THE SERIES .... Lakeland returns home from a four-game road trip at St. Lucie to host the Bradenton Marauders in a four-game set. The series runs Mon, July 30 thru Thursday, Aug. 2 with all four games slated for 6:30 pm start times.
THE FLYING TIGERS (18-18 second half, 4th North, 3.5 GB, 54-47 overall) ... Lakeland snapped a four-game losing streak with a 6-4 win at St. Lucie on Sunday. In that game, four Flying Tiger pitchers combined on a two-hitter, but allowed four runs. Lakeland has dropped 3.5 games back of division-leading Tampa and 1.5 games behird third place Brevard County. The 13 hits in Sunday’s game keeps Lakeland atop the Florida State League with a .264 team batting average.
THE MARAUDERS (19-17 second half, 1st South, 0.0 GB, 48-58 overall) ... Like Lakeland, Bradenton took one of four games in its last series against Fort Myers but still lead the South Division by 1.0 game over Fort Myers and Palm Beach. On Sunday, The Miracle beat-up on the Marauders by an 11-3 score. Bradenton has scored three runs in each of their last five games. Alex Dickerson leads the Florida State League with 77 runs batted in (11 more than the second place hitter), third with 113 hits, fourth with 26 doubles, and is eighth with a .297 average. Mel Rojas is tied for the league-lead with 11 triples. Casey Sadler is seventh in the league with a 3.51 ERA, but is 2-5 on the mound. Bradenton, which posted a 29-41 first half record to finish 21.0 games out of first, has the second lowest batting average (.248) of any FSL team. The staff ERA of 4.18 is second highest in the league.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS ...
7/30 - RHP Luis Angel Sanz (8-3, 4.00 ERA) ... Sanz has given just two runs in his last three starts for a 1.00 ERA with 13 strikeouts, six hits and nine hits allowed. Winner of four straight and seven of his last ten starts, Sanz is a perfect 6-0 at Joker Marchant Stadium with a 3.56 ERA. In his last start on July 24 vs Tampa he worked 7.0 innings, allowing one run on three hits with six strikeouts and one walk. He previously faced Bradenton on May 22 in his first start after six relief appearances. He took the loss that night after allowing six runs (two earned) with six strikeouts.
8/01 - TBA (Brian Stroud, who would normally pitch in this spot in the rotation, went on the disabled list on Friday.)
8/02 - LHP Shawn Teufel (5-6, 6.53 ERA) ... Teufel will be looking for his first win since July 3. He is 0-1 with three no decisions since then. In his last start on July 26 at St. Lucie, he was tagged for seven runs on nine hits in 5.0 innings pitched. Sanz is 2-3 at home with a 5.12 ERA. He started at Bradenton on May 21 but not factor into the decision despite holding the Marauders to three runs on seven hits over 5.0 innings.
8/03 - LHP Alex Burgos (7-10, 5.67 ERA) ... Burgos will be looking to snap a two-game losing streak and his first win since July 12. He has allowed 14 earned runs on 15 hits and 11 walks in his last two outings. This will only be Burgos’ fifth home start versus 16 starts on the road. In his last start on July 28 at St. Lucie, he allowed eight runs on seven hits over 4.0 innings with four strikeouts and six walks.
THIS YEAR ... The Marauders took three of four in the first meeting between this two clubs back on May 21-24 in Bradenton. Lakeland won the first game 9-8 in 10 innings while Bradenton won the next three games 6-3, 6-1 and 6-2. Wade Gaynor has four doubles in the series.
INSIDE THE MARAUDERS ROSTER ... Jameson Taillon, who was born in Winter Haven, was the Pirates’ first-round pick (second overall) in the 2010 draft out of Woodlands High School in Texas. Mel Rojas is the son former Major Leaguer Mel Rojas, who spent 10 years in the majors, including seven seasons with Montreal. The elder Rojas is the nephew of Felipe, Jesus and Matty Alou and a cousin of Moises Alou.
TOP D’S ... Both Bradenton and Lakeland are tied for first place in the FSL with identical .975 fielding percentages.
NO BAKER’S DOZEN ... Wade Gaynor saw his teammates knock out 13 base hits on Sunday, but couldn’t get one of his own in five trips to the plate as the third baseman’s 12-game hit streak came to a close. During those dozen games, Gaynor was 14x45 (.311) with nine runs scored, one double, three homers and seven runs batted in.
EARLY EXIT ... Flying Tigers Manager Dave Huppert was ejected from the game by home plate umpire Jose Esteras in the 1st inning against St. Lucie on Thursday, July 26. It was Huppert’s second ejection of the season. The first was on April 24 by the same home plate umpire Jose Esteras. Here’s one that’ll make you go hmmmm. Huppert was tossed twice last season. The first on April 27 and the second on July 23. Just three days different than his two ejections this season.
ROSTER SHUFFLIN' ... Adolfo Reina was added back to the roster from Toledo on Thursday and Wes Thigpen announced he has retired. On Friday, Brian Stroud was placed on the disabled list.
FLYING HIGH ... Tyler Collins had four hits on Sunday with two runs scored, two runs batted and two stolen bases ... Daniel Fields is 5x19 (.264) his last four games ... Dean Green has five hits his last three games with four runs batted in ... Marcus Lemon has six hits in 14 at bats over the last three contests ... Hernan Perez has had seven games with two or more hits in his last 13 games ... James Robbins has hits in six straight games (7x22, .318).
GROUNDED ... Curt Casali is 3x17 (.235) his last four games ... Luis Castillo is 3x26 (.115) his last seven games and 5x40 (.125) since July 18 ... Dixon Machado is hitless his last four games (0x13) and 3x36 (.083) since July 20 ... Adolfo Reina is 4x29 (.138) in his last seven games.
REHAB ASSIGNMENT ... Detroit pitcher Al Aburquerque is on a major league rehab assignment with Lakeland. Alburquerque was 6-1 last season for Detroit with a 1.87 ERA but is recovering from offseason surgery for a non-displaced stress fracture in his right elbow. Originally signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Cubs in 2003, Alburquerque spent part of the 2009 season with Daytona and appeared in three games versus Lakeland tossing 4.0 innings with five strikeouts and a 2.25 ERA.
WINNINGEST ACTIVE MANAGER ... Manager Dave Huppert, who was just named to the Florida State League Hall of Fame, recorded his 1,700th victory as a minor league manager on Sunday, June 3 when the Flying Tigers posted an 11-1 win at Jupiter. He is in his second season with Lakeland and his 24th season as a minor league manager. Huppert, who became the winningest active manager in the minor leagues with Lakeland’s sixth win on April 19 of this year, brings a 1,726-1,584 record into the Bradenton series.
CONGRATS, HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES ... As mentioned, Lakeland manager Dave Huppert has been named to the Florida State League Hall of Fame, Class of 2012 and will be joined by former Lakeland Tiger Lou Whitaker. Huppert, now in his 24th season as a minor league and second with Lakeland, has the most wins of any active minor league manager with over 1,700. Huppert managed the 2001 Brevard County Manatees to an FSL co-Championship while winning the title outright with the 2007 Clearwater Threshers. Whitaker played for Lakeland in 1976, batting .276 in 124 games with 48 stolen bases and 70 runs scored. The Tigers second baseman was the Florida State League MVP in 1976.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Mission Notes vs. St. Lucie (July 26-29)
THE SERIES .... All four games in this series will be played at St. Lucie’s Digital Domain Park. Games one, two and three are slated for 6:30 pm starts with the finale on Sunday getting underway at 1 pm. The late Gary Carter will be honored prior to Thursday’s game while the first 500 fans, 21 and over, to Friday’s game will receive a free Mets/Budweiser cap. Friday’s game is also Bark in the Park (aka Furball Friday). It’ll be Christmas in July on Saturday while the Bon Jovi Tribute Band, “Livin’ on a Prayer” will perform after the game.
THE FLYING TIGERS (17-15 second half, 4th North, 2.5 GB, 53-44 overall) ... Lakeland fell 4-2 at Tampa on Wednesday, the team’s fifth loss in the last seven games, dropping the club into fourth place, 2.5 games back in the North Division. Lakeland is still atop the Florida State League with a .264 team batting average, but have hit the second fewest home runs (44) in the league. The staff ERA of 3.88 is fifth highest in the league and the pitching corps has walked the third most batters of any FSL staff.
THE METS (14-19 second half, 5th South, 5.0 GB, 63-38 overall) ... The Mets ran away with the South Division first-half title, taking the crown by 14.0 games with a 49-19 record. However, the second way has been a different story as the club is already matched the number of losses from the first half with a 14-19 record. Cory Vaughn is tied for the league-lead with 16 home runs while Alonzo Harris is fourth with 26 stolen bases. The Mets get the job done with pitching as the staff tops the FSL with a 3.46 team ERA and has the third most strikeouts (767). St. Lucie has the fourth lowest team batting avearge in the FSL at .251 but have hit the second most homers (71) of any club.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS ... 7/26 - LHP Shawn Teufel (5-5, 6.13 ERA) ... Teufel is looking for his first win since posting a “W” on July 3 with three no decisions in the interim. Since posting back-to-back starts of 7.0 innings of shutout ball, he has surrendered 20 runs over 25 innings for a 7.20 ERA. In his last start on July 21 at Fort Myers, Teufel gave up four earned runs on four hits with six walks in 5.0 innings pitched. Teufel did not face the Mets the first go around. 7/27 - RHP Drew VerHagen (0-2, 4.50 ERA) ... VerHagen is looking for his first win as a Flying Tiger. In his two previous starts he has allowed three earned runs with three strikeouts and four walks in 6.0 innings. He has yet to work more than 3.2 innings in his two outings. VerHagen was not with Lakeland when the Flying Tigers first met the Mets. 7/28 - LHP Alex Burgos (7-9, 5.16 ERA) ... Burgos is 3-1 over his last five starts with a 3.98 earned run average. He has struck out 23 in those five starts, but has also walked 17 batters. In his last start on July 23 at Tampa, he was tagged for six earned runs on eight hits with two punch outs and five free passes. Burgos took the loss on May 18 allowing six runs (two earned) on six hits with five strikeouts and four walks.
THIS YEAR ... The Mets took three out of four games played in Lakeland on May 17-20 in the first series this season, outscoring the Flying Tigers 21-12 in the process. James McCann, now at AA Erie, and Dixon Machado each had five hits for Lakeland while Avisail Garcia, also with Erie, and Tyler Collins each contributed four hits.
INSIDE THE METS ROSTER ... Pitcher Chase Huchingson and catcher Blake Forsythe were named to the 2012 Florida State League All-Star team ... pitcher Adam Kolarek’s father, Frank, played for the Oakland A’s from 1976-82 ... catcher Kai Gronauer was born in Solingen, Germany ... infielder Robbie Shields was a third round draft pick of the Mets in 2009 out of Florida Southern College in Lakeland ... outfielder Cory Vaughn is the son of Greg Vaughn, who played 15 years in the major leagues from 1989-2003.
TO ERR IS HUMAN ... But not with these guys. Both the Flying Tigers and the Mets have .975 team fielding percentages and are tied for the second best fielding mark in the Florida State League. Lakeland’s James Robbins leads all FSL first baseman with a .994 fielding percentage while Hernan Perez tops all second baseman with a .981 mark.
GUNNED DOWN ... Lakeland catchers have combined to throw out 39.9 percent of opposing baserunners – best percentage of any Florida State League team. The St. Lucie backstops have nailed 34.4 percentage of would-be basestealers – fourth highest mark in the FSL.
FLYING TIGERS TRADED ... Former Flying Tigers Jacob Turner, Brian Flynn and Rob Brantly were traded on Monday to the Miami Marlins for former Lakeland Tiger second baseman Omar Infante and pitcher Anibal Sanchez.
REHAB ASSIGNMENT ... Detroit pitcher Al Aburquerque is on a major league rehab assignment with Lakeland. Alburquerque was 6-1 last season for Detroit with a 1.87 ERA but is recovering from offseason surgery for a non-displaced stress fracture in his right elbow. Originally signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Cubs in 2003, Alburquerque spent part of the 2009 season with Daytona and appeared in three games versus Lakeland tossing 4.0 innings with five strikeouts and a 2.25 ERA.
ROSTER SHUFFLIN’ ... Adolfo Reina was promoted to Toledo on Tuesday with Wes Thigpen rejoining the club from Connecticut. Thigpen was batting .130 in seven games for the New York-Penn club and was 0x7 in three games during a previous stint with the Flying Tigers. The Reina promotion was prompted by the trade of Mud Hen catcher Rob Brantly.
FLYING HIGH ... Tyler Collins has hits in seven of his last nine games going 8x30 (.267) in that stretch with six runs batted in ... Wade Gaynor brings a nine-game hit streak (10x35, .286) into this series with six runs scored and three more driven in on a pair of home runs ... Hernan Perez has hits in nine of his last 10 games, going 16x35 (.457) since July 18 with six runs scored ... Tyler Clark has not allowed a run in his last 16.2 innings over 14 outings and has a win and eight saves in his last 10 appearances. He has also struck out 21 batters in that span ... Victor Larez allowed one run on July 25, snapping a streak of 23.0 scoreless innings over 13 appearances ... Luis Angel Sanz has a 1.00 ERA in his last three starts and has won four in a row. In his last four starts he has a 1.88 ERA and has struck out 15 batters in those four games (but has also walked nine batters) ... Brian Stroud has a 2.70 ERA in his last eight starts, but is 1-3 with four no decisions in that span ... Ryan Woolley has given up one earned run in his last 14.0 innings over seven outings.
GROUNDED ... Luis Castillo has one hit in his last 13 at bats and is 3x27 since July 18 ... after getting seven hits in three games on July 21-23, Daniel Fields is 1x10 his last three games ... Marcus Lemon is 1x9 his last three games since getting four hits on July 21 ... Dixon Machado is 3x20 (.150) the his last six games ... James Robbins is 5x29 (.172) with 18 strikeouts his last eight games ... Tyler White has given up nine earned runs in his last four appearances for a 13.50 ERA.
WINNINGEST ACTIVE MANAGER ... Manager Dave Huppert recorded his 1,700th victory as a minor league manager on Sunday, June 3 when the Flying Tigers posted an 11-1 win at Jupiter. He is in his second season with Lakeland and his 24th season as a minor league manager. Huppert, who became the winningest active manager in the minor leagues with Lakeland’s sixth win on April 19 of this year, brings a 1,725-1,581 record into the St. Lucie series.
THE FLYING TIGERS (17-15 second half, 4th North, 2.5 GB, 53-44 overall) ... Lakeland fell 4-2 at Tampa on Wednesday, the team’s fifth loss in the last seven games, dropping the club into fourth place, 2.5 games back in the North Division. Lakeland is still atop the Florida State League with a .264 team batting average, but have hit the second fewest home runs (44) in the league. The staff ERA of 3.88 is fifth highest in the league and the pitching corps has walked the third most batters of any FSL staff.
THE METS (14-19 second half, 5th South, 5.0 GB, 63-38 overall) ... The Mets ran away with the South Division first-half title, taking the crown by 14.0 games with a 49-19 record. However, the second way has been a different story as the club is already matched the number of losses from the first half with a 14-19 record. Cory Vaughn is tied for the league-lead with 16 home runs while Alonzo Harris is fourth with 26 stolen bases. The Mets get the job done with pitching as the staff tops the FSL with a 3.46 team ERA and has the third most strikeouts (767). St. Lucie has the fourth lowest team batting avearge in the FSL at .251 but have hit the second most homers (71) of any club.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS ... 7/26 - LHP Shawn Teufel (5-5, 6.13 ERA) ... Teufel is looking for his first win since posting a “W” on July 3 with three no decisions in the interim. Since posting back-to-back starts of 7.0 innings of shutout ball, he has surrendered 20 runs over 25 innings for a 7.20 ERA. In his last start on July 21 at Fort Myers, Teufel gave up four earned runs on four hits with six walks in 5.0 innings pitched. Teufel did not face the Mets the first go around. 7/27 - RHP Drew VerHagen (0-2, 4.50 ERA) ... VerHagen is looking for his first win as a Flying Tiger. In his two previous starts he has allowed three earned runs with three strikeouts and four walks in 6.0 innings. He has yet to work more than 3.2 innings in his two outings. VerHagen was not with Lakeland when the Flying Tigers first met the Mets. 7/28 - LHP Alex Burgos (7-9, 5.16 ERA) ... Burgos is 3-1 over his last five starts with a 3.98 earned run average. He has struck out 23 in those five starts, but has also walked 17 batters. In his last start on July 23 at Tampa, he was tagged for six earned runs on eight hits with two punch outs and five free passes. Burgos took the loss on May 18 allowing six runs (two earned) on six hits with five strikeouts and four walks.
THIS YEAR ... The Mets took three out of four games played in Lakeland on May 17-20 in the first series this season, outscoring the Flying Tigers 21-12 in the process. James McCann, now at AA Erie, and Dixon Machado each had five hits for Lakeland while Avisail Garcia, also with Erie, and Tyler Collins each contributed four hits.
INSIDE THE METS ROSTER ... Pitcher Chase Huchingson and catcher Blake Forsythe were named to the 2012 Florida State League All-Star team ... pitcher Adam Kolarek’s father, Frank, played for the Oakland A’s from 1976-82 ... catcher Kai Gronauer was born in Solingen, Germany ... infielder Robbie Shields was a third round draft pick of the Mets in 2009 out of Florida Southern College in Lakeland ... outfielder Cory Vaughn is the son of Greg Vaughn, who played 15 years in the major leagues from 1989-2003.
TO ERR IS HUMAN ... But not with these guys. Both the Flying Tigers and the Mets have .975 team fielding percentages and are tied for the second best fielding mark in the Florida State League. Lakeland’s James Robbins leads all FSL first baseman with a .994 fielding percentage while Hernan Perez tops all second baseman with a .981 mark.
GUNNED DOWN ... Lakeland catchers have combined to throw out 39.9 percent of opposing baserunners – best percentage of any Florida State League team. The St. Lucie backstops have nailed 34.4 percentage of would-be basestealers – fourth highest mark in the FSL.
FLYING TIGERS TRADED ... Former Flying Tigers Jacob Turner, Brian Flynn and Rob Brantly were traded on Monday to the Miami Marlins for former Lakeland Tiger second baseman Omar Infante and pitcher Anibal Sanchez.
REHAB ASSIGNMENT ... Detroit pitcher Al Aburquerque is on a major league rehab assignment with Lakeland. Alburquerque was 6-1 last season for Detroit with a 1.87 ERA but is recovering from offseason surgery for a non-displaced stress fracture in his right elbow. Originally signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Cubs in 2003, Alburquerque spent part of the 2009 season with Daytona and appeared in three games versus Lakeland tossing 4.0 innings with five strikeouts and a 2.25 ERA.
ROSTER SHUFFLIN’ ... Adolfo Reina was promoted to Toledo on Tuesday with Wes Thigpen rejoining the club from Connecticut. Thigpen was batting .130 in seven games for the New York-Penn club and was 0x7 in three games during a previous stint with the Flying Tigers. The Reina promotion was prompted by the trade of Mud Hen catcher Rob Brantly.
FLYING HIGH ... Tyler Collins has hits in seven of his last nine games going 8x30 (.267) in that stretch with six runs batted in ... Wade Gaynor brings a nine-game hit streak (10x35, .286) into this series with six runs scored and three more driven in on a pair of home runs ... Hernan Perez has hits in nine of his last 10 games, going 16x35 (.457) since July 18 with six runs scored ... Tyler Clark has not allowed a run in his last 16.2 innings over 14 outings and has a win and eight saves in his last 10 appearances. He has also struck out 21 batters in that span ... Victor Larez allowed one run on July 25, snapping a streak of 23.0 scoreless innings over 13 appearances ... Luis Angel Sanz has a 1.00 ERA in his last three starts and has won four in a row. In his last four starts he has a 1.88 ERA and has struck out 15 batters in those four games (but has also walked nine batters) ... Brian Stroud has a 2.70 ERA in his last eight starts, but is 1-3 with four no decisions in that span ... Ryan Woolley has given up one earned run in his last 14.0 innings over seven outings.
GROUNDED ... Luis Castillo has one hit in his last 13 at bats and is 3x27 since July 18 ... after getting seven hits in three games on July 21-23, Daniel Fields is 1x10 his last three games ... Marcus Lemon is 1x9 his last three games since getting four hits on July 21 ... Dixon Machado is 3x20 (.150) the his last six games ... James Robbins is 5x29 (.172) with 18 strikeouts his last eight games ... Tyler White has given up nine earned runs in his last four appearances for a 13.50 ERA.
WINNINGEST ACTIVE MANAGER ... Manager Dave Huppert recorded his 1,700th victory as a minor league manager on Sunday, June 3 when the Flying Tigers posted an 11-1 win at Jupiter. He is in his second season with Lakeland and his 24th season as a minor league manager. Huppert, who became the winningest active manager in the minor leagues with Lakeland’s sixth win on April 19 of this year, brings a 1,725-1,581 record into the St. Lucie series.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Mission Notes vs. Tampa (July 23-25)
THE SERIES .... Call it a sandwich series with a top heavy bun. The series begins on Monday, July 23 with a 5 pm doubleheader at Tampa’s George Steinbrenner Field. The twinbill was forced when a June 22 game between the two clubs was rained out. The two clubs then head to Lakeland for game two on Tuesday, July 24 for a 6:30 pm game with the series finale slated for Wednesday, July 25 in Tampa at 7 pm.
THE FLYING TIGERS (16-12 second half, T-2nd, 0.5 GB, 52-41 overall) ... Lakeland split its four-game series with Fort Myers over the weekend winning the opening and closing game while dropping the two middle contests. All four games were decided by two runs or less. The Flying Tigers are 3-3 in their last six games and now trail co-leaders Clearwater and Tampa by 0.5 games. Lakeland still is the top hitting team in the Florida State League with a .265 team batting average.
THE YANKEES (17-12 second half, T-1st, 0.0 GB, 47-49 overall) ... Tampa dropped three straight to Bradenton over the weekend with Sunday’s game being rained out. Prior to the three losses, the Yankees had won four in a row and eight of nine. Ramon Flores leads the league with 112 hits and is fourth with 153 total bases while leading the Yankees with a .296 average. Kyle Roller leads Tampa with 14 homers and 57 rubs batted in. Tampa is seventh in the FSL with a .254 team batting average
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS ...
7/23 GM 1 - RHP Drew VerHagen (0-1, 2.45 ERA) ... VerHagen will be making his second start since joining the club on July 17. In his Lakeland debut on July 18 at Palm Beach, he worked 3.2 innings, holding the Cardinals to one run on one hit with a strikeout and a pair of walks. VerHagen took the loss in that game as Lakeland was shutout 1-0.
7/23 GM2 - LHP Alex Burgos (7-8, 4.86 ERA) ... Alex Burgos has three wins in his last four starts with a 2.59 ERA. He has struck out 21 batters in the four games and walked three in each outing. In his last start on July 18 at Palm Beach, Burgos limited the Cards to three runs on six hits with four strikeouts and three walks, but did not factor in the decision.
7/24 - RHP Luis Angel Sanz (7-3, 4.26 ERA) ... Sanz has won his last three starts with a 2.12 ERA. In his last start on July 19 at home against Fort Myers, he surrendered just one run on four hits with five strikeouts and three walks. He is a perfect 5-0 at home this season with a 4.00 earned run average while going 2-3 with a 4.50 mark on the road.
7/25 - RHP Brian Stroud (1-3, 3.89 ERA) ... After not allowing a run and just a combined three hits in back-to-back starts, Stroud was tagged for six runs on seven hits in just 2.2 innings in his last start on July 20 at home against Fort Myers. He is 1-1 on the road with a 2.67 ERA while posting an 0-2 mark at home with a 5.82 earned run average.
THIS YEAR ... Lakeland won the first seven games of the series with Tampa taking three of the last five contests. The Flying Tigers have batted .272 in the series with Nick Castellanos, now at AA Erie, collecting 28 base hits. Tyler Collins has added 13 hits with Dixon Machado contributing 11 hits. Alex Burgos (5.40) and Brian Flynn (2.28) each have a 2-1 record in the series with the pitching staff combining for a 2.92 ERA. Tampa’s Kelvin Castro and Rob Segedin each have had 13 hits in the 12 games while Ramon Flores and JR Murphy each have had 12 hits as the Yankees have a .273 average in the series.
JOBA THE REHAB ... New York Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain is currently on a rehab assignment with Tampa and is expected to start Tuesday’s game in Lakeland. The 6’2”, 250 pound pitcher is coming back from elbow and ankle surgeries.
INSIDE THE YANKEE ROSTER ... Tampa manager Luis Sojo has the most career wins of any Florida State League manager with 418 ... pitcher Thomas Kahnle helped pitch Lynn University to the 2009 NCAA Division II national championship ... outfielder Slade Heathcott was the Yankees’ first-round pick in 2009 out of Texas High School.
UP & DOWN ... Marcus Lemon has eight hits the last six games, but has not had hits in back-to-back games in that stretch. He had two hits in game one a doubleheader on July 14 and went hitless in game two. The next night, he again had two hits and followed that by not getting a hit the next game. On July 21, he collected a season-high four hits, but was held hitless on July 22.
FLYING HIGH ... Tyler Collins has hits in five straight games and is 6x17 (.353) during that stretch with one RBI in each of the five games. Collins is tied for second in the FSL with 28 doubles ... Daniel Fields has seven hits in his last four games and has hits in 13 of his last 15 games (19x54, .352) dating back to July 7 ... Wade Gaynor has hits in five straight games (6x21, .286) and seven of his last eight games ... Dixon Machado has hits in six straight games and is 10x23 (.435) ... Tyler Clark has not allowed a run in his last 13 appearances and has seven saves in that stretch and leads FSL relievers with an .140 opponents batting average ... Victor Larez has not allowed an earned run in his last 13 outings ... Ryan Woolley has been touched for just one earned run over his last six appearances.
GROUNDED ... Curt Casali is 2x13 (.154) his last four games ... Luis Castillo is 2x14 (.143) his last four games and 6x36 (.167) since July 14 ... Dixon Machado has five hits in his last 25 at bats (200) ... Adolfo Reina is 4x28 (.143) his last nine games dating back to July 5 ... James Robbins is 6x39 (.154) with 18 strikeouts in the last 11 games dating back to July 11 ... Shawn Teufel has surrendered 20 earned run over his last six starts for a 7.20 ERA with 19 walks ... Tyler White has given up eight earned runs over 3.0 innings in his last three appearances.
DO YOU COME FROM A LAND DOWN UNDER? ... Detroit went to the Great Outback for the latest addition to the Flying Tigers roster in pitcher Warwick Saupold. The 6’2” righthander pitcher was signed in January from the Perth Heat in the Australian Baseball League where he once was a 2010 teammate of former Flying Tiger Brendan Wise. Saupold joins Lakeland from West Michigan where he struck out 58 batters in 58 innings while walking just 10 batters.
ROSTER SHUFFLIN’ ... In addition to Warwick Saupold, the Flying Tigers also welcomed 1B/DH Dean Green to the squad. The 6’4”, 255 pound first baseman/DH was an 11th round pick of Detroit in 2011 out of Barry University in Miami. Green was the Connecticut Player of the Year in 2011 and is working his way back from right elbow inflammation which forced him to the disabled list while at West Michigan. Pitcher Brian Flynn was promoted to AA Erie on July 19 while Lance Durham was sent to West Michigan on July 20.
FIELDS MOVES UP ... Daniel Fields, now in his third season with Lakeland, ranks fifth on the Lakeland all-time games played list with 284. Next up for Field is Basilio Cabrera’s fourth place mark of 298 games played in 1988, 1989 and 1991. The Lakeland Tiger record for games played is held by Ron Marigny who participated in 371 games from 1987-91.
UP NEXT ... Following this series, Lakeland travels to St. Lucie for a four-game set against the Mets on July 26-29. The next home game for Lakeland is Monday, June 30 against the Bradenton Marauders.
WINNINGEST ACTIVE MANAGER ... Manager Dave Huppert recorded his 1,700th victory as a minor league manager on Sunday, June 3 when the Flying Tigers posted an 11-1 win at Jupiter. He is in his second season with Lakeland and his 24th season as a minor league manager. Huppert, who became the winningest active manager in the minor leagues with Lakeland’s sixth win on April 19 of this year, brings a 1,724-1,578 record into the Tampa series.
THE FLYING TIGERS (16-12 second half, T-2nd, 0.5 GB, 52-41 overall) ... Lakeland split its four-game series with Fort Myers over the weekend winning the opening and closing game while dropping the two middle contests. All four games were decided by two runs or less. The Flying Tigers are 3-3 in their last six games and now trail co-leaders Clearwater and Tampa by 0.5 games. Lakeland still is the top hitting team in the Florida State League with a .265 team batting average.
THE YANKEES (17-12 second half, T-1st, 0.0 GB, 47-49 overall) ... Tampa dropped three straight to Bradenton over the weekend with Sunday’s game being rained out. Prior to the three losses, the Yankees had won four in a row and eight of nine. Ramon Flores leads the league with 112 hits and is fourth with 153 total bases while leading the Yankees with a .296 average. Kyle Roller leads Tampa with 14 homers and 57 rubs batted in. Tampa is seventh in the FSL with a .254 team batting average
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS ...
7/23 GM 1 - RHP Drew VerHagen (0-1, 2.45 ERA) ... VerHagen will be making his second start since joining the club on July 17. In his Lakeland debut on July 18 at Palm Beach, he worked 3.2 innings, holding the Cardinals to one run on one hit with a strikeout and a pair of walks. VerHagen took the loss in that game as Lakeland was shutout 1-0.
7/23 GM2 - LHP Alex Burgos (7-8, 4.86 ERA) ... Alex Burgos has three wins in his last four starts with a 2.59 ERA. He has struck out 21 batters in the four games and walked three in each outing. In his last start on July 18 at Palm Beach, Burgos limited the Cards to three runs on six hits with four strikeouts and three walks, but did not factor in the decision.
7/24 - RHP Luis Angel Sanz (7-3, 4.26 ERA) ... Sanz has won his last three starts with a 2.12 ERA. In his last start on July 19 at home against Fort Myers, he surrendered just one run on four hits with five strikeouts and three walks. He is a perfect 5-0 at home this season with a 4.00 earned run average while going 2-3 with a 4.50 mark on the road.
7/25 - RHP Brian Stroud (1-3, 3.89 ERA) ... After not allowing a run and just a combined three hits in back-to-back starts, Stroud was tagged for six runs on seven hits in just 2.2 innings in his last start on July 20 at home against Fort Myers. He is 1-1 on the road with a 2.67 ERA while posting an 0-2 mark at home with a 5.82 earned run average.
THIS YEAR ... Lakeland won the first seven games of the series with Tampa taking three of the last five contests. The Flying Tigers have batted .272 in the series with Nick Castellanos, now at AA Erie, collecting 28 base hits. Tyler Collins has added 13 hits with Dixon Machado contributing 11 hits. Alex Burgos (5.40) and Brian Flynn (2.28) each have a 2-1 record in the series with the pitching staff combining for a 2.92 ERA. Tampa’s Kelvin Castro and Rob Segedin each have had 13 hits in the 12 games while Ramon Flores and JR Murphy each have had 12 hits as the Yankees have a .273 average in the series.
JOBA THE REHAB ... New York Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain is currently on a rehab assignment with Tampa and is expected to start Tuesday’s game in Lakeland. The 6’2”, 250 pound pitcher is coming back from elbow and ankle surgeries.
INSIDE THE YANKEE ROSTER ... Tampa manager Luis Sojo has the most career wins of any Florida State League manager with 418 ... pitcher Thomas Kahnle helped pitch Lynn University to the 2009 NCAA Division II national championship ... outfielder Slade Heathcott was the Yankees’ first-round pick in 2009 out of Texas High School.
UP & DOWN ... Marcus Lemon has eight hits the last six games, but has not had hits in back-to-back games in that stretch. He had two hits in game one a doubleheader on July 14 and went hitless in game two. The next night, he again had two hits and followed that by not getting a hit the next game. On July 21, he collected a season-high four hits, but was held hitless on July 22.
FLYING HIGH ... Tyler Collins has hits in five straight games and is 6x17 (.353) during that stretch with one RBI in each of the five games. Collins is tied for second in the FSL with 28 doubles ... Daniel Fields has seven hits in his last four games and has hits in 13 of his last 15 games (19x54, .352) dating back to July 7 ... Wade Gaynor has hits in five straight games (6x21, .286) and seven of his last eight games ... Dixon Machado has hits in six straight games and is 10x23 (.435) ... Tyler Clark has not allowed a run in his last 13 appearances and has seven saves in that stretch and leads FSL relievers with an .140 opponents batting average ... Victor Larez has not allowed an earned run in his last 13 outings ... Ryan Woolley has been touched for just one earned run over his last six appearances.
GROUNDED ... Curt Casali is 2x13 (.154) his last four games ... Luis Castillo is 2x14 (.143) his last four games and 6x36 (.167) since July 14 ... Dixon Machado has five hits in his last 25 at bats (200) ... Adolfo Reina is 4x28 (.143) his last nine games dating back to July 5 ... James Robbins is 6x39 (.154) with 18 strikeouts in the last 11 games dating back to July 11 ... Shawn Teufel has surrendered 20 earned run over his last six starts for a 7.20 ERA with 19 walks ... Tyler White has given up eight earned runs over 3.0 innings in his last three appearances.
DO YOU COME FROM A LAND DOWN UNDER? ... Detroit went to the Great Outback for the latest addition to the Flying Tigers roster in pitcher Warwick Saupold. The 6’2” righthander pitcher was signed in January from the Perth Heat in the Australian Baseball League where he once was a 2010 teammate of former Flying Tiger Brendan Wise. Saupold joins Lakeland from West Michigan where he struck out 58 batters in 58 innings while walking just 10 batters.
ROSTER SHUFFLIN’ ... In addition to Warwick Saupold, the Flying Tigers also welcomed 1B/DH Dean Green to the squad. The 6’4”, 255 pound first baseman/DH was an 11th round pick of Detroit in 2011 out of Barry University in Miami. Green was the Connecticut Player of the Year in 2011 and is working his way back from right elbow inflammation which forced him to the disabled list while at West Michigan. Pitcher Brian Flynn was promoted to AA Erie on July 19 while Lance Durham was sent to West Michigan on July 20.
FIELDS MOVES UP ... Daniel Fields, now in his third season with Lakeland, ranks fifth on the Lakeland all-time games played list with 284. Next up for Field is Basilio Cabrera’s fourth place mark of 298 games played in 1988, 1989 and 1991. The Lakeland Tiger record for games played is held by Ron Marigny who participated in 371 games from 1987-91.
UP NEXT ... Following this series, Lakeland travels to St. Lucie for a four-game set against the Mets on July 26-29. The next home game for Lakeland is Monday, June 30 against the Bradenton Marauders.
WINNINGEST ACTIVE MANAGER ... Manager Dave Huppert recorded his 1,700th victory as a minor league manager on Sunday, June 3 when the Flying Tigers posted an 11-1 win at Jupiter. He is in his second season with Lakeland and his 24th season as a minor league manager. Huppert, who became the winningest active manager in the minor leagues with Lakeland’s sixth win on April 19 of this year, brings a 1,724-1,578 record into the Tampa series.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Mission Notes vs. Fort Myers (July 19-22)
THE SERIES .... Four games and four start times. The series opens with a 6:30 pm game on Thursday with the game time moving to 7:11 on Friday. Saturday’s contest gets underway at 6 pm with Sunday’s series finale at 1 pm.
THE FLYING TIGERS (14-10 second half, T-3rd, 2.0 GB, 52-40 overall) ... Lakeland split a doubleheader last night at Palm Beach, dropping the opener 1-0 despite limiting the Cardinals to one hit and then salvaging the split with a 6-3, 9-inning win in game two. Hernan Perez sparked the Flying Tigers to the win with a 3x4 night with three runs scored and two more driven in. The win was Lakeland’s 12th in the last 19 games. The Flying Tigers starting pitching staff has a 2.44 ERA since July 3 while the relief corps has a 3.83 mark in the same span of games. The Flying Tigers continue to lead the Florida State League in batting average with a .264 mark but have the second fewest hits of any squad in the league. As a team, Lakeland has struck out the second least time of any FSL team.
THE MIRACLE (12-15 second half, T-3rd, 2.5 GB, 40-54 overall) ... Ft. Myers fell 4-1 to Dunedin last night for its second straight loss and the ninth loss in last 11 games. Four of the last six games have been decided by one run. Shortstop Daniel Santana is tied for third in the league with 100 base hits. Ft. Myers has a .248 team batting average is the third lowest in the league and the Miracle have scored the second fewest runs. When they hit the ball, it goes a long way as the Miracle have the third most homers in the league. The staff ERA of 4.13 is the third highest of the league staffs.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS
INSIDE THE MIRACLE ROSTER ... Manager Jake Mauer is the brother of Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer ... Pitchers Pat Dean and Ricky Bowen, catcher Josmil Pinto, and shortstop Daniel Santana, were all named to the 2012 FSL All-Star team ... Pitcher Cole Nelson was originally a 10th round pick by Detroit in the 2010 draft and played parts of the 2010 and 2011 season for Lakeland. He and former Flying Tiger, Lester Oliveros, were traded to the Twins for outfielder Delmon Young on Aug. 15, 2011.
WALK ‘EM ... Lakeland has surrendered just two grand slams over the last two years – both to Fort Myers’ Anderson Hildago. He went deep with the bases juiced on July 20, 2011 and duplicated the feat with a base-loaded homer on May 7 of this season.
FLYING HIGH ... Daniel Fields has hits in five straight games (6x17) and 10 of the last 11 contests (12x37) ... Tyler Collins ranks third in the FSL with 24 doubles ... Hernan Perez has had three hits in a game twice in the last four games and is 7x14 in those games with five runs scored, a pair of doubles and a pair of homers for four RBI ... Tyler Clark has allowed just one earned run in his last 22 appearances dating back to May 1. His .137 opponents batting average leads all FSL relievers while his 12.14 strikeouts and 8.17 baserunners allowed per nine innings both rank second ... Brian Flynn is 4-0 with a 1.75 ERA in his last six starts with 29 strikeouts ... Victor Larez has given up one score in his last 18 outings dating back to May 6 ... Brian Stroud has not been scored upon in his last two starts and has allowed just three hits in those two games.
GROUNDED ... Luis Castillo is 4x26 (.153) his last seven games ... Adolfo Reina is 2x16 (.125) his last six games ... Shawn Teufel has been tagged for 16 earned runs his last five games for a 7.20 earned run average.
WHO’S THE NEW GUY? ... Lakeland welcomed the second member of Detroit’s 2012 draft class to the squad on Tuesday, July 17 with the addition of fourth-rounder Drew VerHagen. The 6’6” righthanded pitcher was picked by Detroit out of Vanderbilt University where he was 6-3 with two saves and a 3.50 ERA in 27 appearances (seven starts). Signing in late June, VerHagen was 0-0 with a 2.25 ERA in two appearances with the Gulf Coast League Tigers. Earlier this season, 2012 12th round draft pick Julio Felix appeared in one games for the Flying Tigers.
HATE IT WHEN THAT HAPPENS ... It didn’t Drew VerHagen long to make his Flying Tiger debut. Just two days after joining Lakeland, the 2012 fourth-round draft pick made his first start, working 3.2 innings of one-hit ball on Thursday. Ryan Woolley came on in relief and held the Cardinals hitless over 2.1 innings to complete the one-hitter. Unfortunately, the Lakeland offense couldn’t get untracked, managing just four hits in a 1-0 loss.
FIELDS IN THE BOOKS ... Daniel Fields, now in his third season with Lakeland, ranks seventh on the Lakeland all-time list with 281 games played. With his next game, he’ll tie Gilbert Mejia (2005-06) for sixth place, The Lakeland Tiger record for games played is held by Ron Marigny who played in 371 games from 1987-91.
STRIEBY RELEASED ... Ryan Strieby, who hit a club-record 29 homers for Lakeland in 2008, has been released by Detroit. He was hitting just .195 for Toledo with a .279 on-base percentage. Originally a fourth-round pick by Detroit in 2008, Strieby batted .278 for the Flying Tigers in 2008 with 19 doubles, seven triples, 29 homers and 94 RBI.
UP NEXT ... Up next for Lakeland is a four-game set with Tampa. The series opens July 23 with a doubleheader at Tampa at 5 pm. The twinbill was forced when the June 22 game at Tampa was rained out. The two teams then head to Lakeland on July 24 and then back to Tampa on July 25.
WINNINGEST ACTIVE MANAGER ... Manager Dave Huppert recorded his 1,700th victory as a minor league manager on Sunday, June 3 when the Flying Tigers posted an 11-1 win at Jupiter. He is in his second season with Lakeland and his 24th season as a minor league manager. Huppert, who became the winningest active manager in the minor leagues with Lakeland’s sixth win on April 19 of this year, brings a 1,722-1,574 record into the Ft. Myers series.
THE FLYING TIGERS (14-10 second half, T-3rd, 2.0 GB, 52-40 overall) ... Lakeland split a doubleheader last night at Palm Beach, dropping the opener 1-0 despite limiting the Cardinals to one hit and then salvaging the split with a 6-3, 9-inning win in game two. Hernan Perez sparked the Flying Tigers to the win with a 3x4 night with three runs scored and two more driven in. The win was Lakeland’s 12th in the last 19 games. The Flying Tigers starting pitching staff has a 2.44 ERA since July 3 while the relief corps has a 3.83 mark in the same span of games. The Flying Tigers continue to lead the Florida State League in batting average with a .264 mark but have the second fewest hits of any squad in the league. As a team, Lakeland has struck out the second least time of any FSL team.
THE MIRACLE (12-15 second half, T-3rd, 2.5 GB, 40-54 overall) ... Ft. Myers fell 4-1 to Dunedin last night for its second straight loss and the ninth loss in last 11 games. Four of the last six games have been decided by one run. Shortstop Daniel Santana is tied for third in the league with 100 base hits. Ft. Myers has a .248 team batting average is the third lowest in the league and the Miracle have scored the second fewest runs. When they hit the ball, it goes a long way as the Miracle have the third most homers in the league. The staff ERA of 4.13 is the third highest of the league staffs.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS
- 7/19 - RHP Luis Angel Sanz (6-3, 4.50 ERA) ... Sanz has won his last two starts and is 5-2 in eight starts since May 27. In his last start on July 14 at Charlotte, he held the Stone Crabs to two hits over five innings with two walks and two strikeouts and now has 28 strikeouts his last six starts. On the season, Sanz is 4-0 at home and 2-3 on the road. His ERA is 4.50 in both locations. As a starter, he is 5-3 with a 3.00 ERA in nine starts.
- 7/20 - RHP Brian Stroud (1-2, 2.83 ERA) ... Stroud picked up his first win in a Flying Tiger uniform on July 15 with five shutout innings tossed at Palm Beach. He has not allowed a run in his last two starts and has given up just three hits over an 11.0 combined innings. In his last five starts he has surrendered just three runs for a 1.04 earned run average.
- 7/21 - LHP Brian Flynn (8-5, 3.71 ERA) ... Stroud is 4-0 in his last six starts with a 2.90 ERA. His eight wins are tied for the league lead. In his last start on July 16 at Palm Beach, he threw 7.0 shutout innings, holding the Cardinals to three hits with six strikeouts and no walks. Stroud is 5-3 with a 3.56 ERA in 12 home starts and 3-1 with a 3.96 ERA in six road outings. He has 19 strikeouts over his last three appearances.
- 7/22 - RHP Drew VerHagen (0-1, 2.45 ERA) ... VerHagen made his Flying Tigers debut on July 18 at Palm Beach with 3.2 innings of one-hit ball. He allowed one run in the game with a pair of walks and one strikeout. He was the third pick of the Tigers in this year’s draft being chosen in the fourth round out of Vanderbilt University.
INSIDE THE MIRACLE ROSTER ... Manager Jake Mauer is the brother of Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer ... Pitchers Pat Dean and Ricky Bowen, catcher Josmil Pinto, and shortstop Daniel Santana, were all named to the 2012 FSL All-Star team ... Pitcher Cole Nelson was originally a 10th round pick by Detroit in the 2010 draft and played parts of the 2010 and 2011 season for Lakeland. He and former Flying Tiger, Lester Oliveros, were traded to the Twins for outfielder Delmon Young on Aug. 15, 2011.
WALK ‘EM ... Lakeland has surrendered just two grand slams over the last two years – both to Fort Myers’ Anderson Hildago. He went deep with the bases juiced on July 20, 2011 and duplicated the feat with a base-loaded homer on May 7 of this season.
FLYING HIGH ... Daniel Fields has hits in five straight games (6x17) and 10 of the last 11 contests (12x37) ... Tyler Collins ranks third in the FSL with 24 doubles ... Hernan Perez has had three hits in a game twice in the last four games and is 7x14 in those games with five runs scored, a pair of doubles and a pair of homers for four RBI ... Tyler Clark has allowed just one earned run in his last 22 appearances dating back to May 1. His .137 opponents batting average leads all FSL relievers while his 12.14 strikeouts and 8.17 baserunners allowed per nine innings both rank second ... Brian Flynn is 4-0 with a 1.75 ERA in his last six starts with 29 strikeouts ... Victor Larez has given up one score in his last 18 outings dating back to May 6 ... Brian Stroud has not been scored upon in his last two starts and has allowed just three hits in those two games.
GROUNDED ... Luis Castillo is 4x26 (.153) his last seven games ... Adolfo Reina is 2x16 (.125) his last six games ... Shawn Teufel has been tagged for 16 earned runs his last five games for a 7.20 earned run average.
WHO’S THE NEW GUY? ... Lakeland welcomed the second member of Detroit’s 2012 draft class to the squad on Tuesday, July 17 with the addition of fourth-rounder Drew VerHagen. The 6’6” righthanded pitcher was picked by Detroit out of Vanderbilt University where he was 6-3 with two saves and a 3.50 ERA in 27 appearances (seven starts). Signing in late June, VerHagen was 0-0 with a 2.25 ERA in two appearances with the Gulf Coast League Tigers. Earlier this season, 2012 12th round draft pick Julio Felix appeared in one games for the Flying Tigers.
HATE IT WHEN THAT HAPPENS ... It didn’t Drew VerHagen long to make his Flying Tiger debut. Just two days after joining Lakeland, the 2012 fourth-round draft pick made his first start, working 3.2 innings of one-hit ball on Thursday. Ryan Woolley came on in relief and held the Cardinals hitless over 2.1 innings to complete the one-hitter. Unfortunately, the Lakeland offense couldn’t get untracked, managing just four hits in a 1-0 loss.
FIELDS IN THE BOOKS ... Daniel Fields, now in his third season with Lakeland, ranks seventh on the Lakeland all-time list with 281 games played. With his next game, he’ll tie Gilbert Mejia (2005-06) for sixth place, The Lakeland Tiger record for games played is held by Ron Marigny who played in 371 games from 1987-91.
STRIEBY RELEASED ... Ryan Strieby, who hit a club-record 29 homers for Lakeland in 2008, has been released by Detroit. He was hitting just .195 for Toledo with a .279 on-base percentage. Originally a fourth-round pick by Detroit in 2008, Strieby batted .278 for the Flying Tigers in 2008 with 19 doubles, seven triples, 29 homers and 94 RBI.
UP NEXT ... Up next for Lakeland is a four-game set with Tampa. The series opens July 23 with a doubleheader at Tampa at 5 pm. The twinbill was forced when the June 22 game at Tampa was rained out. The two teams then head to Lakeland on July 24 and then back to Tampa on July 25.
WINNINGEST ACTIVE MANAGER ... Manager Dave Huppert recorded his 1,700th victory as a minor league manager on Sunday, June 3 when the Flying Tigers posted an 11-1 win at Jupiter. He is in his second season with Lakeland and his 24th season as a minor league manager. Huppert, who became the winningest active manager in the minor leagues with Lakeland’s sixth win on April 19 of this year, brings a 1,722-1,574 record into the Ft. Myers series.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Mission Notes vs. Palm Beach (July 15-18)
THE SERIES .... All four games of this series will be played at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter. The series opener is Sunday at 5:05 pm with Monday’s game getting underway at 12:05 pm. The final two games are Tuesday and Wednesday at 6:35 pm. Roger Dean Stadium is the only stadium to be the home site for two minor league teams as the Jupiter Hammerheads also play their home games at RDS.
THE FLYING TIGERS (11-9 second half, T-3rd, 1.5 GB, 47-38 overall) ... Lakeland split a doubleheader on Sunday at Charlotte winning the opener 7-0 as Luis Angel Sanz and Ryan Woolley combined on a three-hitter and then dropping the nightcap 8-3 as the Stone Crabs put up a six-run fifth inning. The Flying Tigers are 5-3 their last eight games and 9-6 the last 15 contests. Lakeland remains atop the Florida State League with a .264 average but Daytona has closed the gap and is now just one point behind the Flying Tigers. The staff ERA of 3.91 is eighth in the FSL.
THE CARDINALS (12-11 second half, T-2nd, 1.0 GB, 43-47 overall) ... Palm Beach downed Daytona 9-6 on Saturday to win its second game in a row and fourth in the last six contests. Mike O’Neill has a .351 average on the season, topped only in the Florida State League by former Flying Tiger Nick Castellanos’ .405 mark. O’Neill’s 104 hits and .437 on-base percentage are also second in the league while his 46 walks is tied for third most in the FSL. Starlin Rodriguez ranks seventh with a .302 average. Dean Kiekhefer has a 0.41 walks per nine innings to top all FSL relievers while his 8.45 baserunners allowed per nine innings is the third lowest in the league. Palm Beach bats .257 as a team, a total that is sixth best in the FSL, while the staff ERA of 3.65 is third lowest in the league.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS ...
7/15 - RHP Brian Stroud (0-2, 3.22 ERA) ... Stroud will be making his eighth start of the season and is still looking for his first win against two losses. He has an impressive 1.29 ERA in his last four starts with an 0-1 mark having allowed three combined runs. In his last start on July 8 at home against Daytona, Stroud tossed 6.0 innings of one-hit ball with three walks and no strikeouts.
7/16 - LHP Brian Flynn (7-4, 3.98 ERA) ... Flynn is 3-0 with a 3.21 ERA in his last five starts but has gotten a no-decision in his last two outings. In his last start on July 9 at Daytona, Flynn held the Cubs to three runs on six hits in four innings. He did strike out five in the contest, but also walked five batters.
7/17 - LHP Jared Wesson (0-1, 3.79 ERA) ... Wesson is making his fourth start since joining Lakeland in late June and will be looking for his first win as a Flying Tiger in 2012. In his last start on July 11 at Charlotte, he limited the Stone Crabs to one run on five hits with three strikeouts but did not get a decision in the game.
7/18 - LHP Alex Burgos (7-8, 4.88 ERA) ... Burgos has won his last three starts and is 5-1 his last six outings. In those six games, he has a 3.24 ERA and has struck out 27 batters, but has also walked 22 opponents. In his last start on July 12 at Charlotte, Burgos kept the Stone Crabs in check with four hits for one run with five K’s and three free passes.
THIS YEAR ... The two clubs split their four-game series in Lakeland on May 8-11 with each club scoring 14 runs in the series. Hernan Perez and Avisail Garcia, now at AA Erie, each had six hits in the series with Garcia hitting a pair of home runs. Lakeland batted .269 in the four games while Palm Beach hit .263 for the series behind eight hits by Starlin Rodriguez and seven more, including three doubles by Alan Ahmady.
INSIDE THE CARDINALS ROSTER ... Outfielder James Ramsey was St. Louis’ top pick (23rd overall) in the 2012 draft out of Florida State University and was just signed on June 29. Pitcher Drew Benes is the son of Andy Benes, who was the first player selected in the 1988 MLB draft. The elder Benes spent 15 years pitching in the majors. Cardinal manager Johnny Rodriguez is the father of Tampa Bay Rays’ infielder Sean Rodriguez.
FLYING HIGH ... Daniel Fields has hits in six of his last seven games and is 8x23 during that span ... Marcus Lemon has hits in six of his last eight games and is 10x28 in those eight contests ... James Robbins has at least one hit in 20 of his last 26 games and is 33x87 since June 6 for a .379 mark with 16 runs scored and 20 runs batted in. The .379 average is the best of any Florida State League batter since June 6.
GROUNDED ... Luis Castillo is 3x21 his last six games ... Tyler Collins is 5x33 his last nine games ... Wade Gaynor has one hit in his last five games (a three-run homer, albeit) and is 4x32 in nine games since July 5 ... Dixon Machado is 2x18 his last five games ... Hernan Perez has one hit in his last 15 at bats and is 4x45 since in 14 games since June 29.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS ... Tyler Collins leads Lakeland with a .286 average, 43 runs scored, 89 hits, 23 doubles, four triples, 44 RBI and 132 total bases ... Dixon Machado is one run scored behind Collins with 42 while his three triples also is second on the team ... James Robbins is second with 73 base hits, 19 doubles and 41 runs batted in ... Wade Gaynor tops current players with seven home runs ... Perez and Machado each had a team-high 14 stolen bases ... Alex Burgos and Brian Flynn are tied for the team lead with seven wins while Flynn’s 3.98 ERA is tops among starters with 47 innings or more. He also has struck out a team-high 78 batters ... Tyler Clark leads current Lakeland relievers with seven saves in seven opportunities and tops all Florida State League relievers with a .143 opponents’ batting average. Clark’s 12.32 strikeouts per nine innings is second among FSL relievers while his 8.13 baserunners allowed per nine innings is second best in the league ... Victor Larez ranks fifth among FSL relievers with 9.85 baserunners allowed per nine innings.
LACK OF POP ... Palm Beach has hit a league-low 27 home runs while Lakeland’s 37 homers is the second fewest.
GOOD EYE ... Flying Tigers batters have struck out the fewest time (573) of any FSL team and is one of only two teams with less than 600 strikeouts.
UP NEXT ... Lakeland returns home from its eight-game road trip on Thursday, July 19 to open a four-game series against Ft. Myers.
WINNINGEST ACTIVE MANAGER ... Manager Dave Huppert recorded his 1,700th victory as a minor league manager on Sunday, June 3 when the Flying Tigers posted an 11-1 win at Jupiter. He is in his second season with Lakeland and his 24th season as a minor league manager. Huppert, who became the winningest active manager in the minor leagues with Lakeland’s sixth win on April 19 of this year, brings a 1,719-1,573 record into the Palm Beach series.
TURNER BACK IN ROTATION ... Jacob Turner, who started his 2012 campaign with Lakeland while working his way back to the big leagues, will make his second start for Detroit on Tuesday. With former Flying Tiger Drew Smyly headed to the disabled list, Turner will be part of Detroit’s starting rotation for now.
ALUMNI REPORT ... Nick Castellanos is batting .302 with Erie with four homers and 15 RBI. He was held hitless on Saturday, snapping a 13-game hit streak in which he had six games with two hits each. The former Lakeland third baseman has been victimized by the strikeout with 18 strikeouts in his last 11 games ... Avisail Garcia is hitting .243 with the SeaWolves ... James McCann has a .188 average with 17 strikeouts in 28 at bats for Erie ... Luis Alberto Sanz has a .138 mark in 10 games for the SeaWolves while Wes Thigpen is 3x7 (.429) in two games with Erie ... Bruce Rondon is nine for nine in save opportunities in AA and has a combined 24 saves in 25 opportunities for Lakeland and Erie combined.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Mission Notes vs. Charlotte (July 11-14)
THE SERIES ... Lakeland opens an eight-game road trip with four games at Charlotte on July 11-14. All four games have 6:30 pm start times and can be heard on the Stone Crabs website.
THE FLYING TIGERS (9-7 second half, T-2nd, 0.5 GB, 45-36 overall) ... Lakeland took two of three against Daytona over the weekend and is now 7-4 its last 11 games. Marcus Lemon collected four base hits on Monday to lead an 11-hit attack as the Flying Tigers reached double figures in hits for the second time in three games and for the seventh time this half. The club also totalled four doubles on Monday to give the Flying Tigers 26 doubles in the last 11 games. Lakeland is in a three-way tie with Brevard County and Tampa for second place in the North Division. Lakeland leads the Florida State League with a 2.69 ERA.
THE STONE CRABS (6-12 second half, 6th, 4.5 GB, 35-50 overall) ... Charlotte has split its last four games, but has lost seven of its last nine and 11 of the last 15 games. The Stone Crabs have the fewest wins of any FSL team. Pitcher Enny Romero ranks second in the league with a .208 opponents batting average and is fifth with a 3.04 ERA while C.J. Riefenhauser is fourth with 85 strikeouts (the only non-Clearwater pitcher in the top five, by the way). Charlotte is fifth in the FSL with a .259 team batting average but has the highest ERA (4.70) of any league team.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS ...
7/11 - LHP Jared Wesson (0-1, 5.25 ERA) ... Wesson lost his last start on July 5 against Clearwater. In that game, he allowed four runs – three earned – on eight hits with six strikeouts and two walks in 7.0 in innings. He joined Lakeland on June 25 from AA Erie and started his first game on June 30, working 5.0 innings, surrendering four hits on seven hits with six strikeouts and four walks. He has not faced Charlotte this season, but was 1-1 with a 3.48 in two starts versus the Stone Crabs in 2011.
7/12 - LHP Alex Burgos (6.80, 5.15 ERA) ... Burgos has won his last two starts and four of his last five. In his last start on July 6 at Clearwater, he allowed two runs – one earned – on four hits with six strikeouts and three walks. Burgos has a 3.67 ERA in his last five outings with 22 strikeouts. This is his 13th road start and his first start vs. Charlotte.
7/13 - RHP Luis Angel Sanz (5-3, 4.68 ERA) ... Sanz picked up the win in his last start on July 7 at home against Daytona giving up three runs on five hits with a pair of strikeouts and three walks. He has a 2-2 record over his last five starts with a 4.82 ERA. Sanz is 1-3 on the road with a 5.18 ERA opposed to a 4-0 home record with a 4.50 ERA. He, too, is making his first outing versus the Stone Crabs.
7/14 - RHP Brian Stroud (0-2, 3.22 ERA) ... Stroud worked 6.0 scoreless innings on July 8 at home against Daytona, holding the Cubs to one hit with three walks and no strikeouts. He is 0-1 with a 1.29 earned run average in his last four starts. Stroud has not faced Charlotte in 2012.
THIS YEAR ... Lakeland took two of three games played in early June at Joker Marchant Stadium (one game was lost to schedule). Charlotte took game one 4-1 despite four throwing errors by Stone Crab catcher Luke Bailey which tied a FSL record for catchers. The Flying Tigers roared back with 13 hits in a 10-3 win in game two while Shawn Teufel tossed a seven-inning shutout in a 9-0 win in game three.
INSIDE THE STONE CRABS ROSTER ... Tampa Bay Ray outfielder Sam Fuld is currently on a rehab assignment with the Stone Crabs. He is recovering from surgery on his right wrist ... outfielder Mikie Mahtook was Ray’s first-round pick (31st overall) in the 2011 draft out of LSU.
DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN ... Tyler Collins gave Lakeland a quick 2-0 lead on Saturday, homering off Cubs’ starter P.J. Francescon with Dixon Machado on first base with one out in the first inning. Collins’ last homer before Saturday was July 2 in Daytona. The pitcher? P.J. Francescon. Who was on base? Dixon Machado. What was the situation? One out in the first inning. Collins is tied for second in the FSL with 23 doubles.
ROSTER SHUFFLE ... Catcher Adolfo Reina was called up to AAA Toledo on Saturday to take Rob Brantly’s roster spot while the Mud Hens catcher played in the Futures Game in Kansas City. Tim Remes was then added to the Lakeland roster from the Gulf Coast League Tigers. Remes was signed by Detroit in June as a non-drafted free agent out of Sante Fe Community College where he was coached by former Lakeland Tiger Johnny Wiggs. On Monday, everyone returned to their original teams.
JAMES GANG STILL ON THE RUN ... James Robbins has hits in seven straight games (11x24, .458); 13 of his last 14 games (24x52, .462); and 19 of his last 23 games (32x77, .416). In addition, he has scored at least one run in 11 of the last 16 games. Robbins is the league’s hottest hitter dating back to June 6 with his .416 average – some 21 points better than the second best hitter during that span. Throw in all minor league hitters (full season teams) and Robbins has the third best mark of any hitter since June 6.
TOUGH TO FACE ... Opponents have batted just .139 against reliever Tyler Clark. The .139 mark is 21 points lower than the next closest reliever. Clark also ranks second among relievers with 12.42 strikeouts per nine innings while his 8.10 baserunners allowed per nine innings is third best.
FLYING HIGH ... Curt Casali is 5x14 (.357 his last four games with three doubles, a homer, and five runs batted in ... Daniel Fields went 4x11 in the Daytona Series with three runs scored ... Marcus Lemon was 4x4 in Monday’s game and is 7x15 (.467) the last four games with three doubles ... Adolfo Reina is 9x24 (.375) his last seven games played ... Victor Larez has not allowed an earned run in his last nine appearances and just one earned run since May 6 for a 0.29 ERA in that span.
GROUNDED ... Dixon Machado is 3x17 (.176) the last five games ... Hernan Perez is 3x34 (.089) since June 29 ... Matt Crouse has seven walks in 5.0 innings over his last three appearances.
BALANCED ALEX ... Starter Alex Burgos entered the May 23 game against St. Lucie with a 5.15 ERA. In eight starts since then, he has posted a 4-4 record while his ERA remains at 5.15 for the season.
CASTELLANOS NAMED MVP AT FUTURES GAME ... Former Flying Tiger Nick Castellanos was named the Most Valuable Player at the Futures Game played Sunday at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. The Tigers’ third baseman served as the designated hitter for the Team USA and went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI in a 17-5 win over Team World. Joining Castellanos on Team USA was Lakeland alum Rob Brantly, who doubled and drove in a run in three at bats. Bruce Rondon appeared in relief for Team World and retired the two batters he faced.
KEEP IT IN THE PARK ... Fans of the long ball may want to sit this series out. Lakeland has hit the second fewest homers (36) of any FSL team while Charlotte has hit the third fewest (38). Meanwhile, Lakeland pitchers have allowed the fewest homers (37) in the league.
UP NEXT ... Lakeland continues its eight-game road trip with four games at Palm Beach one July 15-18. Next home game for the Flying Tigers will be July 19 against Fort Myers.
WINNINGEST ACTIVE MANAGER ... Manager Dave Huppert recorded his 1,700th victory as a minor league manager on Sunday, June 3 when the Flying Tigers posted an 11-1 win at Jupiter. He is in his second season with Lakeland and his 24th season as a minor league manager. Huppert, who became the winningest active manager in the minor leagues with Lakeland’s sixth win on April 19 of this year, brings a 1,717-1,571 record into the Charlotte series.
THE FLYING TIGERS (9-7 second half, T-2nd, 0.5 GB, 45-36 overall) ... Lakeland took two of three against Daytona over the weekend and is now 7-4 its last 11 games. Marcus Lemon collected four base hits on Monday to lead an 11-hit attack as the Flying Tigers reached double figures in hits for the second time in three games and for the seventh time this half. The club also totalled four doubles on Monday to give the Flying Tigers 26 doubles in the last 11 games. Lakeland is in a three-way tie with Brevard County and Tampa for second place in the North Division. Lakeland leads the Florida State League with a 2.69 ERA.
THE STONE CRABS (6-12 second half, 6th, 4.5 GB, 35-50 overall) ... Charlotte has split its last four games, but has lost seven of its last nine and 11 of the last 15 games. The Stone Crabs have the fewest wins of any FSL team. Pitcher Enny Romero ranks second in the league with a .208 opponents batting average and is fifth with a 3.04 ERA while C.J. Riefenhauser is fourth with 85 strikeouts (the only non-Clearwater pitcher in the top five, by the way). Charlotte is fifth in the FSL with a .259 team batting average but has the highest ERA (4.70) of any league team.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS ...
7/11 - LHP Jared Wesson (0-1, 5.25 ERA) ... Wesson lost his last start on July 5 against Clearwater. In that game, he allowed four runs – three earned – on eight hits with six strikeouts and two walks in 7.0 in innings. He joined Lakeland on June 25 from AA Erie and started his first game on June 30, working 5.0 innings, surrendering four hits on seven hits with six strikeouts and four walks. He has not faced Charlotte this season, but was 1-1 with a 3.48 in two starts versus the Stone Crabs in 2011.
7/12 - LHP Alex Burgos (6.80, 5.15 ERA) ... Burgos has won his last two starts and four of his last five. In his last start on July 6 at Clearwater, he allowed two runs – one earned – on four hits with six strikeouts and three walks. Burgos has a 3.67 ERA in his last five outings with 22 strikeouts. This is his 13th road start and his first start vs. Charlotte.
7/13 - RHP Luis Angel Sanz (5-3, 4.68 ERA) ... Sanz picked up the win in his last start on July 7 at home against Daytona giving up three runs on five hits with a pair of strikeouts and three walks. He has a 2-2 record over his last five starts with a 4.82 ERA. Sanz is 1-3 on the road with a 5.18 ERA opposed to a 4-0 home record with a 4.50 ERA. He, too, is making his first outing versus the Stone Crabs.
7/14 - RHP Brian Stroud (0-2, 3.22 ERA) ... Stroud worked 6.0 scoreless innings on July 8 at home against Daytona, holding the Cubs to one hit with three walks and no strikeouts. He is 0-1 with a 1.29 earned run average in his last four starts. Stroud has not faced Charlotte in 2012.
THIS YEAR ... Lakeland took two of three games played in early June at Joker Marchant Stadium (one game was lost to schedule). Charlotte took game one 4-1 despite four throwing errors by Stone Crab catcher Luke Bailey which tied a FSL record for catchers. The Flying Tigers roared back with 13 hits in a 10-3 win in game two while Shawn Teufel tossed a seven-inning shutout in a 9-0 win in game three.
INSIDE THE STONE CRABS ROSTER ... Tampa Bay Ray outfielder Sam Fuld is currently on a rehab assignment with the Stone Crabs. He is recovering from surgery on his right wrist ... outfielder Mikie Mahtook was Ray’s first-round pick (31st overall) in the 2011 draft out of LSU.
DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN ... Tyler Collins gave Lakeland a quick 2-0 lead on Saturday, homering off Cubs’ starter P.J. Francescon with Dixon Machado on first base with one out in the first inning. Collins’ last homer before Saturday was July 2 in Daytona. The pitcher? P.J. Francescon. Who was on base? Dixon Machado. What was the situation? One out in the first inning. Collins is tied for second in the FSL with 23 doubles.
ROSTER SHUFFLE ... Catcher Adolfo Reina was called up to AAA Toledo on Saturday to take Rob Brantly’s roster spot while the Mud Hens catcher played in the Futures Game in Kansas City. Tim Remes was then added to the Lakeland roster from the Gulf Coast League Tigers. Remes was signed by Detroit in June as a non-drafted free agent out of Sante Fe Community College where he was coached by former Lakeland Tiger Johnny Wiggs. On Monday, everyone returned to their original teams.
JAMES GANG STILL ON THE RUN ... James Robbins has hits in seven straight games (11x24, .458); 13 of his last 14 games (24x52, .462); and 19 of his last 23 games (32x77, .416). In addition, he has scored at least one run in 11 of the last 16 games. Robbins is the league’s hottest hitter dating back to June 6 with his .416 average – some 21 points better than the second best hitter during that span. Throw in all minor league hitters (full season teams) and Robbins has the third best mark of any hitter since June 6.
TOUGH TO FACE ... Opponents have batted just .139 against reliever Tyler Clark. The .139 mark is 21 points lower than the next closest reliever. Clark also ranks second among relievers with 12.42 strikeouts per nine innings while his 8.10 baserunners allowed per nine innings is third best.
FLYING HIGH ... Curt Casali is 5x14 (.357 his last four games with three doubles, a homer, and five runs batted in ... Daniel Fields went 4x11 in the Daytona Series with three runs scored ... Marcus Lemon was 4x4 in Monday’s game and is 7x15 (.467) the last four games with three doubles ... Adolfo Reina is 9x24 (.375) his last seven games played ... Victor Larez has not allowed an earned run in his last nine appearances and just one earned run since May 6 for a 0.29 ERA in that span.
GROUNDED ... Dixon Machado is 3x17 (.176) the last five games ... Hernan Perez is 3x34 (.089) since June 29 ... Matt Crouse has seven walks in 5.0 innings over his last three appearances.
BALANCED ALEX ... Starter Alex Burgos entered the May 23 game against St. Lucie with a 5.15 ERA. In eight starts since then, he has posted a 4-4 record while his ERA remains at 5.15 for the season.
CASTELLANOS NAMED MVP AT FUTURES GAME ... Former Flying Tiger Nick Castellanos was named the Most Valuable Player at the Futures Game played Sunday at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. The Tigers’ third baseman served as the designated hitter for the Team USA and went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI in a 17-5 win over Team World. Joining Castellanos on Team USA was Lakeland alum Rob Brantly, who doubled and drove in a run in three at bats. Bruce Rondon appeared in relief for Team World and retired the two batters he faced.
KEEP IT IN THE PARK ... Fans of the long ball may want to sit this series out. Lakeland has hit the second fewest homers (36) of any FSL team while Charlotte has hit the third fewest (38). Meanwhile, Lakeland pitchers have allowed the fewest homers (37) in the league.
UP NEXT ... Lakeland continues its eight-game road trip with four games at Palm Beach one July 15-18. Next home game for the Flying Tigers will be July 19 against Fort Myers.
WINNINGEST ACTIVE MANAGER ... Manager Dave Huppert recorded his 1,700th victory as a minor league manager on Sunday, June 3 when the Flying Tigers posted an 11-1 win at Jupiter. He is in his second season with Lakeland and his 24th season as a minor league manager. Huppert, who became the winningest active manager in the minor leagues with Lakeland’s sixth win on April 19 of this year, brings a 1,717-1,571 record into the Charlotte series.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Mission Notes vs. Daytona (July 7-9)
THE SERIES .... All three games in this series will be played at Lakeland’s Joker Marchant Stadium, but all three will have different start times. Saturday’s series opener is at 6 pm with Sunday’s game scheduled for 1 pm. The series finale is Monday at 6:30 pm. All games can be heard on the Cubs website at www.daytonacubs.com.
THE FLYING TIGERS (7-6 second half, T-3rd, 1.0 GB, 43-35 overall) ... Lakeland took advantage of four consecutive first-inning walks by Clearwater’s Austin Wright to grab a 3-0 lead and went on to down the Threshers 5-2 on Friday. Alex Burgos tossed seven strong innings holding Clearwater to one earned run on four hits with six strikeouts for the win while Tyler Clark struck out five of the six batters he faced for the save. Clearwater had taken the first two games 3-2 and 4-2. Lakeland is now 2-3 its last five games. After reaching double digits in hits in five of the first seven games of the first half, Lakeland has not had more than eight hits in any of the last six contests. The pitchers have done their jobs to keep the games close as starters have a 2.42 ERA the last four games and the relievers have a 1.38 ERA for the second half. The Flying Tigers continue to lead the Florida State League with a .267 team batting average and rank fourth with 81 stolen bases.
THE CUBS (8-8 second half, 5th, 1.5 GB, 38-46 overall) ... Daytona snapped a three-game losing streak with a 5-1 win at Dunedin on Friday as Arismendy Alcantara doubled, tripled and homered for two runs scored and two more driven in. Rubi Silva contributed four singles. The victory was just the second in the last eight games for the Cubs. Alcantara is now ninth in the Florida State League with a .301 average while Silva is tenth with a .300 mark. John Andreoli has a league-leading 30 stolen bases while Matt Szczur has scored a league-high 55 runs. Austin Kirk ranks third in the FSL with a 2.63 ERA to go with his 4-2 record while Matt Loosen is fourth with a 2.84 mark to back up his 7-3 record. Daytona is second to Lakeland with a .263 average while leading the league with 120 stolen bases – 21 more than any other team.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS ...
7/07 - RHP Luis Angel Sanz (4-3, 4.89 ERA) ... Sanz allowed a season-high eight hits in his last start on July 2 at Daytona and matched his season-high with six runs given up. He has struck out 24 batters over his last four starts with seven walks. Sanz is 3-0 at home with a 4.50 ERA versus a 1-3 mark with a 5.18 earned run average on the road. As a starter he is 3-3 with a 3.15 ERA in seven starts. Sanz is 0-1 with a 9.95 ERA versus Daytona in one start and one relief appearance.
7/08 - RHP Shawn Teufel (5-5, 5.83 ERA) ... Teufel held the Cubs to two runs on five hits in his last outing on July 3 to get the win and has won four of his last five decisions. He has a 3-1 record and a 3.41 ERA in his last five starts and is 1-1 with a 8.38 ERA in day games. Teufel is 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA in his one start against the Cubs this season. For his career, he has made one start and four relief appearances versus Daytona with a 1-0 record and a 1.69 ERA over three seasons.
7/09 - LHP Brian Flynn (7-4, 3.86 ERA) ... Flynn held Clearwater to one run on six hits with eight strikeouts in his last start on July 8, but exited without the decision as the Tigers could only manage one run with him on the mound. He is 3-0 in his last four starts with a 2.63 earned runs average. Flynn has faced Daytona once this season and allowed four earned runs on 11 hits in a no-decision.
THIS YEAR ... Lakeland has taken six of the nine meetings between the two clubs in 2012 and is now 27-17 versus the Cubs over the last three seasons. The Flying Tigers has won two of three games in each of the three previous series this season. Kevin Eichhorn, now on the disabled list has two wins in the series while Matt Little has two wins in relief. Avisail Garcia and Nick Castellanos, now both at AA Erie, had 13 and 10 hits, respectively for Lakeland. Tyler Collins has had 11 hits, including two doubles, a pair of triples and a home runs for nine RBI while James Robbins has 10 hits including three homers and a pair of doubles for six runs batted in. Rubi Silva (13 hits, 3 triples, 9 RBI), Elieser Bonne (12 hits, 1 triple, 1 homer, 5 RBI) and Matthew Szczur (11 hits, four doubles, a triple and 11 runs scored) lead the Cubs in the series.
INSIDE THE CUBS ROSTER ... Pitcher Ryan Searle was born in Brisbane, Australia ... Outfielder Matthew Szczur was a two-sport start at Villanova University in baseball and football. On the football field, Szczur led the Wildcats to the Division I Football Championship Series National Title in 2009 and was named MVP of the Championship game.
ONE MAN JAMES GANG ... James Robbins has hits in four straight games (6x13); 10 of his last 12 games (19x41, .463); and 16 of his last 20 games (27x66, .409). In addition, he has scored at least one run in 10 of the last 13 games. Robbins is the second hottest hitter in the Florida State League in the last month, just one point behind Palm Beach’s Mike O’Neill who has a .410 average since June 6. Robbins also has a 1.049 OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) in the past month – the best of any FSL hitter.
HE’S BACK ... When Avisail Garcia was promoted to Erie on Wednesday, Luis Castillo rejoined the club. Castillo was batting .280 in 12 games at West Michigan with four doubles, two triples and two homers for seven runs batted in. Castillo has had a base hit in each of his three games since rejoining Lakeland going 4x8 in those games.
PUT ME IN COACH ... Adolfo Reina has played in just seven games since June 19, but has hits in six of those games going 9x24 at the plate.
LOOKING FOR A BREAK ... Daniel Fields was 6x15 in three games at Clearwater on June 28-30, but has not had a hit in five games in July going 19 at bats without a base hit ... Dixon Machado has just two base hits – a double and a triple – in his last 26 at bats over the last eight games.
GLAD ITS THE CUBS AGAIN ... Tyler Collins went 5x8 with a triple, homer and four RBI in two games at Daytona last week. The Clearwater series was a different matter as Collins was held hitless in 10 at bats over the three-game series.
ARM STRENGTH ... Alex Burgos has won four of his last five starts with a 3.66 ERA on 17 hits, 19 walks and 22 strikeouts. Twelve of his 16 starts have been on the road ... Tyler Clark has four saves and a loss in his last five appearances and has allowed just one earned run in 18 appearances since April 26. He has 13 strikeouts in is last 20 batters faced, including eight of the last nine ... Matt Crouse has been touched for just two runs in his last 17.0 innings pitched over nine appearances ... Brian Flynn is 3-0 with a 2.63 ERA in his last four starts.
STAGE FRIGHT ... Lakeland celebrated the Fourth of July with a crowd of 5,038 –the largest crowd since July 4 of last year. It was also the fifth largest crowd since 2004. Unfortunately, the Flying Tigers are 1-4 when playing in front of crowds of 5,000 or more.
UP NEXT ... Lakeland is off Tuesday, July 20 and then begins at eight-game road trip – the longest of the year – with four games at Charlotte (July 11-14) and then four games at Palm Beach (July 15-18). Next home game for the Flying Tigers will be July 19 against Fort Myers.
WINNINGEST ACTIVE MANAGER ... Manager Dave Huppert recorded his 1,700th victory as a minor league manager on Sunday, June 3 when the Flying Tigers posted an 11-1 win at Jupiter. He is in his second season with Lakeland and his 24th season as a minor league manager. Huppert, who became the winningest active manager in the minor leagues with Lakeland’s sixth win on April 19 of this year, brings a 1,715-1,570 record into the Daytona series.
THE FLYING TIGERS (7-6 second half, T-3rd, 1.0 GB, 43-35 overall) ... Lakeland took advantage of four consecutive first-inning walks by Clearwater’s Austin Wright to grab a 3-0 lead and went on to down the Threshers 5-2 on Friday. Alex Burgos tossed seven strong innings holding Clearwater to one earned run on four hits with six strikeouts for the win while Tyler Clark struck out five of the six batters he faced for the save. Clearwater had taken the first two games 3-2 and 4-2. Lakeland is now 2-3 its last five games. After reaching double digits in hits in five of the first seven games of the first half, Lakeland has not had more than eight hits in any of the last six contests. The pitchers have done their jobs to keep the games close as starters have a 2.42 ERA the last four games and the relievers have a 1.38 ERA for the second half. The Flying Tigers continue to lead the Florida State League with a .267 team batting average and rank fourth with 81 stolen bases.
THE CUBS (8-8 second half, 5th, 1.5 GB, 38-46 overall) ... Daytona snapped a three-game losing streak with a 5-1 win at Dunedin on Friday as Arismendy Alcantara doubled, tripled and homered for two runs scored and two more driven in. Rubi Silva contributed four singles. The victory was just the second in the last eight games for the Cubs. Alcantara is now ninth in the Florida State League with a .301 average while Silva is tenth with a .300 mark. John Andreoli has a league-leading 30 stolen bases while Matt Szczur has scored a league-high 55 runs. Austin Kirk ranks third in the FSL with a 2.63 ERA to go with his 4-2 record while Matt Loosen is fourth with a 2.84 mark to back up his 7-3 record. Daytona is second to Lakeland with a .263 average while leading the league with 120 stolen bases – 21 more than any other team.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS ...
7/07 - RHP Luis Angel Sanz (4-3, 4.89 ERA) ... Sanz allowed a season-high eight hits in his last start on July 2 at Daytona and matched his season-high with six runs given up. He has struck out 24 batters over his last four starts with seven walks. Sanz is 3-0 at home with a 4.50 ERA versus a 1-3 mark with a 5.18 earned run average on the road. As a starter he is 3-3 with a 3.15 ERA in seven starts. Sanz is 0-1 with a 9.95 ERA versus Daytona in one start and one relief appearance.
7/08 - RHP Shawn Teufel (5-5, 5.83 ERA) ... Teufel held the Cubs to two runs on five hits in his last outing on July 3 to get the win and has won four of his last five decisions. He has a 3-1 record and a 3.41 ERA in his last five starts and is 1-1 with a 8.38 ERA in day games. Teufel is 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA in his one start against the Cubs this season. For his career, he has made one start and four relief appearances versus Daytona with a 1-0 record and a 1.69 ERA over three seasons.
7/09 - LHP Brian Flynn (7-4, 3.86 ERA) ... Flynn held Clearwater to one run on six hits with eight strikeouts in his last start on July 8, but exited without the decision as the Tigers could only manage one run with him on the mound. He is 3-0 in his last four starts with a 2.63 earned runs average. Flynn has faced Daytona once this season and allowed four earned runs on 11 hits in a no-decision.
THIS YEAR ... Lakeland has taken six of the nine meetings between the two clubs in 2012 and is now 27-17 versus the Cubs over the last three seasons. The Flying Tigers has won two of three games in each of the three previous series this season. Kevin Eichhorn, now on the disabled list has two wins in the series while Matt Little has two wins in relief. Avisail Garcia and Nick Castellanos, now both at AA Erie, had 13 and 10 hits, respectively for Lakeland. Tyler Collins has had 11 hits, including two doubles, a pair of triples and a home runs for nine RBI while James Robbins has 10 hits including three homers and a pair of doubles for six runs batted in. Rubi Silva (13 hits, 3 triples, 9 RBI), Elieser Bonne (12 hits, 1 triple, 1 homer, 5 RBI) and Matthew Szczur (11 hits, four doubles, a triple and 11 runs scored) lead the Cubs in the series.
INSIDE THE CUBS ROSTER ... Pitcher Ryan Searle was born in Brisbane, Australia ... Outfielder Matthew Szczur was a two-sport start at Villanova University in baseball and football. On the football field, Szczur led the Wildcats to the Division I Football Championship Series National Title in 2009 and was named MVP of the Championship game.
ONE MAN JAMES GANG ... James Robbins has hits in four straight games (6x13); 10 of his last 12 games (19x41, .463); and 16 of his last 20 games (27x66, .409). In addition, he has scored at least one run in 10 of the last 13 games. Robbins is the second hottest hitter in the Florida State League in the last month, just one point behind Palm Beach’s Mike O’Neill who has a .410 average since June 6. Robbins also has a 1.049 OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) in the past month – the best of any FSL hitter.
HE’S BACK ... When Avisail Garcia was promoted to Erie on Wednesday, Luis Castillo rejoined the club. Castillo was batting .280 in 12 games at West Michigan with four doubles, two triples and two homers for seven runs batted in. Castillo has had a base hit in each of his three games since rejoining Lakeland going 4x8 in those games.
PUT ME IN COACH ... Adolfo Reina has played in just seven games since June 19, but has hits in six of those games going 9x24 at the plate.
LOOKING FOR A BREAK ... Daniel Fields was 6x15 in three games at Clearwater on June 28-30, but has not had a hit in five games in July going 19 at bats without a base hit ... Dixon Machado has just two base hits – a double and a triple – in his last 26 at bats over the last eight games.
GLAD ITS THE CUBS AGAIN ... Tyler Collins went 5x8 with a triple, homer and four RBI in two games at Daytona last week. The Clearwater series was a different matter as Collins was held hitless in 10 at bats over the three-game series.
ARM STRENGTH ... Alex Burgos has won four of his last five starts with a 3.66 ERA on 17 hits, 19 walks and 22 strikeouts. Twelve of his 16 starts have been on the road ... Tyler Clark has four saves and a loss in his last five appearances and has allowed just one earned run in 18 appearances since April 26. He has 13 strikeouts in is last 20 batters faced, including eight of the last nine ... Matt Crouse has been touched for just two runs in his last 17.0 innings pitched over nine appearances ... Brian Flynn is 3-0 with a 2.63 ERA in his last four starts.
STAGE FRIGHT ... Lakeland celebrated the Fourth of July with a crowd of 5,038 –the largest crowd since July 4 of last year. It was also the fifth largest crowd since 2004. Unfortunately, the Flying Tigers are 1-4 when playing in front of crowds of 5,000 or more.
UP NEXT ... Lakeland is off Tuesday, July 20 and then begins at eight-game road trip – the longest of the year – with four games at Charlotte (July 11-14) and then four games at Palm Beach (July 15-18). Next home game for the Flying Tigers will be July 19 against Fort Myers.
WINNINGEST ACTIVE MANAGER ... Manager Dave Huppert recorded his 1,700th victory as a minor league manager on Sunday, June 3 when the Flying Tigers posted an 11-1 win at Jupiter. He is in his second season with Lakeland and his 24th season as a minor league manager. Huppert, who became the winningest active manager in the minor leagues with Lakeland’s sixth win on April 19 of this year, brings a 1,715-1,570 record into the Daytona series.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Mission Notes vs. Clearwater (July 4-6)
THE SERIES .... All three games of this series will be contested in the friendly confines of Joker Marchant Stadium where the Flying Tigers are 19-13 on the season. The series gets underway with a Fourth of July clash at 5 pm followed by a 6:30 pm game on Thursday. Friday’s game has a special 7:11 pm start time.
THE FLYING TIGERS (6-4 second half, T-1st, 0.0 GB, 42-33 overall) ... Lakeland took two of three at Daytona and has won four of its last five games to climb into a three-way tie for first place in the North Division with Brevard County and Tampa. The Flying Tigers collected eight base hits in each of three games versus the Cubs and are 63x222 the last six games for a .284 average. The club has had 16 doubles, two triples and five home runs in the last five games. The hot bats have kept the Flying Tigers atop the Florida State League with a .270 mark –some seven points higher than second place Dunedin. The staff ERA has risen to 3.97 which is the eighth highest in the league.
THE THRESHERS (7-6 second half, T-4th, 0.5 GB, 43-36 overall) ... Clearwater won the last two games of their three-game series versus Brevard County by a 9-1 margin. The two wins snapped a three-game losing streak for the Threshers. Clearwater has the top three strikeout pitchers in the Florida State League in Adam Morgan (87), Jesse Biddle (82) and Austin Wright (82) and therefore, it’s no surprise that the Threshers lead the league in strikeouts. Biddle is slated to pitch game two of this series on Thursday with Wright to follow on Friday. Jim Murphy is fourth in the Florida State League with 51 runs batted in. Clearwater is in the middle of the league with a .257 team batting average and a 3.93 staff earned run average.
THIS YEAR ... Lakeland took two of three from Clearwater last weekend and holds a 4-3 edge in the season series. Avisail Garcia had 12 hits in the series for Lakeland, including a pair of homers, while Daniel Fields has had 10 hits in the seven games. Brian Flynn has three of Lakeland’s four wins in the series and has a 2.84 ERA to go with his 3-0 mark against Threshers.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS ...
7/04 - LHP Brian Flynn (7-4, 4.06 ERA) ... Flynn has won his last three starts with a 3.11 ERA. In his last outing on June 29, he allowed four runs on seven hits in 6.0 innings to get the win against Clearwater. Flynn is 3-0 with a 2.84 ERA in his three starts versus Clearwater this season.
7/05 - LHP Jared Wesson (0-0, 7.20 ERA) ... Wesson allowed four runs on seven hits with five strikeouts in 5.0 innings in his only previous appearance against the Threshers in 2012 (also his first appearance of this season for Lakeland). He was 1-1 with a 4.35 ERA in two starts versus Clearwater in 2011.
7/06 - RHP Alex Burgos (5-8, 5.52 ERA) ... Burgos has won three of his last four starts including his last outing on July 1 at Daytona. In that game, he struck out six and walked three while holding the Cubs to three hits over 5.0 innings. This will be just his four start at home (0-2, 4.11) in contrast to 12 road starts (5-6, 5.90) Burgos has not faced Clearwater this season.
INSIDE THE THRESHERS ROSTER ... Pitcher Jesse Biddle was the Phillies’ first round pick (27th overall) in the 2010 draft out of Germantown Friends High School in Philly ... Outfielder Anthony Hewitt was the Phillies’ top pick (24th overall) in 2008 out of Salisbury High in Connecticut while outfielder Zach Collier was also a first-round pick (34th overall) by Philadelphia in 2008 out of Chino Hills High School in California.
COLLEGE TEAMMATES, ETC. ... Current Thresher Chris Kissock and former Flying Tigers outfielder Brent Wyatt were college teammates in 2007 at Lewis & Clark University ... Current Clearwater catcher Cameron Rupp and former Lakeland infielder Brandon Loy were fellow Longhorns at the University of Texas in 2010 ... Albert Cartwright played junior college baseball at nearby Polk State College.
GARCIA GETS THE CALL ... Avisail Garcia was promoted to AA Erie following Tuesday’s game. The Flying Tigers rightfielder was batting .289 with eight doubles, five triples and a team-leading eight home runs on the season with 36 runs batted in.
NICE TO HAVE YOU BACK ... The Flying Tigers welcomed back Lance Durham to the roster on Tuesday. Durham was with the club for a day earlier this season having been added on May 30 from extended spring training only to be sent back to EST on May 31. Originally a 14th round pick in 2009 out of the University of Cincinnati by Toronto, he signed with Detroit as a free agent in 2012. Durham, the son of former major leaguer Leon “Bull” Durham, was drafted in 2006 out of high school by Detroit but did not sign.
SOLID BEHIND THE PLATE ... Both Lakeland catchers have carried their weight with their bats as of late. Curt Casali has hits in each of his last five games and is 8x21 (.381) in those games with four doubles. Likewise, Adolfo Reina also has eight hits in his last five games, going 8x18 (.444) in those five games.
TREY TYLER ... Tyler Collins went 8x14 (.571) in the recent Daytona series with five runs batted in. Twice he had three hits in a game, something he has done a dozen times in 2012.
ROCKIN’ ROBBINS ... James Robbins hit a three-run homer in Tuesday’s game at Daytona and has hits in seven of his last nine games (14x31, .452) and 13 of his last 17 games (22x56, .393). In addition, he has scored at least one run in eight of the last ten games.
ACCEPTING THE ROLE ... It appears that Tyler Clark has taken over the role as closer for Lakeland since the departure of Bruce Rondon. Clark has saves in each of his last three appearances and is a perfect four for four this season in save opportunities. He has allowed just one hit in his last five appearances has not been scored upon in his last seven outings and just once since April 26 (16 appearances). In ten home appearances, he is 2-0 with two saves and a 0.64 ERA. Overall, he is 4-0 with four saves and a 0.92 ERA.
CLOSE ONES ... Lakeland’s 9-8 win over Daytona on Tuesday was the club’s 18th game decided by one run. The Flying Tigers have the best record of any FSL team in one-run games at 12-6. In addition, Lakeland is 10-3 in games decided by two runs giving the Flying Tigers at 22-9 record in close games. Clearwater has been involved in 26 one run games with a 16-10 record.
COMING FROM BEHIND ... Lakeland is 26-9 when the opponent scores first in a game, the third best record in such games of any FSL club. Conversely, the Flying Tigers are 26-13 when scoring first.
WORKING OVER TIME ... Although the team hasn’t been involved in an extra-inning game since June 11, Lakeland is 4-1 in “overtime.”
UP NEXT ... Lakeland continues it homestand with a three-game set with the Daytona Cubs on July 7-9.
WINNINGEST ACTIVE MANAGER ... Manager Dave Huppert recorded his 1,700th victory as a minor league manager on Sunday, June 3 when the Flying Tigers posted an 11-1 win at Jupiter. He is in his second season with Lakeland and his 24th season as a minor league manager. Huppert, who became the winningest active manager in the minor leagues with Lakeland’s sixth win on April 19 of this year, brings a 1,714-1,568 record into the Clearwater series.
THE FLYING TIGERS (6-4 second half, T-1st, 0.0 GB, 42-33 overall) ... Lakeland took two of three at Daytona and has won four of its last five games to climb into a three-way tie for first place in the North Division with Brevard County and Tampa. The Flying Tigers collected eight base hits in each of three games versus the Cubs and are 63x222 the last six games for a .284 average. The club has had 16 doubles, two triples and five home runs in the last five games. The hot bats have kept the Flying Tigers atop the Florida State League with a .270 mark –some seven points higher than second place Dunedin. The staff ERA has risen to 3.97 which is the eighth highest in the league.
THE THRESHERS (7-6 second half, T-4th, 0.5 GB, 43-36 overall) ... Clearwater won the last two games of their three-game series versus Brevard County by a 9-1 margin. The two wins snapped a three-game losing streak for the Threshers. Clearwater has the top three strikeout pitchers in the Florida State League in Adam Morgan (87), Jesse Biddle (82) and Austin Wright (82) and therefore, it’s no surprise that the Threshers lead the league in strikeouts. Biddle is slated to pitch game two of this series on Thursday with Wright to follow on Friday. Jim Murphy is fourth in the Florida State League with 51 runs batted in. Clearwater is in the middle of the league with a .257 team batting average and a 3.93 staff earned run average.
THIS YEAR ... Lakeland took two of three from Clearwater last weekend and holds a 4-3 edge in the season series. Avisail Garcia had 12 hits in the series for Lakeland, including a pair of homers, while Daniel Fields has had 10 hits in the seven games. Brian Flynn has three of Lakeland’s four wins in the series and has a 2.84 ERA to go with his 3-0 mark against Threshers.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS ...
7/04 - LHP Brian Flynn (7-4, 4.06 ERA) ... Flynn has won his last three starts with a 3.11 ERA. In his last outing on June 29, he allowed four runs on seven hits in 6.0 innings to get the win against Clearwater. Flynn is 3-0 with a 2.84 ERA in his three starts versus Clearwater this season.
7/05 - LHP Jared Wesson (0-0, 7.20 ERA) ... Wesson allowed four runs on seven hits with five strikeouts in 5.0 innings in his only previous appearance against the Threshers in 2012 (also his first appearance of this season for Lakeland). He was 1-1 with a 4.35 ERA in two starts versus Clearwater in 2011.
7/06 - RHP Alex Burgos (5-8, 5.52 ERA) ... Burgos has won three of his last four starts including his last outing on July 1 at Daytona. In that game, he struck out six and walked three while holding the Cubs to three hits over 5.0 innings. This will be just his four start at home (0-2, 4.11) in contrast to 12 road starts (5-6, 5.90) Burgos has not faced Clearwater this season.
INSIDE THE THRESHERS ROSTER ... Pitcher Jesse Biddle was the Phillies’ first round pick (27th overall) in the 2010 draft out of Germantown Friends High School in Philly ... Outfielder Anthony Hewitt was the Phillies’ top pick (24th overall) in 2008 out of Salisbury High in Connecticut while outfielder Zach Collier was also a first-round pick (34th overall) by Philadelphia in 2008 out of Chino Hills High School in California.
COLLEGE TEAMMATES, ETC. ... Current Thresher Chris Kissock and former Flying Tigers outfielder Brent Wyatt were college teammates in 2007 at Lewis & Clark University ... Current Clearwater catcher Cameron Rupp and former Lakeland infielder Brandon Loy were fellow Longhorns at the University of Texas in 2010 ... Albert Cartwright played junior college baseball at nearby Polk State College.
GARCIA GETS THE CALL ... Avisail Garcia was promoted to AA Erie following Tuesday’s game. The Flying Tigers rightfielder was batting .289 with eight doubles, five triples and a team-leading eight home runs on the season with 36 runs batted in.
NICE TO HAVE YOU BACK ... The Flying Tigers welcomed back Lance Durham to the roster on Tuesday. Durham was with the club for a day earlier this season having been added on May 30 from extended spring training only to be sent back to EST on May 31. Originally a 14th round pick in 2009 out of the University of Cincinnati by Toronto, he signed with Detroit as a free agent in 2012. Durham, the son of former major leaguer Leon “Bull” Durham, was drafted in 2006 out of high school by Detroit but did not sign.
SOLID BEHIND THE PLATE ... Both Lakeland catchers have carried their weight with their bats as of late. Curt Casali has hits in each of his last five games and is 8x21 (.381) in those games with four doubles. Likewise, Adolfo Reina also has eight hits in his last five games, going 8x18 (.444) in those five games.
TREY TYLER ... Tyler Collins went 8x14 (.571) in the recent Daytona series with five runs batted in. Twice he had three hits in a game, something he has done a dozen times in 2012.
ROCKIN’ ROBBINS ... James Robbins hit a three-run homer in Tuesday’s game at Daytona and has hits in seven of his last nine games (14x31, .452) and 13 of his last 17 games (22x56, .393). In addition, he has scored at least one run in eight of the last ten games.
ACCEPTING THE ROLE ... It appears that Tyler Clark has taken over the role as closer for Lakeland since the departure of Bruce Rondon. Clark has saves in each of his last three appearances and is a perfect four for four this season in save opportunities. He has allowed just one hit in his last five appearances has not been scored upon in his last seven outings and just once since April 26 (16 appearances). In ten home appearances, he is 2-0 with two saves and a 0.64 ERA. Overall, he is 4-0 with four saves and a 0.92 ERA.
CLOSE ONES ... Lakeland’s 9-8 win over Daytona on Tuesday was the club’s 18th game decided by one run. The Flying Tigers have the best record of any FSL team in one-run games at 12-6. In addition, Lakeland is 10-3 in games decided by two runs giving the Flying Tigers at 22-9 record in close games. Clearwater has been involved in 26 one run games with a 16-10 record.
COMING FROM BEHIND ... Lakeland is 26-9 when the opponent scores first in a game, the third best record in such games of any FSL club. Conversely, the Flying Tigers are 26-13 when scoring first.
WORKING OVER TIME ... Although the team hasn’t been involved in an extra-inning game since June 11, Lakeland is 4-1 in “overtime.”
UP NEXT ... Lakeland continues it homestand with a three-game set with the Daytona Cubs on July 7-9.
WINNINGEST ACTIVE MANAGER ... Manager Dave Huppert recorded his 1,700th victory as a minor league manager on Sunday, June 3 when the Flying Tigers posted an 11-1 win at Jupiter. He is in his second season with Lakeland and his 24th season as a minor league manager. Huppert, who became the winningest active manager in the minor leagues with Lakeland’s sixth win on April 19 of this year, brings a 1,714-1,568 record into the Clearwater series.
Monday, July 2, 2012
Mission Notes vs. Daytona (July 1-3)
THE SERIES .... All three games of this series will be played at Jackie Robinson Park in Daytona. The series opener is Sunday at 5:35 pm with games two and three on Monday and Tuesday at 7:05 pm. Tuesday’s game will be followed by Daytona’s Independence Day fireworks show. The Flying Tigers are 21-18 on the road this season. All games can be heard on the Cubs website at www.daytonacubs.com.
THE FLYING TIGERS (4-3 second half, T-3rd, 1.0 GB, 40-32 overall) ... Lakeland took the last two games of a three-game series at Clearwater to start the weekend. On Saturday, the Flying Tigers won 6-4 as Daniel Field went 3x5 and Marcus Lemon drove in three runs. After being held to three hits in each half of a doubleheader on June 27 against Jupiter, Lakeland cranked out 39 hits in the Threshers’ series for a .331 average with 13 doubles and a pair of Avisail Garcia home runs. The club has now won four of its last six games. The Flying Tigers have a 28-19 record in games versus North Division opponents. Lakeland continues to lead the league with a .272 batting average and, thanks to 12 doubles in the Clearwater series, is tied for third for third with 134 doubles.
THE CUBS (5-5 second half, 5th, 1.5 GB, 41-35 overall) ... Daytona dropped its last two games to Dunedin and is 4-4 its last eight games and 7-4 its last 11 outings. Austin Kirk, who is slated to start game three of this series, is second in the Florida State League with a 2.26 ERA and is 4-1 on the year. Kirk leads the FSL with 91.2 innings pitched and is fifth with a 1.11 WHIP (walks and hits allowed per nine innings). Frank Del Valle is second in the league with a 1.09 WHIP, but has surrendered 11 home runs – the most of any FSL pitcher. The Cubs have a 3.89 staff ERA. Arismendy Alcantara leads Daytona with a .301 batting average which is ninth best in the league and is second with 89 base hits and fourth with 24 stolen bases. Greg Rohan leads the FSL with 65 RBI, 23 doubles (tied), 144 total bases, and 36 extra-base hits and is third with 12 home runs. He is also fifth with a .495 slugging percentage. John Andreoli has a league-leading 27 stolen bases. Matthew Szczur is second in the league with 53 runs scored and is one behind Andreoli with 26 stolen bases. The Cubs’ .263 batting average ranks second to the Flying Tigers .272 mark. Daytona leads the league with 32 triples and have committed the most errors of any FSL team.
THIS YEAR ... Lakeland has won four of the six meetings this season, including the last two contests. Starter Kevin Eichhorn, now on the disabled list, picked up two wins in the series while Matt Little got the other two wins in relief. Avisail Garcia has 11 hits in the six games while Nick Castellanos, now at AA Erie, collected 10 hits. Garcia and James Robbins each have two homers versus Daytona this season. Lakeland has a .303 average in the series while the Cubs have a .289 mark.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS ...
7/01 - LHP Alex Burgos (4-8, 5.66 ERA) ... Burgos had a two-game win streak snapped in his last start, giving up five runs on eight hits and five walks in 4.0 innings on June 21 at Tampa. Control has been an issue as he has walked four or more batters in each of his last eight outings. Eleven of his 14 starts have come on the road where he is 4-6 with a 6.11 earned run average. Burgos lost his only start against Daytona this year allowing five runs on six hits in 5.1 innings with five walks.
7/02 - RHP Luis Angel Sanz (4-2, 4.53 ERA) ... Sanz struck out seven and held Jupiter to four hits over 5.2 innings while allowing two runs (one earned) to get the win in his last outing on June 27. He has struck out 20 batters over his last three games, including a season-high eight on June 10 at Brevard County. Since moving into the starting rotation on May 22, Sanz is 3-2 with a 2.34 ERA. Sanz has not started against the Cubs but allowed two runs on three hits in an inning of relief work.
7/03 - LHP Shawn Teufel (4-5, 6.05 ERA) ... Which Teufel will show up is the big question? Will it be the dominant one who tossed 14.0 consecutive shutout innings over back-to-back starts on June 8 and 13 or the one that allowed nine runs in 9.2 innings in his last two starts on June 19 and 28? In his last start, Clearwater roughed up Teufel for seven runs (five earned) on seven hits in 4.0 innings. He has not faced Daytona.
INTRIGUE ON THE BASE PATHS ... The series matches the league’s top base stealing team (Daytona with 113) against the second best team in throwing out would-be base stealers (Lakeland with a .402 mark).
THREE IN A ROW? ... Lakeland took the 2010 season series with the Cubs by a 10-8 margin and was 11-6 against the Cubs last season.
DOUBLE THE PLEASURE ... Lakeland knocked out a season high 18 hits on Friday at Clearwater with eight of those hits being doubles – one shy of the Florida State League record set by Clearwater on Sept. 3, 1994. Wade Gaynor hit three doubles for Lakeland, one shy of tying the FSL record held by many players, but none since Vero Beach’s Anthony Barron did so on June 22, 1983. Curt Casali and James Robbins each had two doubles while Tyler Collins had one two-base hit.
THREE TIMES THE FUN ... Fifteen of Lakeland’s season-high 18 hits on Friday came off the bats of five players as Tyler Collins, Wade Gaynor, Avisail Garcia, James Robbins, and Curt Casali each collected three base hits in the game. Collins singled twice and doubled; Gaynor hit three doubles and scored three times; Garcia singled twice, hit a two-run homer and crossed home plate four times; Robbins had two doubles and a single to drive in five runs; and Casali also had two doubles and a single for two RBI.
FLYING HIGH ... Daniel Fields went 6x15 in the Clearwater series with three runs scored ... Avisail Garcia homered in back-to-back games versus the Threshers and is 6x16 with five runs scored in his last four games. He now ranks 10th in the FSL with a .295 average and leads all FSL outfielders with 11 assists ... Wade Gaynor went 6x13 against Clearwater with four doubles and three runs scored ... Marcus Lemon has hits in 19 of his last 23 games played with .320 mark during that streak with 10 doubles. He also scored 12 times and drove in 12 runs in that stretch ... Adolfo Reina is 7x14 his last four games played ... Although he was held hitless in Saturday’s game, James Robbins is 10x20 with five runs scored in his last six games. On Friday, he drove in five runs against Clearwater with a single and two doubles. He continues to lead all FSL first baseman with a .995 fielding percentage with just three errors in 627 chances ... Tyler Collins is fourth in the FSL with 22 doubles.
HITS IN BUNCHES ... Avisail Garcia and Tyler Collins each have had 23 games with two or more hits in a game with Collins collecting three hits in 11 different games. Hernan Perez has 14 games with two hits and one three-hit game and one four-hit game. James Robbins and Dixon Machado each have had 14 multi-hit games.
SOLO SHOTS ... Lakeland has hit 30 home runs this season with 17 of them coming with no one on base. Avisail Garcia leads the Flying Tigers with eight home runs, six of them solo shots.
MONTHLY BREAKDOWN ... The Flying Tigers finished with a 15-6 record in the month of June, their best record of any month in 2012. Lakeland was 12-10 in April and 13-16 in May.
UP NEXT ... Lakeland returns from a six-game road trip to host a six-game homestand. The games begin with a Fourth of July match-up with Clearwater at 5:00 pm.
WINNINGEST ACTIVE MANAGER ... Manager Dave Huppert recorded his 1,700th victory as a minor league manager on Sunday, June 3 when the Flying Tigers posted an 11-1 win at Jupiter. He is in his second season with Lakeland and his 24th season as a minor league manager. Huppert, who became the winningest active manager in the minor leagues with Lakeland’s sixth win on April 19 of this year, brings a 1,712-1,567 record into the Daytona series.
THE FLYING TIGERS (4-3 second half, T-3rd, 1.0 GB, 40-32 overall) ... Lakeland took the last two games of a three-game series at Clearwater to start the weekend. On Saturday, the Flying Tigers won 6-4 as Daniel Field went 3x5 and Marcus Lemon drove in three runs. After being held to three hits in each half of a doubleheader on June 27 against Jupiter, Lakeland cranked out 39 hits in the Threshers’ series for a .331 average with 13 doubles and a pair of Avisail Garcia home runs. The club has now won four of its last six games. The Flying Tigers have a 28-19 record in games versus North Division opponents. Lakeland continues to lead the league with a .272 batting average and, thanks to 12 doubles in the Clearwater series, is tied for third for third with 134 doubles.
THE CUBS (5-5 second half, 5th, 1.5 GB, 41-35 overall) ... Daytona dropped its last two games to Dunedin and is 4-4 its last eight games and 7-4 its last 11 outings. Austin Kirk, who is slated to start game three of this series, is second in the Florida State League with a 2.26 ERA and is 4-1 on the year. Kirk leads the FSL with 91.2 innings pitched and is fifth with a 1.11 WHIP (walks and hits allowed per nine innings). Frank Del Valle is second in the league with a 1.09 WHIP, but has surrendered 11 home runs – the most of any FSL pitcher. The Cubs have a 3.89 staff ERA. Arismendy Alcantara leads Daytona with a .301 batting average which is ninth best in the league and is second with 89 base hits and fourth with 24 stolen bases. Greg Rohan leads the FSL with 65 RBI, 23 doubles (tied), 144 total bases, and 36 extra-base hits and is third with 12 home runs. He is also fifth with a .495 slugging percentage. John Andreoli has a league-leading 27 stolen bases. Matthew Szczur is second in the league with 53 runs scored and is one behind Andreoli with 26 stolen bases. The Cubs’ .263 batting average ranks second to the Flying Tigers .272 mark. Daytona leads the league with 32 triples and have committed the most errors of any FSL team.
THIS YEAR ... Lakeland has won four of the six meetings this season, including the last two contests. Starter Kevin Eichhorn, now on the disabled list, picked up two wins in the series while Matt Little got the other two wins in relief. Avisail Garcia has 11 hits in the six games while Nick Castellanos, now at AA Erie, collected 10 hits. Garcia and James Robbins each have two homers versus Daytona this season. Lakeland has a .303 average in the series while the Cubs have a .289 mark.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS ...
7/01 - LHP Alex Burgos (4-8, 5.66 ERA) ... Burgos had a two-game win streak snapped in his last start, giving up five runs on eight hits and five walks in 4.0 innings on June 21 at Tampa. Control has been an issue as he has walked four or more batters in each of his last eight outings. Eleven of his 14 starts have come on the road where he is 4-6 with a 6.11 earned run average. Burgos lost his only start against Daytona this year allowing five runs on six hits in 5.1 innings with five walks.
7/02 - RHP Luis Angel Sanz (4-2, 4.53 ERA) ... Sanz struck out seven and held Jupiter to four hits over 5.2 innings while allowing two runs (one earned) to get the win in his last outing on June 27. He has struck out 20 batters over his last three games, including a season-high eight on June 10 at Brevard County. Since moving into the starting rotation on May 22, Sanz is 3-2 with a 2.34 ERA. Sanz has not started against the Cubs but allowed two runs on three hits in an inning of relief work.
7/03 - LHP Shawn Teufel (4-5, 6.05 ERA) ... Which Teufel will show up is the big question? Will it be the dominant one who tossed 14.0 consecutive shutout innings over back-to-back starts on June 8 and 13 or the one that allowed nine runs in 9.2 innings in his last two starts on June 19 and 28? In his last start, Clearwater roughed up Teufel for seven runs (five earned) on seven hits in 4.0 innings. He has not faced Daytona.
INTRIGUE ON THE BASE PATHS ... The series matches the league’s top base stealing team (Daytona with 113) against the second best team in throwing out would-be base stealers (Lakeland with a .402 mark).
THREE IN A ROW? ... Lakeland took the 2010 season series with the Cubs by a 10-8 margin and was 11-6 against the Cubs last season.
DOUBLE THE PLEASURE ... Lakeland knocked out a season high 18 hits on Friday at Clearwater with eight of those hits being doubles – one shy of the Florida State League record set by Clearwater on Sept. 3, 1994. Wade Gaynor hit three doubles for Lakeland, one shy of tying the FSL record held by many players, but none since Vero Beach’s Anthony Barron did so on June 22, 1983. Curt Casali and James Robbins each had two doubles while Tyler Collins had one two-base hit.
THREE TIMES THE FUN ... Fifteen of Lakeland’s season-high 18 hits on Friday came off the bats of five players as Tyler Collins, Wade Gaynor, Avisail Garcia, James Robbins, and Curt Casali each collected three base hits in the game. Collins singled twice and doubled; Gaynor hit three doubles and scored three times; Garcia singled twice, hit a two-run homer and crossed home plate four times; Robbins had two doubles and a single to drive in five runs; and Casali also had two doubles and a single for two RBI.
FLYING HIGH ... Daniel Fields went 6x15 in the Clearwater series with three runs scored ... Avisail Garcia homered in back-to-back games versus the Threshers and is 6x16 with five runs scored in his last four games. He now ranks 10th in the FSL with a .295 average and leads all FSL outfielders with 11 assists ... Wade Gaynor went 6x13 against Clearwater with four doubles and three runs scored ... Marcus Lemon has hits in 19 of his last 23 games played with .320 mark during that streak with 10 doubles. He also scored 12 times and drove in 12 runs in that stretch ... Adolfo Reina is 7x14 his last four games played ... Although he was held hitless in Saturday’s game, James Robbins is 10x20 with five runs scored in his last six games. On Friday, he drove in five runs against Clearwater with a single and two doubles. He continues to lead all FSL first baseman with a .995 fielding percentage with just three errors in 627 chances ... Tyler Collins is fourth in the FSL with 22 doubles.
HITS IN BUNCHES ... Avisail Garcia and Tyler Collins each have had 23 games with two or more hits in a game with Collins collecting three hits in 11 different games. Hernan Perez has 14 games with two hits and one three-hit game and one four-hit game. James Robbins and Dixon Machado each have had 14 multi-hit games.
SOLO SHOTS ... Lakeland has hit 30 home runs this season with 17 of them coming with no one on base. Avisail Garcia leads the Flying Tigers with eight home runs, six of them solo shots.
MONTHLY BREAKDOWN ... The Flying Tigers finished with a 15-6 record in the month of June, their best record of any month in 2012. Lakeland was 12-10 in April and 13-16 in May.
UP NEXT ... Lakeland returns from a six-game road trip to host a six-game homestand. The games begin with a Fourth of July match-up with Clearwater at 5:00 pm.
WINNINGEST ACTIVE MANAGER ... Manager Dave Huppert recorded his 1,700th victory as a minor league manager on Sunday, June 3 when the Flying Tigers posted an 11-1 win at Jupiter. He is in his second season with Lakeland and his 24th season as a minor league manager. Huppert, who became the winningest active manager in the minor leagues with Lakeland’s sixth win on April 19 of this year, brings a 1,712-1,567 record into the Daytona series.
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