THE SERIES ... All three games of this series will be played at Joker Marchant Stadium on April 21-23. The series opener is Sunday at 1 p.m. with games two and three taking place Monday and Tuesday, respectively, at 6:30 p.m. The series finale is slated for Saturday at 6 p.m. All three games can be heard live at Clearwater Threshers website.
THE FLYING TIGERS (4-12, 6th Place, 8.0 GB) ... Lakeland has lost five in a row and 10 of its last 12 games dating back to April 9. The bats have starting to heat up with double-digit hits in five of the last eight games for a combined 67 hits, but that has translated into a total of only 18 runs. The Flying Tigers have lost four games by one-run and three others by a pair of scores while two of the losses have come in extra innings. Lakeland’s team batting average of .231 ranks second lowest in the Florida State League while the staff earned run average of 3.53 ranks fourth lowest.
THE THRESHERS (8-8, T-3rd Place, 4.0 GB) ... Clearwater has won its last two games after going 1-5 the previous six games. In the last six games, the Threshers have had games with 15 and 13 runs with three games of two or fewer runs. Jose Mojica has been on fire the last five games going 13x18 for a .722 clip while Cameron Perkins brings an eight-game hit streak into the series (13x31, .419) and has hits in 14 of his 15 games played this season. Chris Serritella has a six-game streak himself going 9x26 (.346). Reliever Gabriel Arias is second in the FSL with a 0.64 ERA to go with his 2-0 record while Nick Hernandez is 10th in the league with a 2.12 ERA and is tied for third in the league with teammate Colin Kleven with 19 strikeouts. Maikel Franco has a league-high eight doubles and is fourth with 35 total bases. The Thresher have the second highest batting average in the league (.288), but the second worst ERA (5.06).
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS
4/20 - RHP Drew VerHagen (0-2, 2.93 ERA) ... making his fourth start of the season ... gave up two runs on six hits in his last start on 4/16 at Brevard County in a no-decision ... has allowed two or more runs in each of his starts this season ... making his first home start since 4/5.
4/21 - RHP Wilsen Palacios (0-2, 5.40 ERA) ... has gone an inning longer than the previous start in each outing with 6.0 innings pitched on 4/17 at home vs. Brevard County ... allowed seven hits in each of his two previous starts (losing both) ... surrendered a combined seven runs in the last two starts ... struck out season-high five batters last time out ... lefties are batting .400 (8x20) against Palacios.
4/22 - LHP Kyle Ryan (1-1, 3.66) ... bounced back from a 10-hit, seven run start on 4/13 at Dunedin with eight shutout innings of one-hit ball on 4/18 at home versus the Blue Jays (did not get a decision) ... making his third home start of the season ... is 1-0 with a miniscule 0.66 ERA at Joker Marchant Stadium ... lefties are hitting just .182 against Ryan.
LAST YEAR ... Lakeland went 9-7 against Clearwater in 2012, including a 5-2 record at Joker Marchant Stadium.
INSIDE THE THRESHERS ... Threshers manager Chris Truby played four seasons in the major leagues including 2002 with Detroit ... pitcher Nick Hernandez is the nephew of Major League umpire Angel Hernandez ... pitcher Hoby Milner is the son of former Major Leaguer Brian Milner ... third baseman Maikel Franco was ranked No. 11 among Phillies prospects by MLB.com entering 2013.
MULTI-HIT MACHINE ... Dean Green had two hits on Saturday, marking the seventh time this season he has had two or more hits and is 9x23 (.391) his last five games. Despite leading the team in hitting, Green has not scored a run in the last seven games and just once in the last 10 contests.
LAKELAND TRIVIA ... Which Flying Tiger currently leads the team with two triples?
ANSWERED THE CALL ... Eugenio Suarez was moved into the lead-off spot in the line-up for the first time this season on Saturday and responded to Manager Dave Huppert’s challenge with a 3x5 night including a double and a run batted in. The three hits marked the fifth time this season he has had two or more hits.
CONTINUE TO ROLL ... Jeff McVaney brings a six-game hit streak into the Threshers series and has gone 9x28 (.321) the last six outings. Despite hitting .313, McVaney has scored just one run in the last 12 games.
HOME, SWEET HOME? ... Aaron Westlake has 12 hits in 30 at bats on the road for a .400 average with two doubles, a homer and six runs batted in. However, at home, he has just four hits in 33 at bats for a .121 mark and just one RBI.
HOME, SWEET HOME? - PT. 2 ... Chad Wright is another Flying Tiger who finds the going a bit easier on the road. In seven home games, Wright has gone 6x29 for a .207 mark compared to eight road games in which he is 11x34 for a .324 average. Wright did have two hits at home on Saturday and is now 9x29 (.310) the last six games.
COMIN’S & GOIN’S ... For the first two weeks of the season, the Flying Tigers roster was fairly stable with just one move when Steven Moya went on the DL with Zach Kirksey taking his place (he has since been sent back to Extended Spring Training). Since then, pitcher Tommy Collier and Joe Roger have placed on the disabled list and catcher Zach Maggard has been sent to AA Erie. Joining the roster are pitchers Nick Avila and Slade Smith, as well as catcher Luis Sanz. In addition, former Detroit closer, Jose Valverde joined the club in an effort to rejoin Detroit.
SPEAKING OF VALVERDE ... Former Detroit closer Jose Valverde made two appearances for Lakeland on Friday and Saturday working one inning in each contest. In each outing, he walked a batter and then erased him with a double play. Valverde also struck out one batter. He is expected to now move to AAA Toledo.
THE SKIPPER ... Manager Dave Huppert, who was inducted into the Florida State League Hall of Fame in 2012, is in his 25th season as a minor league manager and is the active winningest manager in the minors with a 1,749-1,595 record entering the Dunedin series. Last season, he led Lakeland to the 2012 Florida State League Championship to record his fourth overall championship and his third in the FSL. He also led the 2001 Brevard County to a co-championship while his 2007 Clearwater squad won the crown outright. In addition, he coached the Lakeland Blue Claws (Phillies) to the 2006 South Atlantic League title.
UP NEXT ... The Flying Tigers have a day off on April 24 before heading for Daytona on April 25-27.
NOT JUST LAKELAND ... The Detroit minor league organization has a combined 23-38 record - worst of the 30 clubs. Only Erie, at 8-7, has a winning record among the four minor league clubs.
TRIVIA ANSWER - Dean Green, at 6-4, 255 pounds, hit his second triple of the season on Saturday to take over the team lead.
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