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.
No comments:
Post a Comment