THE SERIES ... Lakeland hosts Brevard County for a three-game set on June 29-July 1 with the series getting underway Saturday, June 29, at 6 pm. The middle game of the series is set for Sunday, June 30, at 1 pm with the finale Monday, July 1, at 6:30 pm.
THE FLYING TIGERS (32-44; 2-6, 6th, 4.5 GB) ... The Flying Tigers are 2-10 their last 12 games after dropping two of three at Dunedin. With six strikeouts in last night’s game at Dunedin, Wilsen Palacios has taken over the FSL lead with 77 strikeouts. Kyle Ryan, who worked 6.0 innings in his last start, holds the top spot with 92.0 innings pitched while Palacios ranks fifth with 83.0 frames worked. Jason Krizan and Chad Wright remain two of the league’s toughest to strikeout with 10.17 and 9.03 plate appearances, respectively, per strikeout. Lakeland’s batting average of .243 has dropped to second lowest in the FSL and they have hit just 29 homers as a squad, second fewest only to Jupiter’s 26 dingers.
THE MANATEES (43-33; 6-3, 2nd, 1.0 GB) ... Brevard County has won 11 of its last 14 games entering this series and trails Daytona by 1.0 game in the second half standings of the North Division. Two of the three losses were by one run while the third was a 4-1 loss in a five-inning, rain-shortened game. Nick Ramirez is tied for second in the FSL with 16 home runs – just 13 fewer than Lakeland has as a team – but leads the league with 105 strikeouts. Brent Suter is sixth in the league with a 2.87 ERA to go with his 7-4 record and is fourth with just 1.09 hits and walks allowed per inning. Tommy Toledo is tied for second with 13 saves. It’s feast or famine for the Manatees as the club is tied for second in the FSL with 58 homers as a club, but is dead last with a .239 team batting average.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS
6/29 - RHP Jeff Ferrell (3-5, 3.50) ... Ferrell held Daytona to two runs on three hits in his last start on June 24, but did not factor into the decision. He is 3-2 with a 2.02 ERA in his last six starts with 17 strikeouts and nine walks. Ferrell is 2-2 with a 2.78 ERA in eight home appearances while going 1-3 with a 4.40 ERA in seven road games. He is 0-2 with a 4.00 in three previous appearances versus the Manatees including one start on June 18, allowing three earned runs in 6.0 innings.
6/30 - RHP Hudson Randall (1-7, 6.02) ... Randall took the loss on June 25 against Daytona in his last start, allowing four runs on six hits in 3.2 innings pitched. He has now surrendered 12 earned runs on 17 hits his last two starts after tossing 18.0 innings without an earned run in his previous three starts. Randall, who gave up eight runs on 11 hits in 5.1 innings in his previous start against Brevard County on June 19, is 0-4 with a 5.87 in five home starts and 1-3 with a 6.17 in four road games.
7/01 - RHP Josh Carr (0-2, 4.95) ... Carr was tagged with the loss in his last start on June 26 at Dunedin, giving up three runs, two earned, on seven hits in 5.0 innings. This will be just his second home start of the season. He has a 0-0 record and a 6.00 ERA in just three previous home innings and is 0-2 with a 4.76 ERA in four previous road appearances, including three starts. Carr has not faced Brevard County this season.
SEASON SERIES ... Brevard County has won eight of the nine meetings between these two clubs, including the last five straight. The lone Lakeland win came on May 14. The Manatees have outscored the Flying Tigers by a 44-28 margin in the nine games, but Lakeland has outhit Brevard County, 75-50. Chad Wright is 13x37 (.351) with five RBI in the series for Lakeland while Cameron Garfield has three homers and 11 RBI for Brevard County.
ROSTER MOVES ... Catcher Luis Sanz was sent AA Erie on Thursday to take a roster spot vacated there when former Flying Tiger Zach Maggard was placed on the disabled list after being hit in the head with a bat. Taking Sanz’s spot on the Lakeland roster is former University of South Florida catcher Drew Longley, who joins Lakeland from the Gulf Coast League. Longley is making his second appearance on the Lakeland roster as he was with the club for one day on May 6.
LOW SCORING SERIES ... Fans that like to see the scoreboard light up with runs may be disappointed in this season as the two clubs rank 11th and 12th in the league in runs scored. Lakeland has crossed the plate 284 times, the fewest in the league, while Brevard County has scored just two more runs, 286. Stolen bases are also not big as the two clubs have each swiped 45 bases, tied for third fewest in the FSL. Combined, the two clubs are still 22 bases behind Brandenton which has a FSL-high 112 stolen bases.
FLYING HIGH ... Chad Wright has at least one base hit in nine of his last 11 games and is 17x44 (.386) since June 17 ... Steven Moya has hits in seven of his last eight games and is 14x33 (.424) since June 20 with four doubles, a triple, three homers, 11 RBI and seven runs scored ... Tyler Hanover saw his nine-game hit streak snapped on Friday. He was 12x37 (.324) during the streak with seven runs scored ... Francisco Martinez is 10x43 (.233) with hits in nine of last 11 games ... Alex Burgos has seven strikeouts his last 8.1 innings (3 APP) ... Matt Davenport has given up just three earned runs over 11 innings (4 APP) with 10 strikeouts ... Wilsen Palacios has averaged 6.0 strikeouts over his last nine starts and has allowed 14 earned runs in his last eight games (49.2 IP) for a 2.54 ERA ... Joe Ryan has a 2-0 record and a 2.25 ERA with 21 strikeouts and three walks in his last four starts.
GROUNDED ... Harold Castro is 3x18 (.167) his last five games with six strikeouts ... Corey Jones is 2x21 (.095) his last six games ... Jason Krizan is 2x17 (.118) his last six games ... Brandon Loy is hitless in his last 20 at bats over six games. He was 10x23 (.435) the previous six games ... Jeff McVaney has a hit in each his last two games, but is 3x22 (.136) the last seven games ... John Murrian also has hits in his last two games (3x6), but was 2x19 (.105) his previous five games ... Nick Avila has allowed two earned runs in each of his last three appearances (9.2 IP) with just one strikeout ... Brennan Smith has been tagged for 12 earned runs in his last 3.0 innings pitched ... Michael Torrealba allowed three earned runs in his last appearance matching his total allowed the previous six appearances.
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 1,777-1,627 record entering the Brevard County 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.
A TRIO OF LAKELAND ALUMS NAMED ALL-STARS ... Three former Flying Tigers have been named to the Eastern League All-Star team in catcher James McCann, second baseman Hernan Perez and pitcher Warwick Saupold.
LENNERTON PICKED FOR FUTURE GAME ... Former Lakeland first baseman Jordan Lennerton, a native of Langley, British Columbia, has been selected to represent the World Team in the 2013 All-Star Futures game. Nick Castellanos, who was the MVP in the 2012 Futures contest, is one of five finalists in the fan voting for the remaining roster spot on the Team USA roster.
UP NEXT ... Lakeland has Tuesday, July 2, off before heading to Tampa on Wednesday, July 3 for a 7 pm game. The Flying Tigers return to Joker Marchant Stadium on Thursday, July 4 for a 5 pm game and will also host the Yankees on Friday, July 5 at 7:11 pm.
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