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.
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