THE SERIES ... Lakeland returns from the All-Star Break with a three-game road trip to Brevard County on June 17-19. All three games will be played at 6:35 pm in Viera. The two clubs are facing each other for the first time since April 15-17.
THE FLYING TIGERS (30-35, 4th Place, 5.0 GB) ... Lakeland had its nine-game win streak snapped on Thursday in the second game of a doubleheader, falling 9-5 to Bradenton. The streak enabled the Flying Tigers to climb out of the cellar of the North Division for the first time since May 16. Drew VerHagen ranks ninth in the Florida State League with a 2.81 ERA to go with his 5-3 record, while allowing opponents to hit .207 against him – second best average in the league. Melvin Mercedes has saved 11 games this season which is third most in the FSL while Kyle Ryan ranks second with 81.0 innings pitched – one behind the leader, Scott Copeland of Dunedin. Brandon Loy remains in the top five with 30 walks drawn.
THE MANATEES (34-30, T-5th Place, 0.5 GB) ... Brevard County is locked into a battle for the first half crown as the Manatees trail Dunedin by one-half game with three games remaining. Daytona and Clearwater are both 1.0 game back of the Blue Jays. Brevard has the lowest team batting average (.233) of any league team and has scored the fewest runs (228) of any squad. It’s feast or famine with the Manatees as the team is tied for the second most homers (48) of any league team. Brooks Hall has a 2.78 ERA which is eighth best in the league. Brevard County had one of the top closers in the league in Seth Harvey who totalled 10 saves before heading to the disabled list. Tommy Toledo stepped up and has matched the total with 10 saves of his own and has two wins and nine saves in his last 11 save opportunities. Nick Ramirez is third in the FSL with 14 homers, but has struck out a league-high 90 times.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS
6/17 - Wilsen Palacios (3-4, 4.10) ... Palacios picked up the win in his last start on June 9 in the first game of a doubleheader, working 6.1 innings and holding Tampa to one run on seven hits while striking out eight and walking one. The victory was his first after two no decisions and he has posted a 1.65 ERA in his last three starts while allowing just the one earned run over his last 11.1 innings. Palacios is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in his one previous start against the Manatees on April 17.
6/18 - Jeff Ferrell (3-4, 3.44) ... Ferrell gave up one unearned run in 5.0 innings in his last start in the second game of a doubleheader on June 9 against Tampa, limiting the Yankees to one hit with two strikeouts and a pair of walks. He has won his last two starts, surrendering just the one unearned run over 11.0 innings and is 3-1 with a 1.14 ERA in his last four outings. Ferrell is 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA in two relief appearances vs. Brevard County.
6/19 - Hudson Randall (1-5, 4.58) ... Randall was off to a great start in his last start on June 10 against Bradenton, retiring the first nine batters in order, including a pair of punch-outs, before rain forced a suspension of the game. He has not allowed a run and given up just four hits over 11.0 innings in his last two starts. Randall is 1-1 record with a 0.00 ERA in his last 18.0 frames and three starts, giving up three unearned runs in the loss. Randall has not faced Brevard County previously.
SEASON SERIES ... Lakeland will be trying to get the best of Brevard County as the Manatees have won five of the six previous meetings, including the last two. Brevard County has been held to just a .186 team batting average in the series, but its starting pitchers have posted two shutouts and a 2.14 ERA in the six games. Cameron Garfield has provided the power, clubbing three homers for eight RBI versus Lakeland. Jeff McVaney and Chad Wright have each gone 8x25 (.320) in the series as Lakeland has a .227 mark as a team and a 3.32 staff ERA.
FIRST ROUNDER ... Jed Bradley was the Brewers’ top pick (15th overall) in the 2011 draft out of Georgia Tech.
GLAD TO GET OUT OF TOWN ... Harold Castro has found the road to his liking in 2013, going 13x33 (.394) with a pair of doubles, a triple and nine runs batted in over nine road games while going .185 in nine home games with just a pair of runs driven in. Brandon Loy is hitting 63 points better in road games and has scored five more runs away from home. Francisco Martinez has five hits in three road games with six hits in six home games. Jeff McVaney hits .258 at home and .254 in away games, but has hit one more homer and drive in five more runs on the road. Chad Wright has a .253 road average and hits .230 at home.
DOESN’T MATTER TO THEM ... Tyler Hanover has identical .289 averages at home and away while Jason Krizan has hit .293 at Joker Marchant Stadium and .293 on the road.
JUNE SURGE ... Michael Hernadez has clubbed three homers in nine games in June after hitting just one homer in 26 games in May.
ROSTER MOVES ... Danny Worth ended his rehab work in Lakeland after just four games and was sent back to Toledo on Friday. He was 3x17 with three RBI and three strikeouts for the Flying Tigers. Taking the vacated roster spot is former Flying Tiger Corey Jones who played at both Erie and Toledo this season. He began the season at second base at Erie before being called up to the Mud Hens to play third for three weeks. He returned to AA Erie where he had been since June 9.
THE GATOR BOYS ... Lakeland’s Hudson Randall and Brevard County’s Tommy Toledo and Ben McMahan were teammates at the University of Florida in 2010 and 2011.
THE STREAK ... The Flying Tigers saw their nine-game win streak come to a halt in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader with Bradenton. The streak was the longest since the 2005 squad put together a 10-game streak from June 30-July 11. Lakeland outscored its opponents 32-14 during the streak while hitting .240 in the nine games. Hitters collected 12 doubles, a triple and six homers while stealing 11 bases during the streak. The Flying Tigers pitching staff posted a pair of shutouts in the steak while holding four other opponents to just one run for a 1.56 earned run average.
FSL ALL-STAR GAME ... The South Division trounced the North 8-1 in the Florida State League All-Star Game played Saturday in Dunedin. Bradenton’s Alen Hanson clubbed a three-run homer in a five-run fifth inning to earn the “Star of Stars” honor as the game’s MVP. Nick Ramirez, of the Brevard County Manatees, won the home run derby. As for Lakeland’s trio of All-Stars, Kyle Ryan started on the hill for the North Division and struck out two in a 1-2-3 stint in his only inning of work. Melvin Mercedes closed out the ninth for the North, retiring both batters he faced. Jeff McVaney, took the field in left in the second inning, playing the rest of the game, but had an off night at the plate, going 0-for-4.
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 1,775-1,618 record entering the All-Star Break. 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 ... After the Brevard County series, Lakeland plays one game at Clearwater on June 21, before returning to Joker Marchant Stadium for two games against the Threshers on June 21-22.
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