THE SERIES ... The final four games of the regular season will be played at Joker Marchant Stadium with four different start times. Thursday’s game is a 6:30 p.m. contest with Friday’s game getting underway at 7:11 p.m. The series continues on Saturday at 6 p.m. while the regular season finale is Sunday at 11 a.m.
THE FLYING TIGERS (34-28 second half, 2nd 1.0 GB, 70-57 overall) ... Lakeland was rained out last night while Dunedin and Tampa split a doubleheader. All said, the Flying Tigers remain in second place, 1.0 behind Dunedin and 1.0 game ahead of Clearwater and Tampa. Should Lakeland win at least two of the four games in this series, it would finish the regular season with the most wins (72) since the 2005 squad won 85 contests. Tyler Collins is second in the FSL with 35 doubles and fourth with 135 hits. Lakeland still leads the FSL with a .265 batting average.
THE YANKEES (34-30 second half, T-3rd, 2.0 GB, 64-67 overall) ... Tampa split a doubleheader with Dunedin last night and failed to pick up any ground on the Flying Tigers. Nick Turley leads the Florida State League with a 2.89 ERA and is fourth with 116 strikeouts. Ramon Flores leads the league with 151 hits, second with 80 runs scored, and is seventh with a .298 average. Kyle Roller is second in the league with 18 homers and third with 83 runs batted in and a .476 slugging percentage.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS ...
8/30 - RHP Luis Angel Sanz (11-3, 3.62 ERA) ... Luis Angel Sanz has won his last seven decisions over his last nine starts and has a 1.94 ERA in that span of games. However, six of his 10 runs allowed in those nine starts, have come in the last two games. Sanz has 33 strikeouts and 14 walks in his last eight games. In his last start on Aug. 23 at Brevard County, Sanz struck out five and walked two in 5.2 innings while allowing two runs on four hits. He is 7-0 at home in 2012. Sanz is 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA in two starts versus Tampa this season. His 11 wins is tied for best in the FSL while his 3.62 ERA ranks eighth.
8/31 - RHP Warwick Saupold (2-2, 2.57 ERA) ... Warwick Saupold has dropped hist last two starts despite allowing just two earned runs. He struck out nine and walked three while surrendering four total runs on 12 hits in the last two games. In his last start on Aug. 24 at Dunedin, Saupold allowed two unearned runs on seven hits with five strikeouts and no walks. He has not faced the Yankees in 2012.
9/01 - LHP Sean Teufel (5-7, 6.64) ... Sean Teufel has not posted a win since July 3. In his last nine games (five starts) dating back to July 8, he is 0-2 with a 7.97 ERA. Teufel got a no-decision in his last start on Aug. 25 at Dunedin, giving up three runs to the Blue Jays on six hits with two strikeouts and three walks. Tampa has had success against Teufel, scoring 10 runs on 18 hits in 11 innings leaving Teufel with a 0-1 record and a 8.18 ERA against the Yankees.
9/02 - RHP - Drew VerHagen (0-3, 3.67 ERA) ... Drew VerHagen has yet to crack the win column as a Flying Tiger posting an 0-3 record in eight games (six starts). He had his worst outing of the year in his last start on Aug. 28 at home against Brevard County, getting tagged for four runs on five hits, lasting just 2.1 innings. He is 0-1 with a 7.71 ERA when when facing Tampa this season.
THIS YEAR ... Lakeland won the first seven meetings between the two clubs this season, but Tampa has won six of the last nine. Nick Castellanos, now with AA Erie, had 18 hits to lead Lakeland in the series while Hernan Perez has 16 hits in the 16 games. Tyler Collins has had 15 hits vs. the Yankees while Wade Gaynor has had 13 hits including two triples and three home runs for 10 RBI. Dixon Machado and James Robbins each have collected a dozen hits vs. Tampa in 2012. Luis Angel Sanz is 2-0 vs. Tampa with a 0.75 ERA in two starts.
INSIDE THE YANKEES’ ROSTER ... Designated hitter Kyle Roller and starting pitcher Nik Turley were named to the Florida State League 2012 postseason All-Star team that was announced on Monday ... Tom Kahnle helped pitch Lynn University to the NCAA Division II National Championship in 2009. Outfielder Slade Heathcott was a first-round pick of New York in 2009. He is working his way back from off-season shoulder surgery.
FLYING TIGERS SHUT OUT OF ALL-STAR TEAM ... Despite battling for the Florida State League North Division second half pennant, Lakeland failed to have any players named to the FSL’s postseason All-Star team.
NEWCOMER BRINGS GCL HONOR ... While no Flying Tiger made the FSL All-Star team, newcomer Austin Schotts was named to the Gulf Coast League All-Star squad. Schotts was joined on the squad by fellow GCL Tigers Yorfrank Lopez and Jose Valdez.
PENNANT CHASE ... The Flying Tigers are gunning for their first pennant since winning both halves of the season in 2005. That club advanced to the Florida State League Championship, falling three games to two to the Palm Beach Cardinals. Lakeland would make the playoffs by winning the second half or by finishing second to Dunedin. Here’s a look the final series for the top four teams: Lakeland (2nd, 1.0 GB) and Tampa (T-3rd, 2.0 GB) clash for four games to end the regular season while Dunedin (1st place) and Clearwater (T-3rd, 2.0 GB) battle over the final four days.
FLYING HIGH ... Curt Casali is 5x20 (.250) in his last six games ... Luis Castillo is 4x12 (.250) his last four games after going hitless in 10 at bats. He is batting .299 versus lefties, but just .206 against righthanders ... Tyler Collins has hits in nine of his last 11 games and is 11x41 (.268) with eight runs scored. He has a .307 average against righthanders and a .259 mark against lefties ... Wade Gaynor has a six-game hit streak (6x19, .316) and has hits in 12 of his last 13 games with nine runs scored. He is batting .272 at home this season with eight homers in spacious Joker Marchant Stadium ... Dean Green is 8x18 (.444) in the last five games. He is 16x40 (.400) since Aug. 16 (11 games). He is hitting .361 versus lefties and .303 versus righthanders. At home, Green bats .258 with a lofty .390 mark on the road ... Marcus Lemon has a seven-game hit streak (9x26, .346). Against lefthanders, he has a .377 average and a .298 mark against righties ... Adolfo Reina has a six-game hit streak (10x18, .556) with nine RBI. He bats .338 versus righthanders and .237 against righties ... James Robbins has hits in eight of his last 11 games (11x39, .282). He is hitting .251 vs. righthanders and .217 vs. lefties.
GROUNDED ... Dixon Machado is 3x20 (.150) his last six games and 8x63 (.127) since Aug. 4 ... Hernan Perez is 1x14 (.071) his last four games and 4x27 (.148) in the last eight games. He has a .312 average versus lefties, but .231 against righthanders ... James Robbins has struck out 160 times this season, second most in Lakeland history ... Michael Rockett is hitless in his last 12 at bats after going 9x23 (.391) the previous five games.
ROSTER SHUFFLE ... Matt Perry was placed back on the disabled list where he was from July 28 thru August 7. Taking his roster spot is outfielder Austin Schotts who joins Lakeland from the Gulf Coast Tigers. Schotts was Detroit’s second pick in the 2012 draft out of Centennial High School in Texas. His pick came in the third round as Detroit did not have a first round pick. A high school shortstop, Schotts is making the transition to the outfield. Dan Schlereth has been sent to Toledo.
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 1,742-1,592 record into the Tampa series.
GO OUT ON TOP ... Palm Beach’s Chris Corrigan made his last start of the regular season a memorable one by tossing a perfect game against Charlotte on Wednesday. Corrigan, who brought a 3-8 record into the game, struck out nine in tossing the Florida State League’s first perfect game since 2001.
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