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

• 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.

THIS YEAR ... The two clubs split their four games earlier this season in Fort Myers. Lakeland took the first two games 6-1 and 4-3 in 11 innings, but Fort Myers roared back with wins in games three and four by scores of 13-3 and 12-3. James Robbins led the Flying Tigers with 10 hits in the series including three doubles and a homer for five runs batted in.

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.