THE SERIES ... All four games of this series are scheduled for 6:30 pm starts at Joker Marchant Stadium.
THE FLYING TIGERS (27-34, 5th Place North, 7.0 GB) ... Lakeland brings a season-high six-game win streak into this series after three-game sweeps of St. Lucie and Tampa. The streak puts Lakeland in fifth place in North, the highest the team has been since May 16. The Flying Tigers have had 20 games with three or fewer runs scored since May 2 and is 12-6 in the last 18 games. Melvin Mercedes is now second in the league with 11 saves while Kyle Ryan is second with 76.0 innings pitched and Drew VerHagen is second with a .212 opponents’ batting average. Jason Krizan is third in the FSL with a .402 on-base percentage while Brandon Loy is tied for third with 29 walks.
THE MARAUDERS (25-36, T-5th Place South, 16.5 GB) ... Bradenton took two of three from South Division winner Fort Myers and has won four of their last six with the two losses being by one run. Dan Gamache is 12x29 (.414) his last seven games with eight runs scored while Eric Avila brings a five-game hit streak into this series in which he is 7x16 (.438) with four doubles and six runs batted in. Gregory Polanco is eighth in the FSL with a .313 batting average and second with 23 stolen bases. Pitcher Nick Kingham leads the FSL with 71 strikeouts and is third with a .214 opponents’ batting average. The Marauders have the third highest ERA in the league with a 4.27 mark.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS
6/11 - Hudson Randall (1-5, 4.98) ... Randall threw four-hit ball over 8.0 shutout innings in his last start with four strikeouts in a win at St. Lucie on June 4. He has not allowed an earned run over his last 15.0 innings and two starts with seven strikeouts, three walks and six hits allowed.
6/12 - Drew VerHagen (4-3, 2.93) ... VerHagen allowed two unearned runs in his last start on June 5 with four strikeouts and three hits allowed in 7.0 innings. He has won his last three starts and four of his last five with one no decision. VerHagen is 4-0 with a 1.73 ERA since May 8.
6/13 - Kyle Ryan (6-5, 3.20) ... Ryan tossed a three-hitter while blanking Tampa over 8.0 innings with four strikeouts on June 7. It was his second stint of 8.0 shutout innings this season as he also accomplished the feat on April 4 at Dunedin.
6/14 - Wilsen Palacios (3-4, 4.10) ... Palacios allowed seven hits on June 9 against Tampa, but struck out eight and held the Yankees to one run for the win. He has now allowed just three earned runs in his last three starts (16.1 innings) for a 1.65 ERA with 16 strikeouts and six walks.
LAST SEASON ... The two clubs split their eight-game season series in 2012 with Lakeland winning three of the last four which were all played at Joker Marchant Stadium. Two of those four Lakeland wins were shutouts while two games were won by the Flying Tigers in 10 innings.
SON OF A TIGER ... Bradenton’s Robby Rowland, who is slated to pitch game four of the series, is the son of Rich Rowland, who played six seasons in the majors, including four seasons with Detroit.
WIN STREAKS ... The six wins in a row for the Flying Tigers matches the longest winning streak since the 2012 team closed out the first half with six straight wins. The 2010 also had a six-game win streak. The longest string of consecutive wins in recent years is owned by the 2005 team which won 10 games in a row from June 30 to July 11.
SOLID STARTERS ... A big reason for the six-game win streak has been the performance of the starting pitchers. Coach Mike Maroth’s staff has allowed just one earned run (four total) over 39.1 innings in the last six starts for a 0.23 ERA. The corps has struck out 27 batters and walked eight in those six games while allowing 22 hits.
BULLISH PEN ... The bullpen has been equally as effective, allowing just four runs in the last 32.2 innings over 14 outings for a 1.10 ERA. The have punched out 29 batters and walked four since May 25.
KRIZAN ROLLING ... The move to first base hasn’t affected the hitting of Jason Krizan who brings a six-game hit streak into the Bradenton series. Since June 3, he is 8x20 (.400) with two doubles and two runs batted in.
KEEP ‘EM IN COACH ... Lakeland is a perfect 5-0 since Fransisco Martinez joined the team on June 4. The third baseman has hits in each of his five games with the Flying Tigers and is 8x20 (.400) with two doubles, a homer, two RBI and two stolen bases.
STEADY SANZ ... Luis Sanz has hits in seven of his last eight games in which he has gone 9x26 (.346) to raise his batting average 71 points to .198 on the season.
ALL HAIL CASTRO ... Second baseman Harold Castro has hits in his last four games (4x10, .400) with two RBI in each of his last two games. He has hits in 12 of his 16 games played so far.
TYLER-MITE ... Infielder Tyler Hanover has been kept off the bases in his last two games, but is still 6x18 (.333) over his last five games.
GETTING BACK IN THE GROOVE ... John Murrian is 3x9 (.333) in the last three games with a double and a home runs and two runs scored.
GROUNDED ... Mike Hernandez is 1x9 (.111) his last three games after driving in four runs with a homer and single at St. Lucie on June 4 ... Pat Leyland is 0x9 his last three games and 3x31 (.097) since May 17 ... Brandon Loy is also 3x31 (.097) since May 30 ... Steven Moya is hitless in his last 18 at bats and 3x37 (.081) since May 30 ... Chad Wright is 3x19 (.158) his last five games.
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 1,772-1,617 record entering the Bradenton 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 ... Following the Bradenton series, Lakeland takes the weekend off for the Florida State League All-Star game on June 15. The Flying Tigers return from the break by travelling to Brevard County for three-games on June 17-19.
TIGER DRAFT BITES ... One name in the 2013 Detroit draft looks very familiar as the Tigers picked Ben Verlander in the 14th round. He is the brother of Cy Young winner Justin Verlander who played for Lakeland in 2005 ... The Tigers’ 38th round pick, Harrison Wenson, attended the University of Detroit Jesuit High School, the same prep school as former Flying Tiger, Daniel Fields ... Detroit also tabbed Johnnie Kirkland from Lakeland’s Southeastern University in the 25th round ... The Tigers picked Torii Hunter, Jr. in the 36th round. The son of Detroit outfielder Torii Hunter, Junior has signed to play football for the University of Notre Dame.
LENNERTON TEARING UP TOLEDO ... Former Flying Tiger Jordan Lennerton is hitting .339 with 11 homers and 34 RBI at AAA Toledo.
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