THE SERIES ... Lakeland opens the second half with a three-game set against the Clearwater Threshers. Game one of this series will take place Thursday, June 20 in Clearwater at 7 pm, before heading to Lakeland for game two on Friday, June 21 at 7:11 pm and then game three Saturday in Lakeland at 5 pm (note special start time).
THE FLYING TIGERS (30-38, 5th Place, 8.0 GB) ... Lakeland closed out the first half by being swept in a three-game series on the road at Brevard County. The club finished in fifth place, eight games behind the first-half winner, Dunedin. Melvin Mercedes is third in the Florida State League with 11 saves and leads with 21 games finished while Kyle Ryan is second with 81.0 innings pitched. Wilsen Palacios ranks fifth among league starters with 8.63 strikeouts per nine innings. Jason Krizan is third toughest to strike out in the FSL with one strikeout every 10.1 plate appearances while Tyler Hanover is fifth toughest to punch out with one K every 8.64 trips to the plate.
THE THRESHERS (34-30, T-5th Place, 0.5 GB) ... Clearwater completed the first half with a 35-33 record to finish in fourth place, three games out of first place. The Threshers have the top hitter in the league in Kelly Dugan who tops the FSL with a hefty .345 average. He has had 17 games with two or more hits including seven games with three hits and one with four base knocks. Dugan has also clubbed eight homers and driven in 29 runs. Maikel Franco leads the league with 16 homers, 23 doubles, 40 extra base hits, 152 total bases, and a .430 on-base percentage; second with 79 hits; and fourth with 52 RBI. He is also 10th in the FSL with a .299 average and brings a seven-game hit streak into this series in which he is 11x27 (.407). On the mound, Perci Garner is 5-1 and eighth with a 3.09 ERA while Hoby Milner is second with 72 strikeouts. Clearwater is second in the FSL with a .273 team batting average and 51 homers.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS
6/20 - LHP Kyle Ryan (6-5, 3.22) ... Ryan, who was the starting pitcher for the North in the FSL All-Star game, did not factor into the decision in his last regular start on June 12 against Bradenton, working 5.0 innings and allowing two runs on six hits with six punch outs and no walks. He is 3-1 with the one no decision in his last five starts with a 2.86 ERA, 20 strikeouts and five walks. Ryan is 1-1 against Clearwater with a 2.77 ERA with 11 strikeouts.
6/21 - RHP Wilsen Palacios (3-4, 3.82) ... Palacios also did factor into the decision is his last start, going 7.0 innings at Brevard County on June 17, holding the Manatees to one run on five hits with seven Ks and one walk. He is 1-0 with a 1.54 ERA in his last four appearances (three starts) with 23 strikeouts and seven walks. Palacios is 1-0 in two starts against the Threshers with a 5.73 ERA and 14 punch outs.
6/22 - RHP Jeff Ferrell (3-5, 3.55) ... Ferrell took the loss in his last start on June 18 at Brevard County, surrendering four runs (three earned) on six hits with four Ks and zero walks over 6.0 innings. He is 3-2 his last five starts with a 1.82 ERA and 15 strikeouts and five walks. He has made one previous start against Clearwater, getting a no decision on May 11 allowing four runs on eight hits with five Ks and one walk.
SEASON SERIES ... Lakeland has won four of the six meetings so far in 2013. The Flying Tigers have posted a .316 team batting average over the six games while the Threshers have hit at .290 pace. Two games were in the series were decided by one run, including an 8-7, 10 inning win by Lakeland on May 9. The Flying Tigers matched a season-high for runs scored and winning margin in a 12-3 victory on April 23 while establishing a season-best with 17 hits in the game.
VerHAGEN EARNS A PROMOTION ... Drew VerHagen was promoted to AA Erie on Wednesday. The 6’6” righty was 5-3 for Lakeland and ranked eighth in the Florida State League with a 2.81 earned run average. Having went 0-3 in his first 14 appearances in two seasons as a pro, he had gone 5-0 with two no-decisions in his last seven starts with a 1.70 ERA.
HANDY HANOVER ... Tyler Hanover has hits in his last four games in which he is 6x18 (.333) with three runs scored. Over his 45 games played for Lakeland, he has played 22 games at second, 16 games at third, two at short and four in the outfield.
LOY IN THE MIDDLE ... Brandon Loy also had hits in his last four games and is 6x16 (.375) with a pair of doubles and four runs scored. He has played 37 games at short for the Flying Tigers and 23 games at second.
MIGHTY MARTINEZ ... Francisco Martinez has gotten at least one hit in ten of his 12 games played for Lakeland so far and brings a .292 average into this series.
RIGHT WITH WRIGHT ... Chad Wright was 5x12 (.417) in the Brevard County series with a double, two runs scored and two runs batted in.
FINDING HIS GROOVE ... John Murrian is 8x22 in his last seven games for a .364 clip with three runs scored and three more driven in.
SLIGH SLADE ... Slade Smith has allowed just one earned run (three total) in his last 12.2 innings over six appearances with 12 strikeouts and two walks.
BE LIKE MIKE ... Michael Torrealba has surrendered one run (that coming in his last outing) in his last five appearances out of the bullpen spanning 5.0 innings with four strikeouts.
WHITHER THE ARMS ... After allowing just one earned run over a span of seven games, Flying Tigers starters have surrendered 18 earned runs in the last six games, including eight in last night’s contest. The bullpen had a streak of 17 games in which they allowed just total of five earned runs, but have been tagged for 12 runs in the last four games.
WRONG DIVISION ... Lakeland finished the first half with a 15-29 record against North Division opponents while posting a 14-8 record against the South Division.
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 1,775-1,631 record entering the second half. 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.
FIRST HALF CHAMPIONS ... Dunedin wrapped up the first half Wednesday afternoon with an 8-4 win over Tampa and is guaranteed a spot in the Florida State League playoffs. In the South Division, Fort Myers clinched a playoff spot way back on June 8.
2014 FSL ALL-STAR GAME ... The Florida State League has awarded the 2014 All-Star Game to Bradenton with the game tentatively scheduled for June 14. Historic McKechnie Field, which will be the site of the 53rd annual game, is home to the Bradenton Marauders, an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The field, which has been in operation for 90 seasons, recently underwent a $10.5-million renovation.
UP NEXT ... Following a short, two-game homestand, Lakeland hits the road for six games, playing June 23-25 in Daytona and June 26-28 in Dunedin.
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