Kevin Eichhorn was placed on the disabled list.
PLAGMAN POWER ... While the former Flying Tiger hasn’t had the season to date he’d like, Tony Plagman put on a show on May 12, knocking out three homers in a 11-6 win. Plagman, who had three homers for the season entering the game, was 4x5 on the night with eight runs batted in.
UP NEXT ... Lakeland hits the road to Bradenton for a four-game set starting Monday, May 21 at 10 am in yet another morning game for the Flying Tigers. The remaining three games are 6:30 pm starts.
CLOSING IN ON 1700 ... Manager Dave Huppert is in his second season with Lakeland and his 24th season as a minor league manager. Huppert, who entered the 2012 season as the second winningest active minor league manager, brings a 1,693-1,551 record into the St. Lucie series. With seven more wins, Huppert will become the first active minor league manager to reach 1,700 wins. (Tom Kotchman, manager of the Orem club in the Angels’ organization finished the 2011 season with the most wins as a active manager with 1,678, but the Owls season does not begin until June.). The all-time record for wins belongs to Stan Wasiak of the Dodger’s organization, who won 2,497 games.
THE FLYING TIGERS (21-16, 2nd-North, 3.0 GB) ... Lakeland is returning from a four-game road trip at Tampa in which the Flying Tigers swept the Yankees to climb within three games of the first place Blue Jays. Lakeland has now won four straight and eight of the last 12 games. While the Flying Tigers have batted .254 the last nine games and the starting pitching staff has a 3.76 ERA with 35 strikeouts and 15 walks, the bullpen may be the star with a 2.17 ERA, 29 punch outs and 11 free passes.
THE METS (31-8, 1st-South, 0.0 GB) ... St. Lucie is coming off a doubleheader sweep of Bradenton on Wednesday, winning game one 6-3 and game two 4-0. The sweep gives the Mets the best record in all of professional baseball and they are the only team still to still have a single digit in the loss column.. The Mets have won three straight, six of their last seven and 17 of their last 21 games. Wilmer Flores leads the squad with a .321 average (5th in the FSL) and 23 runs batted in and is second with six home runs. Cory Vaughn is tied for the FSL lead with eight dingers and second on the Mets with 20 RBI. The duo has helped the Mets hit 34 homers, six more than any other FSL squad. Cory Mazzoni is 3-0 with a 2.55 ERA while Chase Huchingson is 4-3 with a 2.80 ERA and Angel Cuan is 3-1 on the season with a 2.84 in six starts. Adrian Rosario is second in the league with 10 saves. No surprise that St. Lucie leads the Florida State League with a 2.60 ERA - 54 points lower that any other FSL pitching staff.
PROBABLE STARTERS ... (With the Flying Tigers recently losing two of their starting rotation in Jacob Turner, who was promoted to AAA Toledo, and Kevin Eichhorn, who was placed on the DL, the author is taking a pass on probable starters for this series.)
LAST YEAR ... The two clubs split their eight games in 2011. Lakeland won games one and four in St. Lucie by a combined 17-8 score while the Mets posted back-to-back shutouts in games two and three. In the rematch in Lakeland, St. Lucie won 6-5 and 8-2 sandwiched around a pair of Flying Tigers wins of 4-3 and 2-1.
INSIDE THE METS ROSTER ... St. Lucie pitcher Hamilton Bennett tossed a perfect game for Tennessee Wesleyan College on May 1, 2010 becoming just the 20th player in the NAIA to accomplish the feat ... catcher Francisco Pena is the son of former major leaguer Tony Pena while Cory Vaughn’s father is former big-leaguer Greg Vaughn ... infielder Robbie Shields was drafted in 2009 out of Lakeland’s Florida Southern College.
HE WAS JUST 17 ... Nick Castellanos collected a single and double in the Flying Tigers’ 6-5 win on Wednesday to extend his hit streak to a league-best 17 games. During the streak, the Lakeland third baseman is 29x69 (.420) with four doubles, two triples, a homer, and 12 runs batted in. In his last four games Castellanos is 8x19 (.421). The streak ties Corey Jones’ feat of last season and is the longest for a Flying Tiger since Kody Kaiser had hits in 21 straight games from July 29 to August 14, 2010.
ON TOP LOOKING DOWN ... Nick Castellanos maintains his minor-league leading average with a .405 mark on the season - 10 points higher that Jared Goedert of Akron who has a .395 mark. Castellanos hits righthanders better, tagging them for a .425 mark compared to a .357 average against lefties. With runners on base, his average is a lofty .478 on the year. His lead in the FSL is a comfortable 52 points over Andy Ashce of Clearwater who is hitting .353 for the Threshers. Castellanos also leads the league with 60 hits, a .451 on-base percentage, 82 total bases, and a .554 slugging percentage.
CRAZY EIGHT ... Luis Castillo enters the series with an eight-game hit streak in which he is 11x33 (.333) with four doubles and three runs.
HAVE A SERIES ... Playing in three of the four games at Tampa, Wade Gaynor collected six hits in 11 at bats with two doubles and two triples and had two runs scored and four runs driven in.
INSIDE THE ‘PEN ... Tyler Clark has not been scored upon in his last four games and has allowed runs in just two of his nine appearances this season ... Matt Crouse has not allowed a run in seven relief appearances while allowing just five hits ... Matt Little has surrendered just one run in his last eight appearances and has 15 strikeouts and five walks in those outings ... closer Bruce Rondon has saves in seven of his last eight outings and has not allowed a run in his last eight games with 13 strikeouts and two walks ... Tyler White picked up his first win of the year with 3.0 shutout innings against Tampa on May 16. He struck out five Yankees and allowed just one hit ... Ryan Woolley also picked up his first win on May 15 at Tampa allowing one run in 2.0 innings of relief.
ALL DEPENDS ON HOW YOU LOOK AT IT ... Dixon Machado is hitless in his last six games and only has three hits since May 5, but has scored a run in 9 of 10 games in that span, including crossing the plate in eight consecutive games from May 5-14.
GOOD TO BE HOME ... Tyler Collins got just a double in 16 at bats in the Tampa series, but returns to Joker Marchant Stadium where he has a .393 average compared to his .229 road average. James McCann had two hits at Tampa but has a .333 average in Lakeland and a .197 record away from the friendly confines. Avisail Garcia fared a little better against the Yankees with three hits, but like Collins and McCann, hits far better in home games with a .446 average at Joker Marchant in contrast to his .233 mark in road games.
LUCKY SEVEN ... With Wednesday’s victory over the Yankees, Lakeland has now won all seven meetings with Tampa this season, matching the team’s number of wins in the entire 20-game series in 2011.
FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING ... Scoring three runs in the top of the ninth on Wednesday for a 6-5 win at Tampa gave the Flying Tigers their first win in 14 games in which they trailed after eight innings.
ROSTER SHUFFLE ... Detroit promoted Jacob Turner to AAA Toledo on Saturday, May 12 with Patrick Cooper added to the roster from West Michigan. On May 15, Kevin Eichhorn was placed on the disabled list.
PLAGMAN POWER ... While the former Flying Tiger hasn’t had the season to date he’d like, Tony Plagman put on a show on May 12, knocking out three homers in a 11-6 win. Plagman, who had three homers for the season entering the game, was 4x5 on the night with eight runs batted in.
UP NEXT ... Lakeland hits the road to Bradenton for a four-game set starting Monday, May 21 at 10 am in yet another morning game for the Flying Tigers. The remaining three games are 6:30 pm starts.
CLOSING IN ON 1700 ... Manager Dave Huppert is in his second season with Lakeland and his 24th season as a minor league manager. Huppert, who entered the 2012 season as the second winningest active minor league manager, brings a 1,693-1,551 record into the St. Lucie series. With seven more wins, Huppert will become the first active minor league manager to reach 1,700 wins. (Tom Kotchman, manager of the Orem club in the Angels’ organization finished the 2011 season with the most wins as a active manager with 1,678, but the Owls season does not begin until June.). The all-time record for wins belongs to Stan Wasiak of the Dodger’s organization, who won 2,497 games.
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Mission Notes vs. Tampa (May 12, 14-16)
THE SERIES .... All four games of this series will be played at George Steinbrenner Field in Tampa with game one on Saturday at 6 pm. After taking Mothers’ Day off, the two clubs go at once again on Monday and Tuesday at 7 pm with the series finale being an 11 am contest on Wednesday.
THE FLYING TIGERS (17-16, 3rd, 5.0 GB) ... Lakeland is coming off a 7-2 loss to Palm Beach on Saturday that saw Cardinal starter Andy Benes strike out 12 Flying Tiger batters in seven innings of work. The Flying Tigers continue to lead the league in hitting with a .274 mark.
THE YANKEES (16-19, 4th, 7.0 GB) ... Tampa shutout Jupiter 4-0 last night on the strength of six scoreless innings by Michael O’Brien who limited the Hammerheads to just one hit on four strikeouts. Nik Turley, currently on the 7-day disabled list, is seventh in the FSL with a 2.23 ERA to go with his 2-0 record. Rob Segedin is tied for third in the league with 64 total bases. The Yankees have the second lowest team batting average in the league with a .239 mark and rank 10th out of 12 teams with a 4.08 staff ERA.
PROBABLE STARTERS
5/12 - LHP Alex Burgos (1-4, 5.67) ... Alex Burgos will be looking for his first win since opening the season with a victory over Tampa on April 5. He has not gone more than 4.1 innings in his last three starts with 16 walks in his last 16.1 innings. This will his sixth road start of the 2012 season.
5/14 - RHP Jacob Turner (1-2, 1.66) ... Jacob Turner got his first win of the season with 7.0 shutout innings against Palm Beach on May 8. The 6’5” righty struck out eight and walked one while scattering four hits. He has not allowed an earned run in three of his four starts.
5/15 - RHP Kevin Eichhorn (3-2, 4.17) ... Kevin Eichhorn saw his three-game win streak snapped in his last start on May 9. Allowing five runs, four earned, in 5.0 innings, he struck out four and walked one while giving up nine hits.
5/16 - LHP Brian Flynn (4-1, 3.32) ... Brian Flynn got back in the win column in his last start surrendering just one run on five hits to Palm Beach on May 10. Flynn struck out three and walked two in earning his fourth win against one loss this season.
THIS YEAR ... The Flying Tigers opened the 2012 season with a three-game sweep of the Yankees on April 5-7. Tyler Collins had three hits in each of the three games while Nick Castellanos and Avisail Garcia each had five hits in the series. Alex Burgos, Brian Flynn and Bruce Rondon all took wins in the series with Rondon getting his in one inning of relief work. Lakeland outscored Tampa 17-9 in the three games.
STILL ON TOP ... Although he has cooled off a little, Nick Castellanos still has a comfortable lead atop the minor league baseball rankings. At .403, the Flying Tiger third baseman is the only minor leaguer hitting above .400 with Darin Ruf of Reading trailing by some 20 points with a .380 mark. Castellanos leads the league with 52 hits (eight more than Dunedin’s Kevin Nolan) and 73 total bases, is second with a .451 on-base and .566 slugging percentages as well as 15 extra base hits, and is fourth with 24 runs batted in.
HANGING TOUGH ... Avisail Garcia and Tyler Collins remain in the top ten in the Florida State League with .328 and .325 batting averages, respectively. Garcia is fourth while Collins is fifth. Garcia is also tied for third with 43 hits.
LUCKY 13 ... With his last at bat on Friday, Nick Castellanos singled to extend his hitting streak to 13 games, second longest active streak in the Florida State League. Castellanos is 21x50 (.420) during his streak with nine runs scored, three doubles, two triples and a homer. He has also driven in 10 runs during the streak. He has only had two games this season in which he has failed to get at least one base hit.
STEPPING IN ... With Daniel Fields on the disabled list, Luis Castillo has stepped into the lead-off spot while taking Fields’ center field role. Castillo is 16x58 (.276) since taking over the #1 spot in the line-up on April 26 and is 6x16 (.375) his last four games with hits in each game.
OH SNAP ... Hernan Perez was held without a hit on Friday, snapping a six-game hit streak in which he went 11x24 (.458) at the plate.
SNAPPING OUT OF IT ... Avisail Garcia was swapping the top spot in the FSL batting average race with teammate Nick Castellanos, but then couldn’t buy a base hit, getting just three hits over seven games. He has snapped out of the mini-slump with six hits in his last four games.
CAN’T WE PLAY AT HOME ALL THE TIME? ... Avisail Garcia tears up the Joker Marchant Stadium turf for a blistering .446 home batting average, but it’s a different story on the road where the right fielder in hitting just .240 on the year. He is not alone as Tyler Collins has a .393 average in 15 home games and a .269 in 17 road games. James McCann dips to .204 on the road after hitting .333 at home. As a team, Lakeland has a .302 average in 15 home games with an average of 5.3 runs scored per game. On the road, the team batting average drops to .251 and run production falls to 3.9 in 18 games. Thirteen of Lakeland’s 18 home runs have been hit in the cavernous Joker Marchant Stadium.
SEEING PINK ... Lakeland wore their special pink jerseys on Saturday for breast cancer awareness. They’ll get to see their opponents in pink on Saturday as the Yankees don custom pink jerseys that will be raffled off following the game with proceeds benefitting the H. Lee Moffit Cancer and Research Center.
THE BEST UP NEXT ... The Flying Tigers’ next series opponent will be the St. Lucie Mets on May 17-20 at Joker Marchant Stadium. The Mets, at 28-7, take the best record in baseball into Saturday’s series with Bradenton. St. Lucie has a 10-game lead over Palm Beach in the South Division.
CLOSING IN ON 1700 ... Manager Dave Huppert is in his second season with Lakeland and his 24th season as a minor league manager. Huppert, who entered the 2012 season as the second winningest active minor league manager, brings a 1,689-1,551 record into the Palm Beach series.
SONS OF THEIR FATHERS ... Friday’s game featured three sons of former Major Leaguers in the starting roles. In addition to the Flying Tigers’ Shawn (son of Tim) Teufel and Marcus (son of Chet) Lemon, the Cardinals countered with starting pitcher Drew Benes, whose father, Andy Benes, spent 15 years pitching in the majors.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LUIS ... Lakeland pitcher Luis Castillo will celebrate his 23rd birthday on May 15.
THE FLYING TIGERS (17-16, 3rd, 5.0 GB) ... Lakeland is coming off a 7-2 loss to Palm Beach on Saturday that saw Cardinal starter Andy Benes strike out 12 Flying Tiger batters in seven innings of work. The Flying Tigers continue to lead the league in hitting with a .274 mark.
THE YANKEES (16-19, 4th, 7.0 GB) ... Tampa shutout Jupiter 4-0 last night on the strength of six scoreless innings by Michael O’Brien who limited the Hammerheads to just one hit on four strikeouts. Nik Turley, currently on the 7-day disabled list, is seventh in the FSL with a 2.23 ERA to go with his 2-0 record. Rob Segedin is tied for third in the league with 64 total bases. The Yankees have the second lowest team batting average in the league with a .239 mark and rank 10th out of 12 teams with a 4.08 staff ERA.
PROBABLE STARTERS
5/12 - LHP Alex Burgos (1-4, 5.67) ... Alex Burgos will be looking for his first win since opening the season with a victory over Tampa on April 5. He has not gone more than 4.1 innings in his last three starts with 16 walks in his last 16.1 innings. This will his sixth road start of the 2012 season.
5/14 - RHP Jacob Turner (1-2, 1.66) ... Jacob Turner got his first win of the season with 7.0 shutout innings against Palm Beach on May 8. The 6’5” righty struck out eight and walked one while scattering four hits. He has not allowed an earned run in three of his four starts.
5/15 - RHP Kevin Eichhorn (3-2, 4.17) ... Kevin Eichhorn saw his three-game win streak snapped in his last start on May 9. Allowing five runs, four earned, in 5.0 innings, he struck out four and walked one while giving up nine hits.
5/16 - LHP Brian Flynn (4-1, 3.32) ... Brian Flynn got back in the win column in his last start surrendering just one run on five hits to Palm Beach on May 10. Flynn struck out three and walked two in earning his fourth win against one loss this season.
THIS YEAR ... The Flying Tigers opened the 2012 season with a three-game sweep of the Yankees on April 5-7. Tyler Collins had three hits in each of the three games while Nick Castellanos and Avisail Garcia each had five hits in the series. Alex Burgos, Brian Flynn and Bruce Rondon all took wins in the series with Rondon getting his in one inning of relief work. Lakeland outscored Tampa 17-9 in the three games.
STILL ON TOP ... Although he has cooled off a little, Nick Castellanos still has a comfortable lead atop the minor league baseball rankings. At .403, the Flying Tiger third baseman is the only minor leaguer hitting above .400 with Darin Ruf of Reading trailing by some 20 points with a .380 mark. Castellanos leads the league with 52 hits (eight more than Dunedin’s Kevin Nolan) and 73 total bases, is second with a .451 on-base and .566 slugging percentages as well as 15 extra base hits, and is fourth with 24 runs batted in.
HANGING TOUGH ... Avisail Garcia and Tyler Collins remain in the top ten in the Florida State League with .328 and .325 batting averages, respectively. Garcia is fourth while Collins is fifth. Garcia is also tied for third with 43 hits.
LUCKY 13 ... With his last at bat on Friday, Nick Castellanos singled to extend his hitting streak to 13 games, second longest active streak in the Florida State League. Castellanos is 21x50 (.420) during his streak with nine runs scored, three doubles, two triples and a homer. He has also driven in 10 runs during the streak. He has only had two games this season in which he has failed to get at least one base hit.
STEPPING IN ... With Daniel Fields on the disabled list, Luis Castillo has stepped into the lead-off spot while taking Fields’ center field role. Castillo is 16x58 (.276) since taking over the #1 spot in the line-up on April 26 and is 6x16 (.375) his last four games with hits in each game.
OH SNAP ... Hernan Perez was held without a hit on Friday, snapping a six-game hit streak in which he went 11x24 (.458) at the plate.
SNAPPING OUT OF IT ... Avisail Garcia was swapping the top spot in the FSL batting average race with teammate Nick Castellanos, but then couldn’t buy a base hit, getting just three hits over seven games. He has snapped out of the mini-slump with six hits in his last four games.
CAN’T WE PLAY AT HOME ALL THE TIME? ... Avisail Garcia tears up the Joker Marchant Stadium turf for a blistering .446 home batting average, but it’s a different story on the road where the right fielder in hitting just .240 on the year. He is not alone as Tyler Collins has a .393 average in 15 home games and a .269 in 17 road games. James McCann dips to .204 on the road after hitting .333 at home. As a team, Lakeland has a .302 average in 15 home games with an average of 5.3 runs scored per game. On the road, the team batting average drops to .251 and run production falls to 3.9 in 18 games. Thirteen of Lakeland’s 18 home runs have been hit in the cavernous Joker Marchant Stadium.
SEEING PINK ... Lakeland wore their special pink jerseys on Saturday for breast cancer awareness. They’ll get to see their opponents in pink on Saturday as the Yankees don custom pink jerseys that will be raffled off following the game with proceeds benefitting the H. Lee Moffit Cancer and Research Center.
THE BEST UP NEXT ... The Flying Tigers’ next series opponent will be the St. Lucie Mets on May 17-20 at Joker Marchant Stadium. The Mets, at 28-7, take the best record in baseball into Saturday’s series with Bradenton. St. Lucie has a 10-game lead over Palm Beach in the South Division.
CLOSING IN ON 1700 ... Manager Dave Huppert is in his second season with Lakeland and his 24th season as a minor league manager. Huppert, who entered the 2012 season as the second winningest active minor league manager, brings a 1,689-1,551 record into the Palm Beach series.
SONS OF THEIR FATHERS ... Friday’s game featured three sons of former Major Leaguers in the starting roles. In addition to the Flying Tigers’ Shawn (son of Tim) Teufel and Marcus (son of Chet) Lemon, the Cardinals countered with starting pitcher Drew Benes, whose father, Andy Benes, spent 15 years pitching in the majors.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LUIS ... Lakeland pitcher Luis Castillo will celebrate his 23rd birthday on May 15.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Mission Notes vs. Palm Beach (May 8-11)
THE SERIES .... Coming off a four-game set at Fort Myers, the Flying Tigers continue their swing into the South Division with a four-game series at home against the Palm Beach Cardinals. Game one is a 6:30 pm start on Tuesday with game three getting underway at 10:30 am on Wednesday in the second Education Day of the season. Game three is Thursday at 6:30 pm with the series finale Friday at 7:11 pm.
THE FLYING TIGERS (15-14, T3rd-North, 5.0 GB) ... After racking up nine wins in 13 games, Lakeland saw the wheels come off its express with back-to-back losses at Fort Myers. Taking game one comfortably by a 6-1 score, the Flying Tigers squeezed out a 4-3, 11-inning win in game two. The Miracle then got revenge in style with wins of 13-3 and 12-3 to even the series, collecting 30 hits in the two contests. Responsibility for the runs allowed was event split as the starters gave up 12 earned runs with the bullpen roughed up for 13 runs, 10 of them earned. Lakeland continues to lead the Florida State League with a .275 average.
THE CARDINALS (16-15, 2nd-South, 9.0 GB) ... Palm Beach is coming off three straight wins over Brevard County in its last series and have now won nine of the last 11 games. Mike O’Neill is second in the FSL with a .342 average - some 79 points behind Lakeland’s Nick Castellanos – while Jonathan Rodriguez is tops with 11 doubles. The Cardinals have three pitchers in the top ten in the league in Seth Maness (3-0, 1.32, 3rd); Richard Castillo (1-3, 1-42, 4th) and Carlos Martinez (2-1, 2.17, 9th). The Cardinals are fourth in the league with a .262 team average, but have hit just 10 home runs as a team – fewest in the league. Palm Beach has the third lowest earned run average in the FSL with a 3.12 mark.
PROBABLE STARTERS
5/08 - RHP Jacob Turner (0-2, 2.45) ... Lakeland fans will finally get their chance to see Jacob Turner pitch at Joker Marchant Stadium after making his first three appearances on the road. In his last outing on May 3 at Dunedin, he allowed four runs on five hits over 4.2 innings and struck out six and walked three in that outing. He is looking for his first win of 2012 after dropping his last two starts.
5/09 - RHP Kevin Eichhorn (3-1, 3.75) ... Winner of his last three starts, Kevin Eichhorn is coming off his best start since his season debut. At Fort Myers on May 4, Eichhorn surrendered just one run on six hits with four strikeouts and no walks over 6.2 innings. In his previous start he worked a team-long 8.0 in a win over Daytona.
5/10 - LHP Brian Flynn (3-1, 3.63) ... Brian Flynn is looking to recapture the magic that allowed him to open the season with a 3-0 record and a 0.92 ERA. In his last three starts, he has a 0-1 record and a 7.20 ERA. He may have snapped out of his mini-slump with his performance in his last start, allowing three runs on five hits with seven strikeouts in 6.1 innings of work. Despite his efforts, he did not factor into the decision.
5/11 - LHP Shawn Teufel (1-2, 8.25 ERA) ... Shawn Teufel got a rude “welcome back” in his last start on May 6 at Fort Myers. After a two-game stint at AAA Toledo where he was 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA, Teufel made his first start for Lakeland since April 15 and was tagged for six runs on 10 hits in just 2.2 innings of work. Teufel was 0-1 with an 8.44 in two starts versus Palm Beach in 2011.
LAST YEAR ... Palm Beach won five of the eight meetings last season, including the last three contests in Lakeland. The Cardinals cranked out five homers in a 10-3 win on July 26 in Lakeland.
DESERVED HONOR ... Nick Castellanos has been named the Florida State League player-of-the week for the week of April 30-May 6. The Flying Tiger third baseman went 13x28 for the week for a .464 average with two doubles, one homer and seven runs batted in. Castellanos brings a nine-game hit streak (17x35, .486) into this series and has hits in 27 of Lakeland’s 29 contests. He has had two or more hits in 15 games this season and continues to lead minor league baseball with a .421 average. He also leads the Florida State League with 48 hits, 68 total bases and a .489 on-base percentage.
ROCKIN’ ROBBINS ... James Robbins may want to play out his season at Hammond Stadium. In the four-game series at the home of the Miracle, the Flying Tiger first baseman went 10x18 (.556) with three hits in each of games one and three and two hits in each of games two and four. He also knocked in five runs with three doubles and a homer.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS? ... Kevin Eichhorn has a 0.71 ERA in his first outing of a month in April and May. In his season debut on April 6, Eichhorn allowed one unearned run over 6.0 innings with four strikeouts. In his first appearance of May, he allowed one earned run with four strikeouts in 6.2 innings. For the rest of April, Eichhorn had a 5.40 ERA.
HIM AGAIN? ... Fort Myers’ Anderson Hidalgo slugged a grand slam in a six-run fifth inning on Monday. It was the first grand slam allowed by Lakeland this season and the first allowed since ... the same Anderson Hidalgo hit one on July 20, 2011.
FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING ... Although it may have not in the traditional sense, Lakeland manager Dave Huppert finally went to his bench for the first two pinch-hitters of the season. Down 10 runs in the eighth, Huppert sent Matt Perry up to the plate for Dixon Machado and then followed with Edgar Corcino subbing for Nick Castellanos. Corcino, who has since been sent back to extended spring training, fared better at the plate with a single while Perry struck out.
WHERE’S THE GOOSE EGG? ... Lakeland and Daytona are the only two teams yet to shut out an opponent this season. St. Lucie, which has the league’s best record at 25-6, has tossed six shutouts in 31 games.
ROSTER SHUFFLIN’ ... Daniel Fields was placed on the disabled list retroactive to May 2 and Wade Gaynor was added to the roster on May 7 from AA Erie.
YO-YO MAN ... Edgar Corcino sure knows the way to and from the back fields of Tiger Town. The Tiger infielder was added to the Lakeland roster from extended spring training on May 1 only to return on May 2. The next day on May 3, he made the trip back across the landing strip to the Flying Tigers. After an extended stay of four days, he once again rejoined his Connecticut teammates on the back fields. To add a little salt to the wound, Corcino had homered in his only start for Lakeland.
CLOSING IN ON 1700 ... Manager Dave Huppert is in his second season with Lakeland and his 24th season as a minor league manager. Huppert, who entered the 2012 season as the second winningest active minor league manager, brings a 1,687-1,549 record into the Palm Beach series.
THE FLYING TIGERS (15-14, T3rd-North, 5.0 GB) ... After racking up nine wins in 13 games, Lakeland saw the wheels come off its express with back-to-back losses at Fort Myers. Taking game one comfortably by a 6-1 score, the Flying Tigers squeezed out a 4-3, 11-inning win in game two. The Miracle then got revenge in style with wins of 13-3 and 12-3 to even the series, collecting 30 hits in the two contests. Responsibility for the runs allowed was event split as the starters gave up 12 earned runs with the bullpen roughed up for 13 runs, 10 of them earned. Lakeland continues to lead the Florida State League with a .275 average.
THE CARDINALS (16-15, 2nd-South, 9.0 GB) ... Palm Beach is coming off three straight wins over Brevard County in its last series and have now won nine of the last 11 games. Mike O’Neill is second in the FSL with a .342 average - some 79 points behind Lakeland’s Nick Castellanos – while Jonathan Rodriguez is tops with 11 doubles. The Cardinals have three pitchers in the top ten in the league in Seth Maness (3-0, 1.32, 3rd); Richard Castillo (1-3, 1-42, 4th) and Carlos Martinez (2-1, 2.17, 9th). The Cardinals are fourth in the league with a .262 team average, but have hit just 10 home runs as a team – fewest in the league. Palm Beach has the third lowest earned run average in the FSL with a 3.12 mark.
PROBABLE STARTERS
5/08 - RHP Jacob Turner (0-2, 2.45) ... Lakeland fans will finally get their chance to see Jacob Turner pitch at Joker Marchant Stadium after making his first three appearances on the road. In his last outing on May 3 at Dunedin, he allowed four runs on five hits over 4.2 innings and struck out six and walked three in that outing. He is looking for his first win of 2012 after dropping his last two starts.
5/09 - RHP Kevin Eichhorn (3-1, 3.75) ... Winner of his last three starts, Kevin Eichhorn is coming off his best start since his season debut. At Fort Myers on May 4, Eichhorn surrendered just one run on six hits with four strikeouts and no walks over 6.2 innings. In his previous start he worked a team-long 8.0 in a win over Daytona.
5/10 - LHP Brian Flynn (3-1, 3.63) ... Brian Flynn is looking to recapture the magic that allowed him to open the season with a 3-0 record and a 0.92 ERA. In his last three starts, he has a 0-1 record and a 7.20 ERA. He may have snapped out of his mini-slump with his performance in his last start, allowing three runs on five hits with seven strikeouts in 6.1 innings of work. Despite his efforts, he did not factor into the decision.
5/11 - LHP Shawn Teufel (1-2, 8.25 ERA) ... Shawn Teufel got a rude “welcome back” in his last start on May 6 at Fort Myers. After a two-game stint at AAA Toledo where he was 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA, Teufel made his first start for Lakeland since April 15 and was tagged for six runs on 10 hits in just 2.2 innings of work. Teufel was 0-1 with an 8.44 in two starts versus Palm Beach in 2011.
LAST YEAR ... Palm Beach won five of the eight meetings last season, including the last three contests in Lakeland. The Cardinals cranked out five homers in a 10-3 win on July 26 in Lakeland.
DESERVED HONOR ... Nick Castellanos has been named the Florida State League player-of-the week for the week of April 30-May 6. The Flying Tiger third baseman went 13x28 for the week for a .464 average with two doubles, one homer and seven runs batted in. Castellanos brings a nine-game hit streak (17x35, .486) into this series and has hits in 27 of Lakeland’s 29 contests. He has had two or more hits in 15 games this season and continues to lead minor league baseball with a .421 average. He also leads the Florida State League with 48 hits, 68 total bases and a .489 on-base percentage.
ROCKIN’ ROBBINS ... James Robbins may want to play out his season at Hammond Stadium. In the four-game series at the home of the Miracle, the Flying Tiger first baseman went 10x18 (.556) with three hits in each of games one and three and two hits in each of games two and four. He also knocked in five runs with three doubles and a homer.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS? ... Kevin Eichhorn has a 0.71 ERA in his first outing of a month in April and May. In his season debut on April 6, Eichhorn allowed one unearned run over 6.0 innings with four strikeouts. In his first appearance of May, he allowed one earned run with four strikeouts in 6.2 innings. For the rest of April, Eichhorn had a 5.40 ERA.
HIM AGAIN? ... Fort Myers’ Anderson Hidalgo slugged a grand slam in a six-run fifth inning on Monday. It was the first grand slam allowed by Lakeland this season and the first allowed since ... the same Anderson Hidalgo hit one on July 20, 2011.
FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING ... Although it may have not in the traditional sense, Lakeland manager Dave Huppert finally went to his bench for the first two pinch-hitters of the season. Down 10 runs in the eighth, Huppert sent Matt Perry up to the plate for Dixon Machado and then followed with Edgar Corcino subbing for Nick Castellanos. Corcino, who has since been sent back to extended spring training, fared better at the plate with a single while Perry struck out.
WHERE’S THE GOOSE EGG? ... Lakeland and Daytona are the only two teams yet to shut out an opponent this season. St. Lucie, which has the league’s best record at 25-6, has tossed six shutouts in 31 games.
ROSTER SHUFFLIN’ ... Daniel Fields was placed on the disabled list retroactive to May 2 and Wade Gaynor was added to the roster on May 7 from AA Erie.
YO-YO MAN ... Edgar Corcino sure knows the way to and from the back fields of Tiger Town. The Tiger infielder was added to the Lakeland roster from extended spring training on May 1 only to return on May 2. The next day on May 3, he made the trip back across the landing strip to the Flying Tigers. After an extended stay of four days, he once again rejoined his Connecticut teammates on the back fields. To add a little salt to the wound, Corcino had homered in his only start for Lakeland.
CLOSING IN ON 1700 ... Manager Dave Huppert is in his second season with Lakeland and his 24th season as a minor league manager. Huppert, who entered the 2012 season as the second winningest active minor league manager, brings a 1,687-1,549 record into the Palm Beach series.
Friday, May 4, 2012
Mission Notes vs. Fort Myers (Apr. 4-7)
THE SERIES .... All four games in this series will be played in Fort Myers and all four games have different start times. Friday’s game gets underway at 7:05 pm with the first pitch on Saturday at 6:05 pm. Sunday is a 1:05 pm start while Monday is an Education Day with a start time of 10:35 am. Games may be heard on the Miracle website.
THE FLYING TIGERS (13-12, T-2nd-North, 6.0 GB) ... Lakeland lost 5-3 on the road last night at Dunedin to drop its second straight game. The Flying Tigers are now 7-4 over the last 11 contests. Lakeland is batting .291 (51x175) over the last five games with eight doubles, a pair of triples and a trio of home runs. The Flying Tigers had 11 and 13 hits in their last two games and have reached double digits in hits in eight of the last 13 games with 33 doubles, five triples and nine homers in the last 14 games. Lakeland sits atop the Florida State League with a .279 team batting average and is the third highest scoring team in the league with 120 runs and tied for third with 31 stolen bases. The Flying Tigers could rank higher in runs scored, but have stranded almost eight runners per game, third most in the league.
THE MIRACLE (10-17, 6th-South, 12.0 GB) ... Fort Myers was shut out 5-0 by Palm Beach on Wednesday. The Miracle has lost six of their last seven and 13 of their last 17 games. Daniel Santana leads the club with a .279 average while Angel Morales is second with a .277 mark. B.J. Hermsen leads the Florida State League with a 0.78 ERA in 23.0 innings pitched. As a team, the Miracle are hitting just .219 on the season - the lowest of any FSL team – and have scored the second fewest runs in the league. It’s feast or famine at the plate as the club is third in the league with 18 home runs and have struck out the most of any team.
PROBABLE STARTERS
5/01 - RHP Kevin Eichhorn (2-1, 4.30) ... Kevin Eichhorn has won his last two starts despite allowing seven runs on 17 hits in the two games. In his two wins, he struck out a combined seven batters after whiffing a total of six hitters in his first three starts. In his last start on April 29 at Daytona, the 6’0” righty worked a team season-long 8.0 innings.
5/02 - LHP Brian Flynn (3-1, 3.49) ... After winning his first three starts, Brian Flynn has a loss and a no-decision in his last two. In each of last two starts, the 6’8” lefty has surrendered 11 hits and been tagged for a total of nine earned runs. He has struck out 19 batters in 28.1 innings this season while walking just two opponents.
5/03 - LHP Matt Crouse (0-0, 1.20) ... Matt Crouse will be making his third start after coming out of the bullpen the first four outings this season. He has been eased into the starting role working just 2.2 and 3.2 innings in his two previous starts. He is 0-0 with a 2.84 ERA as a starter. As a reliever, he allowed just one hit in 8.2 scoreless innings.
LAST YEAR ... Lakeland won seven of the eight meetings in 2011, winning all four games at Joker Marchant Stadium and three of four in Fort Myers. The Flying Tigers outscored the Miracle 64-28 in the series. Avisail Garcia batted .441 in the eight games with 15 hits, including a pair of homers.
FIRST TRIP TO THE SOUTH ... This series marks the first time Lakeland will play outside its division this season. The inter-division competition continues in their next series as the Flying Tigers will host Palm Beach in a four-game set at Joker Marchant Stadium, May 8-11. Last year, the Flying Tigers went 26-22 against teams in the South Division.
IN A ZONE ... Nick Castellanos has had two or more hits in five straight games and is 12x22 (.545) in those games. He has hits in 23 of his 25 games played and has 14 multi-hit games on the season. His .426 average leads all of minor league baseball and is 23 points higher than the next batter. In the FSL, the closest batter is teammate Avisail Garcia who has a .364 mark. Castellanos leads the league in hits (43); doubles (tied with 9); on-base percentage (.459); total bases (60) and slugging percentage (.594) and is third with 12 extra base hits.
HANGING TOUGH ... Avisail Garcia is second in the league with a .364 average and 36 base hits. He is tied for third with 51 total bases while his .515 slugging percentage ranks fifth
OOPS, HE DID IT AGAIN ... Tyler Collins opened the season with three hits in each of his first four games and has had three hits in three more games since then. Overall, he has nine multi-hit games. With a .337 average, Collins is third in the FSL, behind teammates Nick Castellanos (.426) and Avisail Garcia (.364). He is also fifth in the FSL with a .407 on-base percentage.
AIN’T NO LEMON ... One of the latest additions to the Flying Tiger roster is Marcus Lemon, the son of former Major Leaguer, Chet Lemon. Marcus has hits in each of his four games played so far and has had two hits in each of his last two contests.
ARM STRENGTH ... Tyler Clark has allowed just two runs in six outings and surrendered seven hits with five coming in one appearance ... Matt Crouse has given up two earned runs in his six appearances ... Victor Larez has struck out 13 batters in his last 10.1 innings ... Matt Little has allowed one earned run in his last 8.0 innings over five trips out of the bullpen ... Bruce Rondon has three saves and has not been scored upon in his last four stints with nine strikeouts and two walks over 5.0 innings.
ROUND TRIP TICKET FOR ONE ... Lakeland has hit 11 home runs as a team this season - nine of them have been solo shots. Only Wade Gaynor, now at AA Erie, has hit homers with men on base and he did it twice. He has a two-run homer and a three-run blast.
ROSTER SHUFFLIN’ ... Wade Gaynor was promoted to AA Erie on Tuesday with Edgar Corcino, from extended spring, holding the roster spot until Matt Perry could join the club from West Michigan. Gaynor was hitting .230 for Lakeland with two homers and 13 runs batted in. Perry played in seven games and was batting .125 for the Whitecaps.
YOU LOOK FAMILIAR ... Lakeland fans may recognize the name of Miracle pitcher Cole Nelson. The former Detroit 10th round draft pick was 5-11 for the 2011 Flying Tigers before going to the Twins’ organization along with Lester Oliveros for Delmon Young.
FRIDAY NIGHT’S ALRIGHT ... Lakeland is 3-0 on Fridays this season.
CLOSING IN ON 1700 ... Flying Tiger manager Dave Huppert is in his second season with Lakeland and his 24th season as a minor league manager. He brings a 1,685-1,547 record into the Dunedin series.
THE FLYING TIGERS (13-12, T-2nd-North, 6.0 GB) ... Lakeland lost 5-3 on the road last night at Dunedin to drop its second straight game. The Flying Tigers are now 7-4 over the last 11 contests. Lakeland is batting .291 (51x175) over the last five games with eight doubles, a pair of triples and a trio of home runs. The Flying Tigers had 11 and 13 hits in their last two games and have reached double digits in hits in eight of the last 13 games with 33 doubles, five triples and nine homers in the last 14 games. Lakeland sits atop the Florida State League with a .279 team batting average and is the third highest scoring team in the league with 120 runs and tied for third with 31 stolen bases. The Flying Tigers could rank higher in runs scored, but have stranded almost eight runners per game, third most in the league.
THE MIRACLE (10-17, 6th-South, 12.0 GB) ... Fort Myers was shut out 5-0 by Palm Beach on Wednesday. The Miracle has lost six of their last seven and 13 of their last 17 games. Daniel Santana leads the club with a .279 average while Angel Morales is second with a .277 mark. B.J. Hermsen leads the Florida State League with a 0.78 ERA in 23.0 innings pitched. As a team, the Miracle are hitting just .219 on the season - the lowest of any FSL team – and have scored the second fewest runs in the league. It’s feast or famine at the plate as the club is third in the league with 18 home runs and have struck out the most of any team.
PROBABLE STARTERS
5/01 - RHP Kevin Eichhorn (2-1, 4.30) ... Kevin Eichhorn has won his last two starts despite allowing seven runs on 17 hits in the two games. In his two wins, he struck out a combined seven batters after whiffing a total of six hitters in his first three starts. In his last start on April 29 at Daytona, the 6’0” righty worked a team season-long 8.0 innings.
5/02 - LHP Brian Flynn (3-1, 3.49) ... After winning his first three starts, Brian Flynn has a loss and a no-decision in his last two. In each of last two starts, the 6’8” lefty has surrendered 11 hits and been tagged for a total of nine earned runs. He has struck out 19 batters in 28.1 innings this season while walking just two opponents.
5/03 - LHP Matt Crouse (0-0, 1.20) ... Matt Crouse will be making his third start after coming out of the bullpen the first four outings this season. He has been eased into the starting role working just 2.2 and 3.2 innings in his two previous starts. He is 0-0 with a 2.84 ERA as a starter. As a reliever, he allowed just one hit in 8.2 scoreless innings.
LAST YEAR ... Lakeland won seven of the eight meetings in 2011, winning all four games at Joker Marchant Stadium and three of four in Fort Myers. The Flying Tigers outscored the Miracle 64-28 in the series. Avisail Garcia batted .441 in the eight games with 15 hits, including a pair of homers.
FIRST TRIP TO THE SOUTH ... This series marks the first time Lakeland will play outside its division this season. The inter-division competition continues in their next series as the Flying Tigers will host Palm Beach in a four-game set at Joker Marchant Stadium, May 8-11. Last year, the Flying Tigers went 26-22 against teams in the South Division.
IN A ZONE ... Nick Castellanos has had two or more hits in five straight games and is 12x22 (.545) in those games. He has hits in 23 of his 25 games played and has 14 multi-hit games on the season. His .426 average leads all of minor league baseball and is 23 points higher than the next batter. In the FSL, the closest batter is teammate Avisail Garcia who has a .364 mark. Castellanos leads the league in hits (43); doubles (tied with 9); on-base percentage (.459); total bases (60) and slugging percentage (.594) and is third with 12 extra base hits.
HANGING TOUGH ... Avisail Garcia is second in the league with a .364 average and 36 base hits. He is tied for third with 51 total bases while his .515 slugging percentage ranks fifth
OOPS, HE DID IT AGAIN ... Tyler Collins opened the season with three hits in each of his first four games and has had three hits in three more games since then. Overall, he has nine multi-hit games. With a .337 average, Collins is third in the FSL, behind teammates Nick Castellanos (.426) and Avisail Garcia (.364). He is also fifth in the FSL with a .407 on-base percentage.
AIN’T NO LEMON ... One of the latest additions to the Flying Tiger roster is Marcus Lemon, the son of former Major Leaguer, Chet Lemon. Marcus has hits in each of his four games played so far and has had two hits in each of his last two contests.
ARM STRENGTH ... Tyler Clark has allowed just two runs in six outings and surrendered seven hits with five coming in one appearance ... Matt Crouse has given up two earned runs in his six appearances ... Victor Larez has struck out 13 batters in his last 10.1 innings ... Matt Little has allowed one earned run in his last 8.0 innings over five trips out of the bullpen ... Bruce Rondon has three saves and has not been scored upon in his last four stints with nine strikeouts and two walks over 5.0 innings.
ROUND TRIP TICKET FOR ONE ... Lakeland has hit 11 home runs as a team this season - nine of them have been solo shots. Only Wade Gaynor, now at AA Erie, has hit homers with men on base and he did it twice. He has a two-run homer and a three-run blast.
ROSTER SHUFFLIN’ ... Wade Gaynor was promoted to AA Erie on Tuesday with Edgar Corcino, from extended spring, holding the roster spot until Matt Perry could join the club from West Michigan. Gaynor was hitting .230 for Lakeland with two homers and 13 runs batted in. Perry played in seven games and was batting .125 for the Whitecaps.
YOU LOOK FAMILIAR ... Lakeland fans may recognize the name of Miracle pitcher Cole Nelson. The former Detroit 10th round draft pick was 5-11 for the 2011 Flying Tigers before going to the Twins’ organization along with Lester Oliveros for Delmon Young.
FRIDAY NIGHT’S ALRIGHT ... Lakeland is 3-0 on Fridays this season.
CLOSING IN ON 1700 ... Flying Tiger manager Dave Huppert is in his second season with Lakeland and his 24th season as a minor league manager. He brings a 1,685-1,547 record into the Dunedin series.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Mission Notes vs. Dunedin (May 1-3)
THE SERIES .... All three games of the series will be played in Dunedin on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday with 6:35 pm start times. Games may be heard on the Blue Jays website at www.dunedinbluejays.com.
THE FLYING TIGERS (12-10, 2nd place, 5.0 GB) ... Lakeland is coming off a series win over Daytona and has now won three straight series. With wins in each of the last two games, the Flying Tigers have won six of their last eight games. A big reason for the good play is the offense. In the last 10 games, Lakeland is hitting .310 as a team with 27 doubles and eight homers.
THE BLUE JAYS (18-6, 1st place, 0.0 GB) ... Dunedin dropped a 6-4, extra-inning loss to Tampa on Sunday and have lost three of the last five games, including a pair of defeats at the hands (or paws) of the Flying Tigers. Jon Talley is tied for eighth in the Florida State League with a .313 average as the Blue Jays rank eighth with a .240 team batting average. Dunedin has scored 19 more runs than any other league team and has drawn the most walks of any team. Pitching has been the strong point as the club is third in the FSL with a 3.03 staff ERA. Egan Smith is tied for the most wins in the league with four while closer Danny Barnes is tied for the most saves in all of minor league baseball with nine.
PROBABLE STARTERS
5/01 - LHP Matt Crouse (0-0, 1.59) ... Matt Crouse will be making his second start after four scoreless appearances out of the bullpen in which he allowed one total hit. In his first start on April 26 at Dunedin, he lasted just 2.2 innings, giving up two runs on three hits.
5/02 - LHP Alex Burgos (1-3, 4.78) ... Since winning his first start on April 5 at Tampa, Alex Burgos has three losses and a no decision in his last four outings. He has surrendered two or more runs in each of his five starts and has given up eight earned runs over his last two.
5/03 - RHP Jacob Turner (0-1, 0.00) ... Jacob Turner dropped his last start on April 28 at Daytona as he was victimized with four unearned runs and eight hits over 6.0 innings pitched. Turner pitched in three games for Detroit in 2011 and was 4-2 with a 2.93 ERA for the 2010 Flying Tigers.
THIS YEAR ... Lakeland took two of three meetings in the two clubs first series on April 25-27 at Joker Marchant Stadium. The Blue Jays won the opening game, 9-3, while the Flying Tigers took the next two 9-6 and 6-4. The Flying Tigers hit .330 in the series with Nick Castellanos, Avisail Garcia and James McCann each having six hits while Tyler Collins and Hernan Perez each had five hits. Garcia and McCann each scored five times in the three games. Jake Marisnick knocked out eight hits for Dunedin.
AVISAIL-ING ALONG ... One of the hottest bats in the Lakeland line-up is that of Avisail Garcia. In his last 11 games, Garcia has safely in each game for a .444 clip with three doubles, a triple and three home runs. His 11-game hit streak is tied with Dunedin’s Kevin Nolan for longest active streak in the FSL. Garcia has been especially hot in his last eight games, he has 16 hits for a .485 mark. The 20-year old has had two or more hits in seven of the last eight games and has scored at least one run and driven in at least one run in seven straight games. Overall, he leads the Florida State League with a .400 average – a mark that is sixth best in minor league baseball – and also tops with a .565 slugging percentage. Garcia is second with 34 hits and tied for second with 48 total bases and is third with a .440 on base percentage and 18 runs scored.
NICK KNOCKS ... Another hot bat has been carried by Nick Castellanos who has 19 hits in his last 11 games for a .422 average with five doubles and a triple. On April 27, he collected a team season-high four hits. The Flying Tigers’ third baseman is second in the league with a .398 average which is the 11th highest average in the minors. He leads with 35 hits and is tied for first with eight doubles. He is second with a .545 slugging percentage and tied for second with 48 total bases and fourth with a .433 on-base percentage. Castellanos has hit safely in 11 consecutive road games, the longest streak in the Florida State League this season.
CALLING COLLINS ... Tyler Collins has collected 11 hits, including four doubles and a triple in his last seven games for a .344 average. He is fourth in the league with a .337 average.
JAMMIN’ JAMES ... Although he has not played the last two games, catcher James McCann has gone 9-for-18 in his last five games played with a pair of doubles and two stolen bases. He has also scored six times in the last five games.
IT’S A HP ... Infielder Hernan Perez has come alive as of late going 7-for-19 in his last six games for a .368 average. He has also driven in seven runs in the last six games and has scored at least one run in five straight games.
FINISH STRONG ... Lakeland is 10-2 when having a lead after six innings and 11-1 with leading after seven innings. The Flying Tigers are a perfect 12-0 when taking a lead into the ninth inning.
WHERE ARE THE RALLY HATS? ... Conversely, Lakeland is 1-8 when trailing heading into the seventh inning and also 1-8 when behind going into the eighth inning and have yet to win a game in eight tries when the other team has the lead heading into the ninth inning.
ROSTER SHUFFLIN’ ... Corey Jones was promoted to AA Erie on April 28 with Marcus Lemon added to the roster from extended spring. Lemon was originally drafted by Texas in the 4th round of the 2006 draft. After receiving a $1,000,000 signing bonus, Lemon played four seasons in the Rangers’ organization before being released. Last season, he played in the Braves’ organization splitting time in the Carolina and Southern Leagues. Lemon, the son of former major leaguer Chet Lemon, signed with Detroit in February. On Monday, Shawn Teufel rejoined the Flying Tigers from AAA Toledo where he was 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA. To make room, Brian Stroud was sent back to extended spring training.
REASON TO BE SMYLY ... Drew Smyly, who pitched for Lakeland in 2011, picked up his first major league win on April 28 working 7.0 strong innings against the Yankees. He struck out seven strikeouts and walked two while allowing a single run on two hits.
CLOSING IN ON 1700 ... Flying Tiger manager Dave Huppert is in his second season with Lakeland and his 24th season as a minor league manager. He brings a 1,684-1,545 record into the Dunedin series.
THE AMAZIN’ METS ... Over in the South Division, St. Lucie has the best record in baseball at 20-4 on the year. The Flying Tigers will face the Mets in Lakeland May 17- 20.
THE FLYING TIGERS (12-10, 2nd place, 5.0 GB) ... Lakeland is coming off a series win over Daytona and has now won three straight series. With wins in each of the last two games, the Flying Tigers have won six of their last eight games. A big reason for the good play is the offense. In the last 10 games, Lakeland is hitting .310 as a team with 27 doubles and eight homers.
THE BLUE JAYS (18-6, 1st place, 0.0 GB) ... Dunedin dropped a 6-4, extra-inning loss to Tampa on Sunday and have lost three of the last five games, including a pair of defeats at the hands (or paws) of the Flying Tigers. Jon Talley is tied for eighth in the Florida State League with a .313 average as the Blue Jays rank eighth with a .240 team batting average. Dunedin has scored 19 more runs than any other league team and has drawn the most walks of any team. Pitching has been the strong point as the club is third in the FSL with a 3.03 staff ERA. Egan Smith is tied for the most wins in the league with four while closer Danny Barnes is tied for the most saves in all of minor league baseball with nine.
PROBABLE STARTERS
5/01 - LHP Matt Crouse (0-0, 1.59) ... Matt Crouse will be making his second start after four scoreless appearances out of the bullpen in which he allowed one total hit. In his first start on April 26 at Dunedin, he lasted just 2.2 innings, giving up two runs on three hits.
5/02 - LHP Alex Burgos (1-3, 4.78) ... Since winning his first start on April 5 at Tampa, Alex Burgos has three losses and a no decision in his last four outings. He has surrendered two or more runs in each of his five starts and has given up eight earned runs over his last two.
5/03 - RHP Jacob Turner (0-1, 0.00) ... Jacob Turner dropped his last start on April 28 at Daytona as he was victimized with four unearned runs and eight hits over 6.0 innings pitched. Turner pitched in three games for Detroit in 2011 and was 4-2 with a 2.93 ERA for the 2010 Flying Tigers.
THIS YEAR ... Lakeland took two of three meetings in the two clubs first series on April 25-27 at Joker Marchant Stadium. The Blue Jays won the opening game, 9-3, while the Flying Tigers took the next two 9-6 and 6-4. The Flying Tigers hit .330 in the series with Nick Castellanos, Avisail Garcia and James McCann each having six hits while Tyler Collins and Hernan Perez each had five hits. Garcia and McCann each scored five times in the three games. Jake Marisnick knocked out eight hits for Dunedin.
AVISAIL-ING ALONG ... One of the hottest bats in the Lakeland line-up is that of Avisail Garcia. In his last 11 games, Garcia has safely in each game for a .444 clip with three doubles, a triple and three home runs. His 11-game hit streak is tied with Dunedin’s Kevin Nolan for longest active streak in the FSL. Garcia has been especially hot in his last eight games, he has 16 hits for a .485 mark. The 20-year old has had two or more hits in seven of the last eight games and has scored at least one run and driven in at least one run in seven straight games. Overall, he leads the Florida State League with a .400 average – a mark that is sixth best in minor league baseball – and also tops with a .565 slugging percentage. Garcia is second with 34 hits and tied for second with 48 total bases and is third with a .440 on base percentage and 18 runs scored.
NICK KNOCKS ... Another hot bat has been carried by Nick Castellanos who has 19 hits in his last 11 games for a .422 average with five doubles and a triple. On April 27, he collected a team season-high four hits. The Flying Tigers’ third baseman is second in the league with a .398 average which is the 11th highest average in the minors. He leads with 35 hits and is tied for first with eight doubles. He is second with a .545 slugging percentage and tied for second with 48 total bases and fourth with a .433 on-base percentage. Castellanos has hit safely in 11 consecutive road games, the longest streak in the Florida State League this season.
CALLING COLLINS ... Tyler Collins has collected 11 hits, including four doubles and a triple in his last seven games for a .344 average. He is fourth in the league with a .337 average.
JAMMIN’ JAMES ... Although he has not played the last two games, catcher James McCann has gone 9-for-18 in his last five games played with a pair of doubles and two stolen bases. He has also scored six times in the last five games.
IT’S A HP ... Infielder Hernan Perez has come alive as of late going 7-for-19 in his last six games for a .368 average. He has also driven in seven runs in the last six games and has scored at least one run in five straight games.
FINISH STRONG ... Lakeland is 10-2 when having a lead after six innings and 11-1 with leading after seven innings. The Flying Tigers are a perfect 12-0 when taking a lead into the ninth inning.
WHERE ARE THE RALLY HATS? ... Conversely, Lakeland is 1-8 when trailing heading into the seventh inning and also 1-8 when behind going into the eighth inning and have yet to win a game in eight tries when the other team has the lead heading into the ninth inning.
ROSTER SHUFFLIN’ ... Corey Jones was promoted to AA Erie on April 28 with Marcus Lemon added to the roster from extended spring. Lemon was originally drafted by Texas in the 4th round of the 2006 draft. After receiving a $1,000,000 signing bonus, Lemon played four seasons in the Rangers’ organization before being released. Last season, he played in the Braves’ organization splitting time in the Carolina and Southern Leagues. Lemon, the son of former major leaguer Chet Lemon, signed with Detroit in February. On Monday, Shawn Teufel rejoined the Flying Tigers from AAA Toledo where he was 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA. To make room, Brian Stroud was sent back to extended spring training.
REASON TO BE SMYLY ... Drew Smyly, who pitched for Lakeland in 2011, picked up his first major league win on April 28 working 7.0 strong innings against the Yankees. He struck out seven strikeouts and walked two while allowing a single run on two hits.
CLOSING IN ON 1700 ... Flying Tiger manager Dave Huppert is in his second season with Lakeland and his 24th season as a minor league manager. He brings a 1,684-1,545 record into the Dunedin series.
THE AMAZIN’ METS ... Over in the South Division, St. Lucie has the best record in baseball at 20-4 on the year. The Flying Tigers will face the Mets in Lakeland May 17- 20.
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