Sunday, September 16, 2012

Flying Tigers 2012 Season Wrap-Up

THE CHAMPIONSHIP ... Lakeland won the 2012 Florida State League Championship by defeating Jupiter three games to two. The Flying Tigers advanced to the championship series by sweeping Dunedin in two games to win the North Division playoff. The title is Lakeland’s fourth since the FSL went to a playoff system in 1968 and comes 20 years to the day since Lakeland last won the title in 1992. The four titles by Lakeland is tied for second most behind Daytona Beach, Miami, St. Lucie and Tampa, which have each won five crowns. The four titles is also tied for third most among the league affiliations. The Yankees hold the most FSL titles with nine, four coming when the team was in Ft. Lauderdale and the last five in Tampa. Lakeland now has a 34-31 record in the FSL postseason, including a 15-11 mark in championship series. The 34 postseason wins is third most in the history of the Florida State League.

THE RECORD
... Lakeland finished the 2012 season with a 73-58 record, the most wins for the Flying Tigers since the 2005 squad finished 85-48 and nine more than last year’s squad. The club finished in second place in the first half, 5.0 games behind Dunedin. The first half record of 36-29 matched last year’s total for wins, but was five less losses. Lakeland rallied at the end of the regular season by winning the second half with a 37-29 record. The 37 wins was nine more than last year while the 29 losses was 11 fewer than 2011. The second half title was the first won by Lakeland since the 2005 squad took both halves. Lakeland’s all-time record is now 3,881-4,113 for a .485 winning percentage.

AT THE PLATE
... Lakeland led the Florida State League with a .267 team batting average, two points better than the second place team. The .267 mark is the third highest average in Lakeland franchise history. The Flying Tigers scored 582 runs in 2012, sixth fewest runs in the league while the team’s 66 homers was tied for second fewest in the league. The Flying Tigers hit 232 doubles this season, one shy of the team record of 233 set in 1996 and 2001. Lakeland batters struck out 884 times in 2012, the second fewest times of any league team. The 135 stolen bases (led by Hernan Perez’s 27 steals) was fourth most in the FSL while the Flying Tigers were caught stealing a league-low 36 times. Tyler Collins finished tenth in the league with a .290 average and was second with 35 doubles and fourth with 137 base hits.

ON THE MOUND ... The Flying Tigers’ pitching staff finished with a 3.79 staff earned run average, seventh best in the league. Lakeland posted 10 shutouts, tied for third most in the league and struck out 897 batters, the fourth fewest in the FSL. Luis Angel Sanz was tied for the league-lead with 11 wins while his 3.46 ERA was sixth best in the league (tops for any right handed pitcher in the FSL, however). Shawn Teufel was one of eight pitchers in the league to throw one shutout in 2012. Matt Crouse allowed just 9.09 baserunners per nine innings pitcher, the fewest of any league reliever and held opponents to a .189 batting average, third best among league relievers. Tyler White’s 10.73 strikeouts per nine innings was fifth among FSL relievers.

IN THE FIELD ... Lakeland posted the best fielding percentage (.978) of any league team and committed the fewest errors (109) in team history. The Flying Tigers catchers combined to throw out 37.4 percent of would-be base stealers, best mark of any FSL catching corps. Hernan Perez topped all league second baseman with a .979 mark while Dixon Machado was tops among shortstops with a .966 fielding percentage. James Robbins played the most games and had the most putouts and total chances of any FSL first baseman while Alex Burgos lead all league pitchers with 32 assists.

NOTHING TO WRITE HOME ABOUT
... Alex Burgos led the league with 88 walks and was tied with seven others for most losses with 10. Shawn Teufel allowed 12 homers - fifth most in the league. James Robbins struck out a league-high 171 times, second most in Lakeland history.

STRETCH RUNS
... The Flying Tigers closed out the first half going 9-2 in the final 11 games to finish in second place. At the end of the second half, the Flying Tigers won 11 of the last 16 games, including the last three in a row to win the second half pennant.

THE CROWDS ... While Lakeland finished with the second lowest attendance in the league, the 59,589 fans that witnessed the 2012 season were fifth most in franchise history. The July 4th crowd of 5,038 was fourth largest crowd since 2004. Lakeland had 17 crowds of over 1,000 and posted a 10-7 record in those games. Overall, the Lakeland franchise has drawn 1,921,148 fans since 1963.

POSITION LEADERS ... 1B-James Robbins (122 games); 2B-Hernan Perez (111); 3B-Wade Gaynor (77); SS-Dixon Machado (118); OF-Tyler Collins (115); Luis Castillo (81); Avisail Garcia (65) and C-James McCann (45)

ALL-STARS ... Lakeland had four players selected to the FSL midseason All-Star squad in third baseman Nick Castellanos, outfielder Avisail Garcia, catcher James McCann and reliever Bruce Rondon. Garcia won the FSL Home Run Derby before the game and was 1x3 in the contest. Rondon worked the ninth inning and allowed one run on one hit. Castellanos and McCann were promoted to AA Erie prior to the game and did not have a chance to participate. No Lakeland player was selected to the league’s post-season All-Star team.

FSL HONORS ... Nick Castellanos was named the FSL Player of the Week for the week of April 3-May 6 going 13x38 (.464) on the week.

18-GAME HIT STREAK ... Nick Castellanos saw his 18-game hit streak, the third longest in the league, snapped on May 18, going 31x72 (.431) during the streak. The third baseman had hits in 50 of his 55 games played in Lakeland and left the Flying Tigers with a .405 batting average - the best in the minors at the time of his promotion. Castellanos went on to play in the Futures Game earning MVP honors going 3x4 with a homer and three RBI as the designated hitter.

HOME AND AWAY STREAKS
... Avisail Garcia hit in 18 straight home games from Aug. 30, 2011 to May 9, 2012 - the longest such streak this season while Nick Castellanos collected hits in 22 consecutive road games from May 1 thru his promotion on June 6 - also the longest such streak in the FSL.

WALK-OFF WINS ... Lakeland played the first 43 home games without a walk-off win. That all changed on July 30 when Marcus Lemon singled in a run in the bottom of the 10th inning. The next night, Dean Green beat out an infield single for a win in the ninth. On Aug. 5, Wade Gaynor singled in the winning run in the bottom of the 10th. Gaynor also hit walk-off homers on Aug. 15 and Aug. 18 while James Robbins had a walk-off single on Aug. 16.

NOT SO GRAND ... No Lakeland player hit a grand slam in 2012. The Flying Tigers and the Charlotte Rangers were the only two FSL teams not to hit a home run with the bases loaded this season.

MULTI-HIT GAMES
... Counting the postseason (which does not count toward the final FSL statistics) Tyler Collins had 39 games with two or more hits in 2012, including 14 games with three hits and a pair four-hit games. Collins began the season with three hits in each of the first four games. Hernan Perez had the second most multi-hit games with 31 including five games with three hits and one four-hit game. Nick Castellanos had 27 games (out of his 55 games played before being promoted to AA Erie) with two or more hits, including six three-hit games and a pair of four hits games.

SEASON SERIES ... Lakeland posted winning series records against Tampa (13-7), Daytona (11-7), Clearwater (9-7), Dunedin (9-7), Palm Beach (5-3), Jupiter (4-2), and Charlotte (4-3) and split the season series with Brevard County (8-8), Bradenton (4-4), Ft. Myers (4-4). The Flying Tigers lost only one season series, falling two games to six to St. Lucie.

CLOSE ONES ... Lakeland was a league-best 26-15 in 1-run games and also had the best record in extra innings (10-2).

PLAYING FOR THE WEEKEND ... For the second straight year, Lakeland had its best record in games played on Sunday (13-5) and was 11-8 on both Friday and Saturday nights, giving the Flying Tigers a 35-21 record on the weekend, compared to a 38-37 record during the week.

IN THE RECORD BOOK ... Marcus Lemon led Lakeland with a .324 batting average (min. 280 at bats). The .324 average is fifth best in Lakeland history. Tyler Collin’s 35 doubles is second only to Gabe Kapler’s record of 40 set in 1997. Luis Angel Sanz tied for the FSL lead with 11 wins – sixth most in franchise history. Bruce Rondon’s 15 saves is 10th most in Lakeland history. Daniel Fields played in 295 games in his three years in Lakeland, sixth most games in franchise history and ranks ninth with 250 hits and 120 runs batted in, and sixth with 123 walks. Fields is third with 14 career triples and also had the third most strikeouts (307) for any Lakeland player’s career. Wade Gaynor ranks sixth with 46 doubles, eighth with 121 career RBI and tenth with 23 homers in his two seasons in Lakeland. Avisail Garcia tied for sixth with 11 career triples.

THE SKIPPER ... Dave Huppert became the minor league’s winningest active manager on April 19 and recorded his 1,700th win on June 3. Huppert would close the season winning his third Florida State League Title having previously won league championships with Brevard County in 2001 and Clearwater in 2007. He finishes the 2012 season with a career record of 1,745-1,593 for a .523 winning percentage.

THE ROSTER ... Twenty-seven players took the field defensively for Lakeland while 29 others took the mound for the Flying Tigers. The 56 players is ten more than were in uniform in 2011.

UP ON THE FARM ... The Flying Tigers made an unofficial 114 transactions in 2012 (eight more than in 2011). Hernan Perez made a weekend trip to the major leagues on June 9-10 before returning to Lakeland while Avisail Garcia made his major league debut on Aug. 31 (going from AA Erie to Detroit, skipping AAA Toledo) and was still with the club as of this report ... Zach Maggard, Adolfo Reina, Bruce Rondon and Shawn Tuefel all played in AAA Toledo ... Players who spent time at AA Erie included Nick Castellanos, Daniel Fields, Avisail Garcia, Wade Gaynor, Corey Jones, James McCann, Michael Rockett, Luis Alberto Sanz, Wes Thigpen and pitchers Cesar Carrillo, Tyler Clark, Patrick Cooper, Brian Flynn, Bruce Rondon, Zach Samuels, Mark Sorenson, and Jared Wesson.

FSL HALL OF FAME
... Lou Whitaker, who played for the 1976 Lakeland Tigers, was one of five players named to the Class of 2012 of the Florida State League Hall of Fame while Lakeland manager Dave Huppert was one of three managers honored with inclusion in the 2012 Class.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Flying Tigers Outlast Hammerheads in 15 innings

By DAVID YATES
LEDGER CORRESPONDENT


            JUPITER—The Flying Tigers used a four-hit night from Tyler Collins, a clutch triple from Hernan Perez, and remarkable defense to pull even in the Florida State League Championship Series by outlasting Jupiter, 8-7, in a 15-inning, tension-packed baseball playoff marathon on Saturday night.
            Luis Castillo entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the 15th, singled, was sacrificed to second by Curt Casali, and scored the game-winner when Hernan Perez tripled into the gap in left center.
            Tied at one game apiece, the best-of-five series now shifts to Joker Marchant Stadium for game 3 today at 5 p.m. Game 4 will be played at Marchant Monday at 6:30, and if five games are necessary to decide the championship, the finale will be played at Marchant Tuesday night at 6:30.
            Lakeland used eight pitchers and 11 position players in the 4-hour, 45-minute game, with Cesar Carrillo earning the win.
            Jupiter used seven pitchers and 12 position players, with Tyler Higgins absorbing the loss. The game was played before a crowd of 613 at Roger Dean Stadium, most of whom stayed until the very end.
            The FSL record book does not include the lengths of playoff games so it is uncertain whether this was the longest in league history in terms of time or innings.
            Perhaps the most remarkable statistic of the night was the zero in the errors column for the Flying Tigers. Lakeland’s top-ranked defense, anchored by its magnificent middle infield combination of  Dixon Machado at short and Perez at second, made play after play, several of major league caliber and some of which drew appreciative applause from the partisan crowd.
            “Our defense has been doing the job for us all season and it’s a shame that although Machado and Perez were both the top fielders at their position neither made the All-Star team,” Lakeland Manager Dave Huppert said.
            Friday Lakeland had nearly erased a 6-0 deficit by scoring five runs over the final three innings, and Saturday the Flying Tigers came out swinging again in Game 2. Collins fueled Lakeland’s 15-hit attack by tripling, doubling twice, singling, scoring once and driving in a pair.
            Lakeland forged a 7-3 lead in the fifth when the 22-year-old Texas outfielder bashed an RBI triple and Wade Gaynor followed with a two-run homer that bounced off the top of the left field wall, the only home run either team hit in games 1 and 2.
             But the Hammerheads, who finished second to the Flying Tigers in team batting, did not give up against a normally solid Lakeland bullpen.
            The Miami Marlins FSL affiliate scored three in the home half of the fifth to make it a one-run game, and pulled even in the bottom of the ninth to prolong matters.
            Christian Yelich, who led off the ninth with a walk, raced all the way home from second on a two-out infield hit by J. T. Realmuto to spoil Matt Crouse’s efforts to seal the win. Ironically, the hit ricocheted off the pitching mound just inches from Crouse’s glove to Machado, who threw to first trying to nip Realmuto while Yelich scored.
            Each bullpen then kept the game scoreless until Perez’s big hit in the 15th. Melvin Mercedes used his 98 MPH fastball to fire three innings of one-hit relief for Lakeland, while Dan Stone, Raudel Lazo, Jordan Conley, and Rett Varner combined for 10 shutout innings against the Flying Tigers.
            Luis Angel Sanz, arguably Lakeland’s most consistent starter in the second half, is expected to oppose Jupiter right-hander Jose Fernandez in tonight’s battle at Marchant.

Friday, September 7, 2012

Mission Notes - FSL Championship Series

THE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES ... The 2012 Florida State League Championship Series opens at Roger Dean Stadium, the home of the South Division champion Jupiter Hammerheads for the first two games on Friday and Saturday (Game times to be announced). The best-of-five series then moves to Lakeland for game three on Sunday at 5 p.m. Games four and five, if necessary, will be played Monday and Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Joker Marchant Stadium.

THE FLYING TIGERS (73-58, 2-0 Playoffs) ... Lakeland swept through the first round of the playoffs posting back-to-back shutouts over Dunedin. The Flying Tigers made a Tyler Collins’ first-inning hold up for a 1-0 win in game one in Lakeland. Lakeland then travelled to Dunedin and got a home run from Wade Gaynor and another from Collins in a 3-0 win. The last time Lakeland was in the FSL Playoffs in 2005, the club also swept Dunedin in the first round before falling three games to two to Palm Beach in the championship series. Overall, this is Lakeland’s 17th trip to the playoffs with FSL championships coming in 1975 and 1976 under current Detroit Manager Jim Leyland and a 2002 championship under manager John Lipon. Lakeland has a 32-29 record in FSL postseason games (including this season).

THE HAMMERHEADS (74-62, 2-1 Playoffs) ... Jupiter beat St. Lucie and Mother Nature for its first two FSL postseason wins. The Hammerheads opened the postseason with a 3-1 win over St. Lucie in a game delayed 2:58 due to rain. Game two was delayed 2:00 for inclement weather with the Mets prevailing 2-1. Thursday’s game featured rain of a different kind as the two clubs combined for 18 runs on 25 hits as Jupiter won its first-ever divisional championship with an 11-7 win. Ryan Fisher and Noah Perio each had five hits in the divisional playoffs while Taylor Krick and Alfredo Lopez each had four hits. Jupiter, which joined the league in 1998 as an affiliate of the Montreal Expos, became an affiliate of the Miami Marlins in 2002. The Hammerheads are making their fifth appearance in the FSL post-season and have a 2-9 playoff record thru the 2012 Division Series.

LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS ...
    9/07 - RHP Warwick Saupold (2-2, 3.77 ERA)
... Warwick Saupold struggled in his last start on Aug. 31, allowing five runs on four hits in 3.0 innings against Tampa. The five runs was more than he had allowed in his previous four starts. Saupold is 1-2 with a 3.22 ERA in five games as a starter.
    9/08 - LHP Alex Burgos (8-10, 4.90 ERA) ... Alex Burgos has allowed just two earned runs over 19.2 innings in his last five starts, but is just 1-0 in that stretch. In his last start on Sept. 1 against Tampa, he held the Yankees to one unearned runs on four hits in 4.0 innings with two walks and two strikeouts. He is 6-8 with a 6.04 ERA in 17 starts on the road this season. Burgos held Jupiter hitless through six shutout innings to pick up a win in the season series.
    9/09 - RHP Luis Angel Sanz (11-3, 3.46 ERA) ... Luis Sanz walked a season-high four batters in a season-low 4.2 innings in his start against Dunedin in the FSL Division Playoffs on Tuesday night. He ended the regular season with seven wins in his last seven decisions and had five or more strikeouts in six of his last eight games. Sanz is 7-0 with a 3.02 ERA in 13 appearances (nine starts) in the friendly confines of Joker Marchant Stadium. He posted a pair of wins in two starts against Jupiter, holding the Hammerheads to one earned run over 11.2 innings for a 0.77 ERA on 10 strikeouts.
    9/10 - RHP Drew VerHagen (0-3, 3.67 ERA) ... Drew VerHagen tossed six shutout innings against Dunedin on Wednesday in the Division Series deciding game. He held the Blue Jays to three hits as Lakeland wrapped up its first Division championship since 2005. The win was his first professional victory. VerHagen allowed a season-high four runs in a season-low 2.1 innings in his last regular season start on Aug. 28 against Brevard.
    9/11 - To Be Announced.

THIS YEAR ... Lakeland won four of the six meetings between the two clubs this season, including three of four played in Jupiter on June 1-4. The Flying Tigers won games two and three in the series by a combined 21-1 score. Tropical Storm Debby greeted the two clubs when the series came to Lakeland in the second half and the first three nights were washed away. The two squads finally got in a doubleheader in on June 27 with Lakeland winning game one, 3-2, and Jupiter taking game two, 2-1. Luis Castillo led Lakeland in the series with eight hits, including three doubles, while Marcus Lemon and Dixon Machado each had seven hits. Lakeland hit .274 in the series while Jupiter was held to a .189 team batting average.

SERIES COMPARISONS ... The 2012 FSL Championship series features the top two hitting teams in the league. Lakeland finished the regular season with a FSL-best .267 team batting average, while Jupiter was second with a .265 mark. The Hammerheads were second only to Dunedin in runs scored (623) while the Flying Tigers pitchers have allowed the third fewest runs (539) of any FSL staff. Neither team stood out in the homer department with Lakeland tying for second fewest homers in the FSL (66) and Jupiter finishing tied for third fewest (71). Lakeland swiped the fourth most bases in the league (135) and was caught stealing the fewest times (36). Jupiter stole the fourth fewest bases (99) but was caught the fifth most times (47). Hammerhead pitchers had the second best ERA in the league (3.51) while the Flying Tigers finished ranked seventh with a 3.79 mark. Jupiter hurlers struck out the fourth most batters (1,013) while Lakeland punched out the fourth fewest (897).

LAKELAND IN THE PLAYOFFS ... Lakeland is making its first appearance in the playoffs since 2005 when the Flying Tigers fell three games to two to Palm Beach in the championship round. Lakeland opened the 2005 playoffs by sweeping Dunedin in two games. Overall, Lakeland has a 32-29 record 17 appearances in the playoffs thru the 2012 Divisional Series and  is 14-9 in FSL Championship Series. Lakeland last won the FSL Championship in 1992 under manager John Lipon and also won back-to-back titles in 1976 and 1977 under Jim Leyland, who is now the manager of the big league Tigers.

LOTS OF GOOSE EGGS ... With the back-to-back blankings of Dunedin in the first round of the FSL playoffs coming on the heels of a shutout in the season finale, Lakeland has posted three straight shutouts, something the club has not done in at least the last 17 years. The Blue Jays had finished the regular season as the FSL’s top scoring team, but failed to get on the scoreboard in the two games as Lakeland’s pitchers tossed 18 consecutive scoreless innings. Throw in the series finale and five innings in the game before that, Flying Tigers pitcher have not allowed a run in the last 32 innings. In the Divisional Series, Lakeland pitchers struck out 16 in the 18.0 innings with seven walks and allowed 12 hits.

DOUBLE DOUBLE-DOUBLES ... Tyler Collins finished second in the FSL with 35 doubles - the second most in Lakeland history. But when it go the playoffs, Collins doubled a double into a homer and doubled that with homers in each of the Flying Tigers two playoff games. His first inning home run stood as the only Lakeland run in a 1-0 win in game one while he capped the scoring in game two with his second homer of the postseason in a 3-0 win over Dunedin. Collins batted .429 in the Divisional Series with a 1.714 slugging percentage.

NICE TIMING ... Drew VerHagen was a fourth round pick of Detroit’s in this year’s draft and finished the regular season with an 0-3 record in Lakeland. But the former Vanderbilt star saved his best for the postseason, tossing six shutout innings at Dunedin, holding the Blue Jays to just three hits to pick up his first win as a professional.

SOMETHING AGAINST HONDO? ... Hernan Perez hasn’t had much to say to first base coach Larry “Hondo” Herdon as of late. It’s not that they’re not talking, it’s just that when Perez has gotten a base hit, he hasn’t stopped at first base. Of Perez’s last eight hits, seven have been for extra bases including five doubles, a triple and a home run.

ON A SOLID TRAJECTORY
... Even thought postseason stats do not count toward a player’s final statistics, Michael Rockett has had hits in five straight games and is 7x17 during that span for a .412 clip.

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 1,745-1,592 record into the playoffs. Coincidently, Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland is the winningest active manager in the majors.

Monday, September 3, 2012

Mission Notes - The Playoffs, First Round (Sept. 4-6)

FIRST ROUND OF THE PLAYOFFS ... Making their first playoff appearance since 2005, the Flying Tigers open the first round of the 2012 Florida State League postseason with a 6:30 pm home game on Tuesday. Game two in the best-of-three series will take place Wednesday at 6:35 pm at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium in Dunedin. Game three, if necessary, will be played Thursday in Dunedin, also at 6:30 pm. All games are broadcast on the Dunedin website.

THE FLYING TIGERS (73-58) ... Lakeland took the last three games of the regular season versus Tampa to win the second half pennant for the first time since the 2005 team took both halves. The three wins also gives the Flying Tigers the most wins (73) since the same 2005 squad posted an 85-48 record. Lakeland leads the FSL with a .267 team batting average and a .978 fielding percentage, while the Flying Tigers’ pitching staff ranks seventh with a 3.79 ERA. Lakeland baserunners have swiped 135 bases this season – fourth most in the FSL – and have been caught just 36 times – second fewest in the FSL. Defensively, Lakeland has thrown out 76 out of 127 would-be base stealers for a league-leading 37.4 percent. Tyler Collins is tenth in the Florida State League with a .290 average, second with 35 doubles, and fourth with 137 base hits. Hernan Perez now ranks fifth in the FSL with 27 stolen bases.

THE BLUE JAYS (78-58) ... Dunedin dropped four of its last six games to finish the second half tied with Clearwater for second place, one game behind Lakeland. Dunedin’s team batting average of .255 is sixth in the league while the staff ERA of 3.59 is third lowest in the league. The Blue Jays are third with a .975 fielding percentage while the catchers have gunned down 41 of 97 stealers for a 29.7 mark. Danny Barnes leads the minor leagues with a franchise record 34 saves. Casey Lawrence is ninth in the league with a 3.63 ERA and fifth with 138.2 innings pitched. Marcus Knecht ranks third in the FSL with 32 doubles and fourth with 40 extra-base hits.

LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS ...
    9/04 - RHP Luis Angel Sanz (11-3, 3.46 ERA)
... Sanz is tied for the FSL lead with 11 wins and ranks fifth with a 3.46 ERA. Winner of his last seven decisions, he has a 7-0 record with a 2.04 ERA in his last 10 games (nine starts) with 42 strikeouts and 21 walks in 57.1 innings pitched. Sanz is a perfect 7-0 in 13 home appearances (nine starts) with a 3.02 at Joker Marchant Stadium this season. He is 1-0 with a 4.05 ERA in two relief appearances versus Dunedin and but hasn’t faced the club since May 2. In his last start on Aug. 30 against Tampa, Sanz shutout the Yankees for 5.0 innings on three hits with five strikeouts and a pair of walks.
    9/05 - RHP Drew VerHagen (0-3, 3.67 ERA) ... VerHagen will be gunning for his first win as a Flying Tiger. In his last start on Aug. 28 versus Brevard County, he was tagged for a season-high four runs on five hits in just 2.1 innings. He had not allowed a run in two previous starts of four innings each prior to the 28th. VerHagen is 0-2 on the road this season with a 3.71 ERA in five games (four starts) and has not faced Dunedin this season.
    9/06 - RHP Warwick Saupold (2-2, 3.77 ERA) ... Saupold surrendered a season-high five runs on four hits in 3.0 innings in his last start on Aug. 31 against Tampa. He is 1-1 on the road this season with a 3.07 ERA in three games (two starts). Saupold is 0-2 versus the Blue Jays this season, but has a 1.59 ERA in two starts. He has nine strikeouts and three walks against Dunedin, but has allowed 12 hits in 11.1 innings.

THIS YEAR ... Lakeland holds a 9-7 advantage in the series and has won six of the last nine meetings. Three games in the series have been decided by one-run (including a 6-5 Lakeland win in 13 innings on August 18) while six of the contests have been won by two runs. On May 31, Dunedin crushed Lakeland 14-3 with the Flying Tigers returning the favor on June 12 winning 11-3. Tyler Collins has batted .328 with 21 hits (including 10 doubles) while Wade Gaynor has 13 hits including a pair of homers. Kevin Nolan has led Dunedin with 17 hits while Marcus Knecht has 12 hits in the 16 contests.

LAKELAND IN THE PLAYOFFS ... Lakeland is making its first appearance in the playoffs since 2005 when the Flying Tigers fell three games to two to Palm Beach in the championship round. Lakeland opened the 2005 playoffs by sweeping Dunedin in two games. Overall, Lakeland has a 30-29 record 16 appearances in the playoffs, but is 16-20 in first-round games. Lakeland won the FSL Championship in 1992 under manager John Lipon and also won back-to-back titles in 1976 and 1977 under Jim Leyland, who is now the manager of the big league Tigers.

DUNEDIN IN THE PLAYOFFS ... This is the third straight year Dunedin has qualified for the FSL playoffs. Last season, the club fell two games to one to Daytona in the first round. The Blue Jays last advanced to the championship round in 2006 when they were swept by St. Lucie in three games. Overall, Dunedin has made 11 trips to the postseason (all since 1990) with a 11-28 record. The Blue Jays are looking for their first FSL championship.

KEEP IT IN THE PARK
... Dunedin has the second most homers of any FSL club (94) hitting 46 at home and 48 on the road. However, Lakeland pitchers have allowed the fewest homers (59) of any staff in the league.

GREEN MACHINE ... Dean Green has definitely had the hot bat down the stretch for Lakeland, going 17x34 (.500) his last nine games and 25x56 (.446) his last 15 games with 15 RBI and nine runs scored.

LEMON-AID ... Marcus Lemon has also carried the lumber to the dish and brings an 11-game hit streak into the playoffs in which he is 16x41 (.390) with eight runs scored. He hit .356 in August.

DYNAMIC DUO II? ... Many moons ago, the great Detroit shortstop/second baseman combo of Alan Trammel and Lou Whitaker took the field in Lakeland. If things hold up, perhaps this year’s middle infielder duo could be next great combo. Dixon Machado leads all FSL shortstops with a .965 fielding percentage while second baseman Hernan Perez tops his position brethren with a .979 fielding mark.

CASUALLY CASALI ... Catcher Curt Casali is 5x16 (.313) with three doubles and four runs scored in his last five games.

TWO FOR TYLER
... Tyler Collins has 35 doubles this season, the most for any Lakeland player since Gabe Kapler set the team record with 40 in 1997. His doubles are second most in the FSL while he ranks fourth with 137 hits.

CROUSE IN THE HOUSE ... Matt Crouse has the third lowest opponent’s batting average in the league (.189) and leads all FSL relievers with just 9.09 baserunners allowed per nine innings. He has racked up an 8-2 record and six saves with a 1.91 ERA in 38 appearances this season.

WADE’S WORLD ... Wade Gaynor has hits in eight of his last nine games (8x33, .242) and 14 of his last 16 contests (16x59, .271).

STINGY LAREZ ... Victor Larez has allowed two runs in his last 14.0 innings over six appearances and just five earned runs since June 1 (22 appearances,  40.1 innings) for a 1.12 ERA.

IT’S REINA-ING ... Catcher Adolfo Reina has hits in eight of his last nine games and is 13x30 (.433) during that stretch with nine runs batted in. He hit .439 in August for Lakeland.

ROSTER SHUFFLE ... The Flying Tigers welcomed two new pitchers to the club on Saturday in Jade Todd and Melvin Mercedes. Todd, who was 6-2 with two saves and a 1.65 ERA in West Michigan, was Detroit’s 7th round pick in 2008 out of Shades Valley High School in Alabama and has played for the GCL Tigers as well as West Michigan. Mercedes, who was 0-3 with nine saves and a 2.80 ERA in 37 games for West Michigan, was signed by Detroit in 2008 as a non-drafted free agent. He has played in the Dominican Summer and Gulf Coast Leagues as well for the Connecticut and West Michigan squads.

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 1,745-1,592 record into the playoffs. Coincidently, Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland is the winningest active manager in the majors.