THE SERIES ... Game one of this series will be played at Joker Marchant Stadium on Friday, May 31 at 7:11 p.m. with games two and three played in Tampa on Saturday, June 1 at 6 pm and Sunday, June 2 at 1 pm.
THE FLYING TIGERS (20-32, 6th Place, 10.0 GB) ... Lakeland lost two of three to Dunedin, but is 5-4 its last nine games. The Flying Tigers scored seven runs in the Blue Jays series and has not scored more than eight runs in a game since April 29. A problem of late has been strikeouts as the Flying Tigers have whiffed 36 times in the last four games. Lakeland is 8-20 at home this season and 12-12 on the road.
THE YANKEES (22-29, 5th Place, 7.5 GB) ... Tampa dropped two of three at Dyatona and has now lost five of its last eight games. Gary Sanchez, who has had two hits in a game six times in the last nine, ranks fifth in the Florida State League with 39 runs batted in while Ben Gamel, who has a nine-game hit steak, is tied for third with 17 doubles. Corey Black is second in the league with 63 strikeouts, but also ranks fifth with 24 walks issued while Shane Greene is fifth with 60.2 innings pitched. Tampa is sixth with a .255 team batting average and third with 59 stolen bases. The Yankees pitchers have struck out the most batters of any club in the FSL, but the staff ERA of 4.07 is ninth highest in the FSL. Tampa is consistent, posting an 11-15 record on the road while going 11-14 at home.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS
5/31 - RHP Drew VerHagen (2-3, 3.51 ERA) ... VerHagen has won his last two decisions, including his last start on May 24 at Daytona, working 5.0 innings while allowing two runs on five hits. He has a 2.28 ERA in his last four starts with 10 strikeouts and nine walks. He is 0-2 with a 5.06 ERA in five previous home starts including a loss to Tampa on April 5 after allowing three runs on four hits in 4.1 innings.
6/01 - LHP Kyle Ryan (5-4, 3.32 ERA) ... Ryan has won his last two starts, allowing two runs in each start. In his last outing on May 26 at Daytona, he went 6.0 innings, allowed five hits with a pair of strikeouts and one walk. He is 2-3 with a 4.41 ERA in five road starts this season. Ryan picked up a win against Tampa on April 7 allowing one run on five hits in 5.2 innings.
6/02 - RHP Wilsen Palacios (0-4, 8.84 ERA) ... Palacios is 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA in his last two starts with a no-decision is his last start on May 28 at home versus Daytona. In that game, he gave up two runs on four hits with five strikeouts and four walks. He has 25 punch-outs in his last four starts and is 1-1 with a 5.55 ERA in five previous road games. Palacios worked 4.0 innings in his only previous start against Tampa on April 6, going 4.0 innings with two runs allowed on six hits.
SEASON SERIES ... The Flying Tigers last played Tampa in the season opening series on April 4-7. The Yankees won the first two games, 7-4 and 9-2, while the Flying Tigers took the last two, 8-3 and 3-1.
A SANZ STREAK ... Luis Sanz brings a five-game hit streak into the Tampa series, going 7x17 for a .412 clip.
HAROLD HALTED ... Harold Castro saw his six-game hit streak snapped on Thursday. During the streak, he was 8x23 for a .345 average. Castro has hits in nine of his 12 games played since joining the club on May 10.
BREAKING IN A NEW GLOVE ... Normally an outfielder, Jason Krizan started at first base for Lakeland on May 29 making his first-ever career start at that position. In his first game, he had 13 putouts and made one assist while in his second start, he made 11 putouts.
SLOWED A LITTLE ... Jeff McVaney entered the Dunedin series on a seven-game hit streak (10x30, .333) and had hits in 11 of 12 games for a 14x50 span (.280). However, the Blue Jays, held him to a 1x8 effort at the plate. He is now 15x58 (.259) since May 16.
HOT START ... Steven Moya started the Dunedin series on a tear, getting six hits in six at bats, including two doubles and a triple with two runs scored and three more driven in.
WRIGHT TIME ... Chad Wright has hits in five of his last seven games and is 7x25 for a .280 average during that span.
WELCOME TO THE CLUB ... Josh Carr made his Lakeland debut a memorable one on May 25, tossing 3.2 hitless, shutout innings at Daytona with five strikeouts and zero walks. Brennan Smith pitched for the first time for Lakeland on May 30 against Dunedin and tossed 2.0 scoreless innings with one hit and one strikeout.
THAT’S MORE LIKE IT ... Hudson Randall was 2-2 with a 1.35 ERA in five starts at West Michigan, but found the going a bit rougher in the Florida State League, allowing 19 runs in his first four starts. The old Randall came to pitch on May 30 against Dunedin as the 6’4” righty held the Blue Jays hitless through 6.0 innings facing the minimum 18 batters. Randall set down the first seven batters in order before walking one. He then got the next hitter to ground into a double play and retired the next nine Dunedin players in a row. The luck ran out in the seventh as John Berti singled to ruin the no-hitter. The Blue Jays loaded the bases on an error and a walk before Matt Newman doubled to clear the bases with three unearned runs.
THROWIN’ STRIKES ... Will Clinard has struck out eight batters in his last 10 innings with no walks in his last five appearances.
GROUNDED ... Michael Hernandez has gone hitless in his last five games (0x17) with nine strikeouts ... Patrick Leyland is 4x32 (.125) since May 16 ... Tyler Hanover is 4x24 (.167) his last seven games, but has walked six times in that span ... Brandon Loy is 1x13 his last four games.
DL ADDS ONE ... Aaron Westlake became the latest Flying Tiger to join the walking wounded as he was placed on the disabled list on May 29 where he joins seven other Lakeland players. Taking his roster spot is Jesus Ustariz who joins the club for a second time. Ustariz was on the Lakeland roster from April 23-29, but did not see any action.
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 1,765-1,615 record entering the Tampa 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 Friday’s home game, Lakeland hits the road for seven games, playing at Tampa on June 1-2 and then at St. Lucie on June 3-6 before playing at Tampa once again on June 7.
STREAKING ... Jordan Lennerton put together a 17-game hit streak at AAA Toledo. The former Flying Tiger first baseman was 30x66 for a .455 average from May 11-29 with five doubles and six homers for 18 RBI ... Hernan Perez has an active 13-game hit streak at AA Erie in which the former Lakeland second baseman is 20x54 for a .370 clip with 10 runs scored. He started the streak on May 18.
THE ORGANIZATION ... Detroit (29-23); Toledo (17-38); Erie (31-21); Lakeland (20-32); West Michigan (26-25)
Friday, May 31, 2013
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Mission Notes vs. Dunedin (May 28-30)
THE SERIES ... Lakeland returns home to face the first place Dunedin Blue Jays in a three-game series, May 28-30, with all three games slated for 6:30 p.m. at Joker Marchant Stadium. This will be the first meeting between the two North Division clubs since April 20.
THE FLYING TIGERS (19-30, 6th Place, 9.0 GB) ... Lakeland took two of three at Daytona over the weekend, winning the opening and closing games of the series while the Cubs took the middle game. Overall, the Flying Tigers have won four of their last six games. Lakeland is 7-18 at home, but 12-12 on the road.
THE BLUE JAYS (27-20, 1st Place, 1.0 Game Lead) ... Dunedin dropped two of three to Tampa over the weekend and has gone 7-9 the last 16 games, but still holds on to a 1.0 game lead in the North Division. The Blue Jays are 17-9 at home, but are 10-11 on the road. Andy Burns is third in the Florida State League with a .328 batting average and a .399 on-base percentage while fourth with a .534 slugging percentage. He is also tied for fourth with 57 hits and third with 17 stolen bases. Teammate Jon Berti leads the FSL with 24 stolen bases. Scott Copeland ranks fifth in the league with a 2.49 ERA to go with his 4-1 record while Jesse Hernandez is ninth with a 2.74 earned run average. Blake McFarland is one of three closers in the league with a FSL-best 10 saves.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS
5/28 - RHP Wilsen Palacios (2-4, 4.94 ERA) ... Wilsen Palacios took the loss in his last start on May 21 against Fort Myers, allowing five runs (four earned) on eight hits over 5.0 innings with four strikeouts and two walks. Two of his hits allowed were homers. He is 0-1 against Dunedin, taking the loss on April 12 after allowing four runs on seven hits in 4.0 innings with a pair of strikeouts and four walks. Palacios is 1-3 at home with a 4.30 ERA in four starts.
5/29 - RHP Jeff Ferrell (1-3, 4.41 ERA) ... Jeff Ferrell picked up his first win of the year in his last start on May 22 against Fort Myers, allowing one unearned run on five hits over 6.0 innings with two strikeouts and one walk. He is 0-0 with a 1.80 in two previous appearances including one start. Ferrell is 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA in six home appearances, including four starts.
5/30 - RHP Hudson Randall (0-4, 8.84 ERA) ... Hudson Randall has dropped each of his four starts this season. In his last start on May 23 versus Fort Myers, he allowed four earned runs on 10 hits with five strikeouts and zero walks. He has surrendered four homers this season. Randall is 0-3 with a 10.38 ERA in three previous home starts. He has not faced Dunedin this season.
SEASON SERIES ... Dunedin has won five of the six meetings this seasons, including all three previous games in Lakeland. The lone Lakeland win in the series came on April 14 as the Flying Tigers posted a 2-0 shutout. The last four games in the series have been low-scoring affairs with Dunedin outscoring Lakeland 9-7 over the four contests. The two clubs battled for 12 scoreless innings on April 18 before Dunedin pushed across a run in the top of the 13th for the win.
LOOKING FOR A HOME ... Austin Bibens-Dirkx has seen his share of minor league baseball clubhouses as the Blue Jays are the pitcher’s fifth different organization he has signed with. He was drafted by the Mariners out of college in 2006 and has signed free agent contracts with the Cubs, National, Rockies as well as the Blue Jays. This may be his break as the righty was named the FSL Pitcher of the Week for May 20.
JOLLY JEFF ... Jeff McVaney brings a seven-game hit streak into the Dunedin series in which he is 10x30 (.333) and has hits in 11 of his last 12 games for a 14x50 clip (.280). He has scored nine runs and driven in 10 more runs during that span. McVaney leads the Florida State League with 202 at bats and is tied for second with 49 game played. He has hit five triples which is tied for second most in the league.
I’M WALKIN’ ... Brandon Loy is second in the league with 27 walks, one behind the leader, Zeke DeVoss of Daytona.
WORKHORSE ... Kyle Ryan is tied for the FSL lead with 65.0 innings pitched this season. He has worked 5.2 innings or more in each of his 10 starts this season and three times has worked into the seventh inning.
HAPPY HAROLD ... Harold Castro has hits in his last four games (6x16) with three runs scored and four runs batted in. He has at least one base hits in six of his last seven games (10x25). Of his nine games played this season, only two have come at Joker Marchant Stadium.
ARMS IN THE FSL RANKINGS ... Drew VerHagen is fifth with a .226 opponents batting average ... Will Clinard is fourth with 0.99 walks allowed per nine innings ... Melvin Mercedes is fifth with 8.85 baserunners allowed per nine innings.
STREAK SNAPPED ... Will Clinard saw his streak of 15.2 consecutive scoreless innings snapped on May 26 when the Daytona Cubs pushed across a run. The streak ran over eight appearances.
HOME STREAKER ... Michael Hernandez has hits in eight consecutive home games (11x28) which is the longest active streak in the Florida State League. Thanks in part to the streak, Hernandez is batting .304 in 13 home games this season.
ALMOST PERFECT ... Melvin Mercedes has allowed just one earned run over his 16 appearances this season. He has surrendered just two runs total and now has a 2-0 record, five saves and a 0.44 earned run average.
NOT A COME FROM BEHIND TEAM ... Lakeland is 8-9 in games in which opponents score first for a .471 percentage, lowest in the league. The Flying Tigers are also 5-20 when trailing after five innings, 4-23 after six, 3-26 after seven and 1-25 when trailing after eight innings.
LIFE IN THE MINORS ...When the parent club of an organization holds Extended Spring Training (EST) on the back fields of its stadium, lots of players make the journey back and forth between the practice fields to the Lakeland roster. Such is the case with Jordan Dean. He was added to the Flying Tiger roster on May 2 from EST and was sent back on May 23 to make room for pitcher Josh Carr. Two days later, Dean found himself back on the Flying Tiger roster replacing Dixon Machado who went back on the DL after suffering an injury at Daytona on May 24.
FLURRY OF MOVES ... Lakeland added a new right handed pitcher on Tuesday, welcoming Brennan Smith from West Michigan. Smith, a 33rd round pick in 2010 out of Bowling Green, was the 2011 New York-Penn League Pitcher of the Year and was 2-1 with a 1.23 ERA in 16 appearances (1 start) this year for the Whitecaps. To make room for Smith, RHP Matt Davenport was sent to extended spring. In addition, infielder Jason King was activated from the temporary inactive list and transfered to West Michigan.
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 1,764-1,613 record entering the Daytona 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 Dunedin series, Lakeland closes out May with a Friday night home again against Tampa. The concluding two games of the Yankees series will be played June 1 and 2 in Tampa.
THE FLYING TIGERS (19-30, 6th Place, 9.0 GB) ... Lakeland took two of three at Daytona over the weekend, winning the opening and closing games of the series while the Cubs took the middle game. Overall, the Flying Tigers have won four of their last six games. Lakeland is 7-18 at home, but 12-12 on the road.
THE BLUE JAYS (27-20, 1st Place, 1.0 Game Lead) ... Dunedin dropped two of three to Tampa over the weekend and has gone 7-9 the last 16 games, but still holds on to a 1.0 game lead in the North Division. The Blue Jays are 17-9 at home, but are 10-11 on the road. Andy Burns is third in the Florida State League with a .328 batting average and a .399 on-base percentage while fourth with a .534 slugging percentage. He is also tied for fourth with 57 hits and third with 17 stolen bases. Teammate Jon Berti leads the FSL with 24 stolen bases. Scott Copeland ranks fifth in the league with a 2.49 ERA to go with his 4-1 record while Jesse Hernandez is ninth with a 2.74 earned run average. Blake McFarland is one of three closers in the league with a FSL-best 10 saves.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS
5/28 - RHP Wilsen Palacios (2-4, 4.94 ERA) ... Wilsen Palacios took the loss in his last start on May 21 against Fort Myers, allowing five runs (four earned) on eight hits over 5.0 innings with four strikeouts and two walks. Two of his hits allowed were homers. He is 0-1 against Dunedin, taking the loss on April 12 after allowing four runs on seven hits in 4.0 innings with a pair of strikeouts and four walks. Palacios is 1-3 at home with a 4.30 ERA in four starts.
5/29 - RHP Jeff Ferrell (1-3, 4.41 ERA) ... Jeff Ferrell picked up his first win of the year in his last start on May 22 against Fort Myers, allowing one unearned run on five hits over 6.0 innings with two strikeouts and one walk. He is 0-0 with a 1.80 in two previous appearances including one start. Ferrell is 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA in six home appearances, including four starts.
5/30 - RHP Hudson Randall (0-4, 8.84 ERA) ... Hudson Randall has dropped each of his four starts this season. In his last start on May 23 versus Fort Myers, he allowed four earned runs on 10 hits with five strikeouts and zero walks. He has surrendered four homers this season. Randall is 0-3 with a 10.38 ERA in three previous home starts. He has not faced Dunedin this season.
SEASON SERIES ... Dunedin has won five of the six meetings this seasons, including all three previous games in Lakeland. The lone Lakeland win in the series came on April 14 as the Flying Tigers posted a 2-0 shutout. The last four games in the series have been low-scoring affairs with Dunedin outscoring Lakeland 9-7 over the four contests. The two clubs battled for 12 scoreless innings on April 18 before Dunedin pushed across a run in the top of the 13th for the win.
LOOKING FOR A HOME ... Austin Bibens-Dirkx has seen his share of minor league baseball clubhouses as the Blue Jays are the pitcher’s fifth different organization he has signed with. He was drafted by the Mariners out of college in 2006 and has signed free agent contracts with the Cubs, National, Rockies as well as the Blue Jays. This may be his break as the righty was named the FSL Pitcher of the Week for May 20.
JOLLY JEFF ... Jeff McVaney brings a seven-game hit streak into the Dunedin series in which he is 10x30 (.333) and has hits in 11 of his last 12 games for a 14x50 clip (.280). He has scored nine runs and driven in 10 more runs during that span. McVaney leads the Florida State League with 202 at bats and is tied for second with 49 game played. He has hit five triples which is tied for second most in the league.
I’M WALKIN’ ... Brandon Loy is second in the league with 27 walks, one behind the leader, Zeke DeVoss of Daytona.
WORKHORSE ... Kyle Ryan is tied for the FSL lead with 65.0 innings pitched this season. He has worked 5.2 innings or more in each of his 10 starts this season and three times has worked into the seventh inning.
HAPPY HAROLD ... Harold Castro has hits in his last four games (6x16) with three runs scored and four runs batted in. He has at least one base hits in six of his last seven games (10x25). Of his nine games played this season, only two have come at Joker Marchant Stadium.
ARMS IN THE FSL RANKINGS ... Drew VerHagen is fifth with a .226 opponents batting average ... Will Clinard is fourth with 0.99 walks allowed per nine innings ... Melvin Mercedes is fifth with 8.85 baserunners allowed per nine innings.
STREAK SNAPPED ... Will Clinard saw his streak of 15.2 consecutive scoreless innings snapped on May 26 when the Daytona Cubs pushed across a run. The streak ran over eight appearances.
HOME STREAKER ... Michael Hernandez has hits in eight consecutive home games (11x28) which is the longest active streak in the Florida State League. Thanks in part to the streak, Hernandez is batting .304 in 13 home games this season.
ALMOST PERFECT ... Melvin Mercedes has allowed just one earned run over his 16 appearances this season. He has surrendered just two runs total and now has a 2-0 record, five saves and a 0.44 earned run average.
NOT A COME FROM BEHIND TEAM ... Lakeland is 8-9 in games in which opponents score first for a .471 percentage, lowest in the league. The Flying Tigers are also 5-20 when trailing after five innings, 4-23 after six, 3-26 after seven and 1-25 when trailing after eight innings.
LIFE IN THE MINORS ...When the parent club of an organization holds Extended Spring Training (EST) on the back fields of its stadium, lots of players make the journey back and forth between the practice fields to the Lakeland roster. Such is the case with Jordan Dean. He was added to the Flying Tiger roster on May 2 from EST and was sent back on May 23 to make room for pitcher Josh Carr. Two days later, Dean found himself back on the Flying Tiger roster replacing Dixon Machado who went back on the DL after suffering an injury at Daytona on May 24.
FLURRY OF MOVES ... Lakeland added a new right handed pitcher on Tuesday, welcoming Brennan Smith from West Michigan. Smith, a 33rd round pick in 2010 out of Bowling Green, was the 2011 New York-Penn League Pitcher of the Year and was 2-1 with a 1.23 ERA in 16 appearances (1 start) this year for the Whitecaps. To make room for Smith, RHP Matt Davenport was sent to extended spring. In addition, infielder Jason King was activated from the temporary inactive list and transfered to West Michigan.
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 1,764-1,613 record entering the Daytona 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 Dunedin series, Lakeland closes out May with a Friday night home again against Tampa. The concluding two games of the Yankees series will be played June 1 and 2 in Tampa.
Friday, May 24, 2013
Mission Notes vs. Daytona (May 24-26)
THE SERIES ... Lakeland heads to the east coast for a three-game set May 24-26 at Jackie Robinson Park in Daytona against the Cubs. Friday and Saturday’s game are 7:05 pm starts while Sunday’s game is set for 6:35 pm. All games can be heard on the Cubs website, www.daytonacubs.com.
THE FLYING TIGERS (17-29, 6th Place, 10.0 GB) ... Lakeland is coming off a split of a four-game home series against Fort Myers, which had entered Joker Marchant Stadium with the best record in baseball at 31-11. Jeff McVaney ranks second in the Florida State League with five triples while Brandon Loy is tied for the league lead with 26 walks. The Flying Tigers team batting average of .249 is ninth in the league while the staff ERA of 3.92 ranks seventh. Lakeland has hit 18 triples this season which is tied for second most in the league but has hit the fewest homers (18) of any FSL team. With seven stolen bases allowed to Fort Myers on Thursday, Lakeland is last in the league in stolen bases against efficiency, throwing out 16 of 75 would-be base stealers for a .213 mark.
THE CUBS (23-22, 3rd Place, 3.5 GB) ... Daytona is also coming off a four-game series, splitting a pair of games at Jupiter. The Cubs have now won six of the last eight games. Javier Baez brings a nine-game hit streak into the series in which he is 14x38 (.368) with 10 runs scored while Dustin Geiger has hits in nine of his last 11 games for a 17x37 clip (.459) with seven doubles, a pair of homers and 11 RBI. He is leading the league with 40 RBI and is fourth the FSL with a .325 average. John Andreoli has a league-leading six triples while Baez is third in the FSL with 30 runs scored. The Cubs have the third best team batting average (.262) but the staff ERA of 4.56 is second highest in the FSL. They are tied with Lakeland with 18 triples and have hit 24 round-trippers as a team.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS
5/24 - RHP Drew VerHagen (2-3, 4.68 ERA) ... Drew VerHagen did not factor into the decision in his last start on May 19 against Cubs after holding Daytona to four runs on four hits with three walks and no strikeouts. Those four runs are all he has allowed in his last 18.2 innings over three starts. VerHagen is 0-2 with a 7.36 ERA in two starts against the Cubs this season. He is 1-1 with a 1.06 ERA in three previous road starts.
5/25 - RHP Wilsen Palacios (3-4, 3.44 ERA) ... Wilsen Palacios took the loss in his last start on May 21 against Fort Myers, allowing five runs (four earned) on eight hits over 5.0 innings with four strikeouts and two walks. Two of his hits allowed were homers. He is 1-1 with a 5.55 ERA in five previous road starts. Palacios is 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA in his one previous start against the Cubs in 2013.
5/26 - LHP Kyle Ryan (0-3, 5.34 ERA) ... Kyle Ryan got the win in his last start on May 21 against Fort Myers, holding the Miracle to a pair of solo homers in 6.2 inning with five strikeouts and two walks. He is 3-1 with a 2.23 ERA in five starts at home, but 1-3 with a 4.73 in four road starts. Ryan, who has a 3.71 ERA in May, has not faced the Cubs in 2013.
SEASON SERIES ... Daytona has had Lakeland’s number so far this season, taking eight the nine previous meetings. The last six games in the series have been played in Lakeland. The Cubs have a lofty .301 team batting average in the series and have outscored Lakeland 53-32 in the nine games.
GEIGER COUNTER ... Dustin Geiger has blistered Flying Tigers pitching for a .472 average in the nine games, going 17x35 with five doubles, a triple, a homer and 11 RBI. In the recent four-game series in Lakeland, the Cubs’ first baseman was 10x16 with five doubles, a triple and a homer for six RBI and four runs scored cementing his Florida State League Player Award for the week ending May 19.
WASN’T ACTING ALONE ... Dustin Geiger wasn’t the only Cubs player that had an outstanding series against Lakeland last week. Jorge Soler went 9x17 with four runs scored while Javier Baez was 7x17 with six runs scored.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS ... The Flying Tigers are 7-18 at home this season and 10-11 on the road ... Lakeland has been involved in 11 game decided by one run and have lost eight of them ... The Flying Tigers are 14-5 when having more hits than their opponent and 2-18 when outhit. They are 1-6 when having the same number of hits as their opponent ... Lakeland has scored three or fewer runs in 25 of the 46 games played this season.
NOT WAY TO END THE WEEK ... Lakeland is a combined 3-19 in games played on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The Flying Tigers are 1-7 on Thursdays, 0-7 on Fridays and 2-5 on Saturday. Conversely, they are 7-4 to start the week with a 4-2 record on Sunday and a 3-2 mark on Monday.
BE LIKE MIKE ... Michael Hernandez has hits in seven straight games (9x24, .375) and 11 of his last 12 contests (15x43, .349). He is hitting .400 (14x35) versus left handers, but just .190 (11x58) against righties.
ROAD WARRIORS ... Jason Krizan hits 59 points higher in road games than at home (.313 vs. .254) ... Brandon Loy hits 84 points better away from home (.266 vs. .182) ... Aaron Westlake brings his average up 80 points when travelling (.333 vs. .253) ... Chad Wright bats 40 points better on the road than at home (.283 vs. .244) ... As a team, Lakeland has a .257 average on the road with 11 homers and 96 runs scored. At home, the production dips to .243 with 7 homers and 79 runs scored.
THE OLD NEW GUYS ... Lakeland welcomed one alum and one player off the DL since the last series. Joining the Flying Tigers once again is shortstop Dixon Machado who is recovering from a hamstring injury that has sidelined him at AA Erie all season. Machado played the entire 2012 season with the FSL Champion Flying Tigers and has hits in each of the three games played so far. Coming off the disabled list is Steven Moya who has been out since suffering an injury on April 10. Moya is 4x9 in his two games back off the DL. To make room for Machado, Harold Castro was sent back to Extended Spring Training while a spot for Moya opened up when pitcher Jade Todd was placed on the disabled list.
THE NEW, NEW GUY ... The Flying Tigers also welcomed a new player to the team on Thursday as right handed pitcher Josh Carr was added to the roster from Extended Spring Training (EST). An opening was created when infielder Jordan Dean was sent back to EST. Carr was a 28th round draft pick of Detroit in 2012 out of Kennesaw State College. He was 5-2 with a 2.70 ERA in 15 appearances (six starts) last season in the Gulf Coast League.
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 1,762-1,612 record entering the Daytona 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 ... After taking Memorial Day off, the Flying Tigers return home to Joker Marchant Stadium on May 28-30 to face Dunedin for three games and then host Tampa on May 31 in a single game.
HOMEGROWN TALENT... So far in 2013, four position players that once played for the Flying Tigers have played for Detroit (Andy Dirks, Omar Infante, Don Kelly and Ramon Santiago) while six pitchers (Rick Porcello, Luke Putkonen, Bruce Rondon, Drew Smyly, Justin Verlander, and Brayan Villarreal) once toiled in Lakeland.
THE FLYING TIGERS (17-29, 6th Place, 10.0 GB) ... Lakeland is coming off a split of a four-game home series against Fort Myers, which had entered Joker Marchant Stadium with the best record in baseball at 31-11. Jeff McVaney ranks second in the Florida State League with five triples while Brandon Loy is tied for the league lead with 26 walks. The Flying Tigers team batting average of .249 is ninth in the league while the staff ERA of 3.92 ranks seventh. Lakeland has hit 18 triples this season which is tied for second most in the league but has hit the fewest homers (18) of any FSL team. With seven stolen bases allowed to Fort Myers on Thursday, Lakeland is last in the league in stolen bases against efficiency, throwing out 16 of 75 would-be base stealers for a .213 mark.
THE CUBS (23-22, 3rd Place, 3.5 GB) ... Daytona is also coming off a four-game series, splitting a pair of games at Jupiter. The Cubs have now won six of the last eight games. Javier Baez brings a nine-game hit streak into the series in which he is 14x38 (.368) with 10 runs scored while Dustin Geiger has hits in nine of his last 11 games for a 17x37 clip (.459) with seven doubles, a pair of homers and 11 RBI. He is leading the league with 40 RBI and is fourth the FSL with a .325 average. John Andreoli has a league-leading six triples while Baez is third in the FSL with 30 runs scored. The Cubs have the third best team batting average (.262) but the staff ERA of 4.56 is second highest in the FSL. They are tied with Lakeland with 18 triples and have hit 24 round-trippers as a team.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS
5/24 - RHP Drew VerHagen (2-3, 4.68 ERA) ... Drew VerHagen did not factor into the decision in his last start on May 19 against Cubs after holding Daytona to four runs on four hits with three walks and no strikeouts. Those four runs are all he has allowed in his last 18.2 innings over three starts. VerHagen is 0-2 with a 7.36 ERA in two starts against the Cubs this season. He is 1-1 with a 1.06 ERA in three previous road starts.
5/25 - RHP Wilsen Palacios (3-4, 3.44 ERA) ... Wilsen Palacios took the loss in his last start on May 21 against Fort Myers, allowing five runs (four earned) on eight hits over 5.0 innings with four strikeouts and two walks. Two of his hits allowed were homers. He is 1-1 with a 5.55 ERA in five previous road starts. Palacios is 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA in his one previous start against the Cubs in 2013.
5/26 - LHP Kyle Ryan (0-3, 5.34 ERA) ... Kyle Ryan got the win in his last start on May 21 against Fort Myers, holding the Miracle to a pair of solo homers in 6.2 inning with five strikeouts and two walks. He is 3-1 with a 2.23 ERA in five starts at home, but 1-3 with a 4.73 in four road starts. Ryan, who has a 3.71 ERA in May, has not faced the Cubs in 2013.
SEASON SERIES ... Daytona has had Lakeland’s number so far this season, taking eight the nine previous meetings. The last six games in the series have been played in Lakeland. The Cubs have a lofty .301 team batting average in the series and have outscored Lakeland 53-32 in the nine games.
GEIGER COUNTER ... Dustin Geiger has blistered Flying Tigers pitching for a .472 average in the nine games, going 17x35 with five doubles, a triple, a homer and 11 RBI. In the recent four-game series in Lakeland, the Cubs’ first baseman was 10x16 with five doubles, a triple and a homer for six RBI and four runs scored cementing his Florida State League Player Award for the week ending May 19.
WASN’T ACTING ALONE ... Dustin Geiger wasn’t the only Cubs player that had an outstanding series against Lakeland last week. Jorge Soler went 9x17 with four runs scored while Javier Baez was 7x17 with six runs scored.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS ... The Flying Tigers are 7-18 at home this season and 10-11 on the road ... Lakeland has been involved in 11 game decided by one run and have lost eight of them ... The Flying Tigers are 14-5 when having more hits than their opponent and 2-18 when outhit. They are 1-6 when having the same number of hits as their opponent ... Lakeland has scored three or fewer runs in 25 of the 46 games played this season.
NOT WAY TO END THE WEEK ... Lakeland is a combined 3-19 in games played on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The Flying Tigers are 1-7 on Thursdays, 0-7 on Fridays and 2-5 on Saturday. Conversely, they are 7-4 to start the week with a 4-2 record on Sunday and a 3-2 mark on Monday.
BE LIKE MIKE ... Michael Hernandez has hits in seven straight games (9x24, .375) and 11 of his last 12 contests (15x43, .349). He is hitting .400 (14x35) versus left handers, but just .190 (11x58) against righties.
ROAD WARRIORS ... Jason Krizan hits 59 points higher in road games than at home (.313 vs. .254) ... Brandon Loy hits 84 points better away from home (.266 vs. .182) ... Aaron Westlake brings his average up 80 points when travelling (.333 vs. .253) ... Chad Wright bats 40 points better on the road than at home (.283 vs. .244) ... As a team, Lakeland has a .257 average on the road with 11 homers and 96 runs scored. At home, the production dips to .243 with 7 homers and 79 runs scored.
THE OLD NEW GUYS ... Lakeland welcomed one alum and one player off the DL since the last series. Joining the Flying Tigers once again is shortstop Dixon Machado who is recovering from a hamstring injury that has sidelined him at AA Erie all season. Machado played the entire 2012 season with the FSL Champion Flying Tigers and has hits in each of the three games played so far. Coming off the disabled list is Steven Moya who has been out since suffering an injury on April 10. Moya is 4x9 in his two games back off the DL. To make room for Machado, Harold Castro was sent back to Extended Spring Training while a spot for Moya opened up when pitcher Jade Todd was placed on the disabled list.
THE NEW, NEW GUY ... The Flying Tigers also welcomed a new player to the team on Thursday as right handed pitcher Josh Carr was added to the roster from Extended Spring Training (EST). An opening was created when infielder Jordan Dean was sent back to EST. Carr was a 28th round draft pick of Detroit in 2012 out of Kennesaw State College. He was 5-2 with a 2.70 ERA in 15 appearances (six starts) last season in the Gulf Coast League.
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 1,762-1,612 record entering the Daytona 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 ... After taking Memorial Day off, the Flying Tigers return home to Joker Marchant Stadium on May 28-30 to face Dunedin for three games and then host Tampa on May 31 in a single game.
HOMEGROWN TALENT... So far in 2013, four position players that once played for the Flying Tigers have played for Detroit (Andy Dirks, Omar Infante, Don Kelly and Ramon Santiago) while six pitchers (Rick Porcello, Luke Putkonen, Bruce Rondon, Drew Smyly, Justin Verlander, and Brayan Villarreal) once toiled in Lakeland.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Mission Notes vs. Fort Myers (May 20-23)
THE SERIES ... The Miracle come to Joker Marchant Stadium for a four-game series, May 20-23. Games 1, 3 and 4 are slated for 6:30 p.m. with Tuesday’s game (May 21) scheduled for a 10:30 a.m. start in the second Education Day Game of the year.
THE FLYING TIGERS (15-27, 6th Place North, 10.0 GB) ... Lakeland is looking to snap a five-game losing streak after being swept in four games by Daytona. The Flying Tigers have now lost 13 of their last 17 games and are 5-16 at home. Lakeland’s team batting average of .246 is now the second lowest in the league while the 164 runs scored by the Flying Tigers ranks fourth fewest. The staff ERA of 3.99 is fifth highest in the FSL.
THE MIRACLE (31-11, 1st Place South, 6.5 Game Lead) ... Fort Myers brings the best record in baseball into this series, but ironically, was shut out in yesterday’s game by Charlotte, 2-0. The Miracle began the 2013 season by winning its first 12 games and were 23-4 on May 3. Since then, they have gone 8-7. Fort Myers has won nine of their series so far this season with sweeps in five of those. Only Palm Beach has won a series this season versus Fort Myers while Tampa and Dunedin have gained splits. The Miracle are second in the league in batting (.281) trailing Clearwater by one point. The team also leads the FSL in runs scored (230) and home runs (36 – seven more than the second place team). The staff ERA of 3.26 ranks third.
BEST IN THE FSL ... No surprise that the Miracle have the top hitter in the league in Miguel Sano who tops all Florida State League players with a .354 batting average, 11 homers, .448 on base percentage, 99 total bases, .673 slugging percentage, and 37 runs scored). Fort Myers also has the league’s top pitcher in DJ Baxendale who leads with a 6-0 record, a 1.07 earned run average and a 0.77 WHIP (walks and hits allowed per nine innings).
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS
5/20 - RHP Wilsen Palacios (2-3, 4.68 ERA) ... Wilsen Palacios is coming off 6.0 shutout innings in a win over Palm Beach in his last start on May 15. In that game, he struck out a team season-high nine batters and walked two while holding the Cardinals to three hits. Palacios had allowed a combined 11 earned runs in his previous two starts. He has a 1-2 record and a 3.50 in three home starts.
5/21 - LHP Kyle Ryan (3-4, 3.44 ERA) ... Kyle Ryan is winless in three starts in May with a 4.05 ERA. He has gone 7.0 innings in each of his last two outings with 11 strikeouts and four walks while allowing six runs on 12 hits. In his last start on May 16, Ryan gave up four runs on six hits in a loss to Palm Beach.
5/22 - RHP Jeff Ferrell (0-3, 5.34 ERA) ... Jeff Ferrell is looking for his first win of the season. In his last start on May 17 against Daytona, he surrendered three runs on seven hits over 5.0 innings with a pair of strikeouts and four walks. Ferrell began the season in the bullpen where he was 0-1 with a 3.86 earned run average. As a starter, he is 0-2 with a 5.82 ERA.
LAST YEAR ... The two teams split their eight-game series in 2012 with each team winning twice in the other’s ballpark.
INSIDE THE MIRACLE ... Pitcher Tom Stuifbergen played for Team Netherlands in the 2013 World Baseball Classic while outfielder Eddie Rosario played for Team Puerto Rico ... infielder Miguel Sano was ranked No. 1 among Twins prospects by MLB.com entering the 2013 season while Rosario was No. 8 and pitcher Corey Williams No. 16 ... infielder Levi Michael was a first-round pick of the Twins in 2011 out of the University of North Carolina ... Fort Myers manager Doug Mientkiewicz is in his first year as the Miracle’s manager. Mientkiewicz played parts of 12 seasons with seven Major League teams and is one of only five American major league players to win a World Series and an Olympic Gold Medal ... Miracle coach Jim Dwyer played 19 years in the majors with seven teams.
NOT A GOOD MATCH-UP ... Lakeland is 5-16 at home this season while Fort Myers is 15-5 on the road.
ONE MIRACLE FLAW ... The only visible kink in Fort Myers’ armor is behind the plate where Miracle catchers rank 11th in the league with a .243 caught stealing efficiency, throwing out just nine would-be base stealers in 37 attempts.
MIGHTY MIKE ... Michael Hernandez has hits in four straight games (5x14, .357); eight of his last nine (11x33, .333); and ten of his last 12 (14x46, .304). Despite his luck at the plate, he has scored just four runs in that span of 12 games.
SNAPPED ... Jason Krizan saw his six-game hit streak snapped on Sunday in which he was 11x26 (.423). He has hits in 11 of his last 14 games in which he has 19x46 (.413). Krizan has scored just four runs in his last 14 games. On the season, Krizan ranks third in the league with 9.77 plate appearances per strikeout.
DICEY DREW ... Drew VerHagen saw his consecutive scoreless inning streak come to a close on Sunday. He ranks fifth in the league by keeping opponents to just a .222 batting average
WILL THE THRILL ... Will Clinard worked 3.0 shutout innings on May 17 against Daytona, stretching his consecutive scoreless inning streak to 13.2 of relief work dating back to April 23.
NEW CREW MEMBER ... The latest Flying Tiger to join the squad is pitcher Matt Davenport who came up from Extended Spring Training on May 17 to take the roster spot vacated when Ryan Robowski earn a trip to AA Erie. Davenport was a 34th round draft pick of Detroit’s in 2012 out the College of William and Mary where he was the conference pitcher of the Year as a senior.
A MONTH TO FORGET ... So far in the month of May, Lakeland is 4-13. Offensively, the Flying Tigers have hit .229 during the month with Aaron Westlake (.327) and Jason Krizan (.317) leading the way. On the mound, Lakeland posted a 5.01 ERA during the month. In April, Lakeland was 11-14 with a .257 team batting average and a 3.32 ERA.
TRIPLEY GOOD ... Jeff McVaney leads Lakeland with five triples helping the team tie for second in the league with 17 triples, trailing just (guess who?) the Miracle’s total of 19.
IMPROVED DEFENSE ... Lakeland had committed 15 errors in the first seven games of the season. They have had 15 errors in their last 22 games and now ranks fourth in the league with a .977 fielding percentage, just two points behind Fort Myers which ranks third best.
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 1,760-1,606 record entering the Daytona 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 ... Lakeland heads back on the road to once again play Daytona on May 24-26 for the fourth series between the two clubs. After taking a day off, Lakeland returns to Joker Marchant Stadium for three games against Dunedin (May 28-30) and one against Tampa (May 31).
THE FLYING TIGERS (15-27, 6th Place North, 10.0 GB) ... Lakeland is looking to snap a five-game losing streak after being swept in four games by Daytona. The Flying Tigers have now lost 13 of their last 17 games and are 5-16 at home. Lakeland’s team batting average of .246 is now the second lowest in the league while the 164 runs scored by the Flying Tigers ranks fourth fewest. The staff ERA of 3.99 is fifth highest in the FSL.
THE MIRACLE (31-11, 1st Place South, 6.5 Game Lead) ... Fort Myers brings the best record in baseball into this series, but ironically, was shut out in yesterday’s game by Charlotte, 2-0. The Miracle began the 2013 season by winning its first 12 games and were 23-4 on May 3. Since then, they have gone 8-7. Fort Myers has won nine of their series so far this season with sweeps in five of those. Only Palm Beach has won a series this season versus Fort Myers while Tampa and Dunedin have gained splits. The Miracle are second in the league in batting (.281) trailing Clearwater by one point. The team also leads the FSL in runs scored (230) and home runs (36 – seven more than the second place team). The staff ERA of 3.26 ranks third.
BEST IN THE FSL ... No surprise that the Miracle have the top hitter in the league in Miguel Sano who tops all Florida State League players with a .354 batting average, 11 homers, .448 on base percentage, 99 total bases, .673 slugging percentage, and 37 runs scored). Fort Myers also has the league’s top pitcher in DJ Baxendale who leads with a 6-0 record, a 1.07 earned run average and a 0.77 WHIP (walks and hits allowed per nine innings).
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS
5/20 - RHP Wilsen Palacios (2-3, 4.68 ERA) ... Wilsen Palacios is coming off 6.0 shutout innings in a win over Palm Beach in his last start on May 15. In that game, he struck out a team season-high nine batters and walked two while holding the Cardinals to three hits. Palacios had allowed a combined 11 earned runs in his previous two starts. He has a 1-2 record and a 3.50 in three home starts.
5/21 - LHP Kyle Ryan (3-4, 3.44 ERA) ... Kyle Ryan is winless in three starts in May with a 4.05 ERA. He has gone 7.0 innings in each of his last two outings with 11 strikeouts and four walks while allowing six runs on 12 hits. In his last start on May 16, Ryan gave up four runs on six hits in a loss to Palm Beach.
5/22 - RHP Jeff Ferrell (0-3, 5.34 ERA) ... Jeff Ferrell is looking for his first win of the season. In his last start on May 17 against Daytona, he surrendered three runs on seven hits over 5.0 innings with a pair of strikeouts and four walks. Ferrell began the season in the bullpen where he was 0-1 with a 3.86 earned run average. As a starter, he is 0-2 with a 5.82 ERA.
LAST YEAR ... The two teams split their eight-game series in 2012 with each team winning twice in the other’s ballpark.
INSIDE THE MIRACLE ... Pitcher Tom Stuifbergen played for Team Netherlands in the 2013 World Baseball Classic while outfielder Eddie Rosario played for Team Puerto Rico ... infielder Miguel Sano was ranked No. 1 among Twins prospects by MLB.com entering the 2013 season while Rosario was No. 8 and pitcher Corey Williams No. 16 ... infielder Levi Michael was a first-round pick of the Twins in 2011 out of the University of North Carolina ... Fort Myers manager Doug Mientkiewicz is in his first year as the Miracle’s manager. Mientkiewicz played parts of 12 seasons with seven Major League teams and is one of only five American major league players to win a World Series and an Olympic Gold Medal ... Miracle coach Jim Dwyer played 19 years in the majors with seven teams.
NOT A GOOD MATCH-UP ... Lakeland is 5-16 at home this season while Fort Myers is 15-5 on the road.
ONE MIRACLE FLAW ... The only visible kink in Fort Myers’ armor is behind the plate where Miracle catchers rank 11th in the league with a .243 caught stealing efficiency, throwing out just nine would-be base stealers in 37 attempts.
MIGHTY MIKE ... Michael Hernandez has hits in four straight games (5x14, .357); eight of his last nine (11x33, .333); and ten of his last 12 (14x46, .304). Despite his luck at the plate, he has scored just four runs in that span of 12 games.
SNAPPED ... Jason Krizan saw his six-game hit streak snapped on Sunday in which he was 11x26 (.423). He has hits in 11 of his last 14 games in which he has 19x46 (.413). Krizan has scored just four runs in his last 14 games. On the season, Krizan ranks third in the league with 9.77 plate appearances per strikeout.
DICEY DREW ... Drew VerHagen saw his consecutive scoreless inning streak come to a close on Sunday. He ranks fifth in the league by keeping opponents to just a .222 batting average
WILL THE THRILL ... Will Clinard worked 3.0 shutout innings on May 17 against Daytona, stretching his consecutive scoreless inning streak to 13.2 of relief work dating back to April 23.
NEW CREW MEMBER ... The latest Flying Tiger to join the squad is pitcher Matt Davenport who came up from Extended Spring Training on May 17 to take the roster spot vacated when Ryan Robowski earn a trip to AA Erie. Davenport was a 34th round draft pick of Detroit’s in 2012 out the College of William and Mary where he was the conference pitcher of the Year as a senior.
A MONTH TO FORGET ... So far in the month of May, Lakeland is 4-13. Offensively, the Flying Tigers have hit .229 during the month with Aaron Westlake (.327) and Jason Krizan (.317) leading the way. On the mound, Lakeland posted a 5.01 ERA during the month. In April, Lakeland was 11-14 with a .257 team batting average and a 3.32 ERA.
TRIPLEY GOOD ... Jeff McVaney leads Lakeland with five triples helping the team tie for second in the league with 17 triples, trailing just (guess who?) the Miracle’s total of 19.
IMPROVED DEFENSE ... Lakeland had committed 15 errors in the first seven games of the season. They have had 15 errors in their last 22 games and now ranks fourth in the league with a .977 fielding percentage, just two points behind Fort Myers which ranks third best.
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 1,760-1,606 record entering the Daytona 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 ... Lakeland heads back on the road to once again play Daytona on May 24-26 for the fourth series between the two clubs. After taking a day off, Lakeland returns to Joker Marchant Stadium for three games against Dunedin (May 28-30) and one against Tampa (May 31).
Friday, May 17, 2013
Mission Notes vs. Daytona (May 17-19)
THE SERIES ... Lakeland returns home for the third seven-day home-stand of the season, this time opening by hosting the Daytona Cubs for four games. The series opens Friday, May 17 with a doubleheader at 5 pm which will make up a rained out game from May 3. Game two is Saturday, May 18 at 6 pm with the series finale Sunday, May 19 at 1 pm. All four games can be heard on the Cubs’ website, www.daytonacubs.com.
THE FLYING TIGERS (15-23, T-5th Place, 7.5 GB) ... Lakeland is coming off a split of a four-game series with Palm Beach winning the middle two games and the Cardinals taking the opening and closing games. Both teams won their two games by matching 11-2 combined scores. Lakeland has also split its last eight games. The Flying Tigers have dipped to 10th with a .251 team batting average while the staff ERA of 3.84 ranks sixth in the league. Lakeland has scored the second fewest runs (150) of any league team but have allowed the fifth fewest runs (166).
THE CUBS (17-20, 4th Place 5.0 GB) ... The Cubs are looking to get back on the winning side of the ledger after being swept by Charlotte in four home games. Daytona has now lost eight of the last nine games dating back to May 5. John Andreoli is tenth in the Florida State League with a .321 average and fourth with a .412 slugging percentage while leading with five triples. Dustin Geiger is fifth in the league with 30 RBI while Zeke DeVoss has a league-high 24 walks. The Cubs team batting average of .254 is slightly higher than the Flying Tigers and is one slot higher on the league rankings. Daytona’s staff ERA of 4.80 is highest in the FSL. With 177 runs as a team, Daytona is tied for fifth most scored in the league but have allowed the fourth most runs (191).
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS
5/17 - RHP Jeff Ferrell (0-2, 5.32 ERA) and TBA ... Jeff Ferrell is aiming for his first win of the season while making his fifth start. He has had an up and down run as a starter allowing one run in starts one and three and a combined nine runs in starts two and four. In his last start on May 11 against Clearwater, he struck out five in 4.0 innings, but allowed four runs on eight hits. Ferrell took the loss to the Cubs on April 26 giving up five runs on seven hits in 4.2 innings. He struck out four and walked two in that game.
5/18 - RHP Hudson Randall (0-2, 11.88 ERA) ... Hudson Randall is looking to regain his groove he had at West Michigan where he was 2-2 with a 1.35 ERA. In two starts with the Flying Tigers, he has surrendered 11 earned runs on 15 hits over 8.1 innings. In his last start on May 13 at Palm Beach, he gave up five runs – four earned – on seven hits in 6.1 innings. He is facing Daytona for the first time.
5/19 - RHP Drew VerHagen (0-3, 3.69 ERA) ... Drew VerHagen picked up his first professional win in his last start on May 14, working 6.0 scoreless innings while holding Palm Beach to two hits on four strikeouts. VerHagen began the game by retiring the first 11 Cardinals in order and has now not allowed a run in his last 12.2 innings. VerHagen was tagged with the loss to the Cubs on May 2 after surrendering six runs – five earned – on eight hits in 5.0 innings. In that game, he punched out five and issued one free pass.
THIS YEAR ... Daytona has owned the season series so far, winning four of the five previous meetings, including an 11-4 win in the last match-up on May 4 in Lakeland and have outscored the Flying Tigers 30-18 in the series. Lakeland has batted .250 in the five games in the series with three homers while Flying Tiger pitchers have a 5.65 ERA. Daytona is hitting .305 with four homers while the pitching staff has a 3.40 ERA.
STANDOUT STARTS ... Lakeland won its two games in the Palm Beach series behind great starting pitching. On May 14, Drew VerHagen worked six shutout innings with four strikeouts and two hits allowed. The next night, May 15, Wilsen Palacios matched the effort with six scoreless innings of his own while striking out a team-high nine batters while holding the Cardinals to three hits.
HOME, SWEET HOME? ... Lakeland doesn’t exactly have a home-field advantage this season, posting just a 5-12 record at Joker Marchant Stadium.
ALA-KRIZAN ... Jason Krizan has been a magician at the plate in the last few games, going 7x14 (.500) with three doubles the last three games and 13x33 (.394) since May 8.
OH BOY, LOY ... Brandon Loy is 10x26 his last eight games for a .385 average with three runs scored. Loy saw had a seven-game hit streak snapped on May 16. During the streak, the Flying Tigers infielder was 10x23 and has had hits in 12 of his last 15 games. Loy also ranks second in the FSL with 23 walks.
McVANEY FIELDS HIS POSITION ... Outfielder Jeff McVaney leads all Florida State League outfielders with 90 total fielding chances.
LEYLAND TAKES OVER AT FIRST ... With Aaron Westlake missing the last few games with an injury, Patrick Leyland has moved from behind the plate to take over at first base. Westlake left the May 11 game with an undisclosed ailment with Leyland handling the first sack since. Leyland has handled 30 chances at first with just one error.
GROUNDED ... Luis Sanz, who has taken over behind the plate, has one hit in his last 18 at bats and is 3x33 since May 5.
WILL FITS THE BILL ... Reliever Will Clinard has not allowed a run in his last 10.2 innings over six appearances recording a win and two saves.
HE’S HUMAN ... Melvin Mercedes finally allowed a run as the Palm Beach Cardinals touched the Flying Tigers reliever for a solo score on May 15. The tally snapped a streak of 14.1 scoreless innings and 11 appearances without a run allowed by Mercedes.
NICE TURNAROUND ... On May 9, Wilsen Palacios allowed a season-high seven runs against Clearwater. In his next start on May 15, the 6’3” righty rebounded, tossing 6.0 scoreless innings at Palm Beach on a season-low three hits allowed. In the May 15 start, Palacios struck out a team-best nine batters while issuing two free passes.
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 1,760-1,606 record entering the Daytona 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 will take on Fort Myers for four home games May 20-23. At 29-10, the Miracle own pro baseball’s best record.
COLLINS LEADS ‘EM ALL ... Former Flying Tiger Tyler Collins has hit eight homers so far this season at AA Erie and is tied for the most among all of Detroit’s minor league players. His 26 runs batted in is tops in the organization as well. Two other Lakeland alums, Erie’s Daniel Fields and AAA Toledo’s Ben Guez are tied for third with five round trippers.
ALUMNI ARMS ... Erie’s Victor Larez is tied for the organizational lead with five wins while Bruce Rondon, now back with the big club, has an organizational-best eight saves in nine opportunities.
THE FLYING TIGERS (15-23, T-5th Place, 7.5 GB) ... Lakeland is coming off a split of a four-game series with Palm Beach winning the middle two games and the Cardinals taking the opening and closing games. Both teams won their two games by matching 11-2 combined scores. Lakeland has also split its last eight games. The Flying Tigers have dipped to 10th with a .251 team batting average while the staff ERA of 3.84 ranks sixth in the league. Lakeland has scored the second fewest runs (150) of any league team but have allowed the fifth fewest runs (166).
THE CUBS (17-20, 4th Place 5.0 GB) ... The Cubs are looking to get back on the winning side of the ledger after being swept by Charlotte in four home games. Daytona has now lost eight of the last nine games dating back to May 5. John Andreoli is tenth in the Florida State League with a .321 average and fourth with a .412 slugging percentage while leading with five triples. Dustin Geiger is fifth in the league with 30 RBI while Zeke DeVoss has a league-high 24 walks. The Cubs team batting average of .254 is slightly higher than the Flying Tigers and is one slot higher on the league rankings. Daytona’s staff ERA of 4.80 is highest in the FSL. With 177 runs as a team, Daytona is tied for fifth most scored in the league but have allowed the fourth most runs (191).
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS
5/17 - RHP Jeff Ferrell (0-2, 5.32 ERA) and TBA ... Jeff Ferrell is aiming for his first win of the season while making his fifth start. He has had an up and down run as a starter allowing one run in starts one and three and a combined nine runs in starts two and four. In his last start on May 11 against Clearwater, he struck out five in 4.0 innings, but allowed four runs on eight hits. Ferrell took the loss to the Cubs on April 26 giving up five runs on seven hits in 4.2 innings. He struck out four and walked two in that game.
5/18 - RHP Hudson Randall (0-2, 11.88 ERA) ... Hudson Randall is looking to regain his groove he had at West Michigan where he was 2-2 with a 1.35 ERA. In two starts with the Flying Tigers, he has surrendered 11 earned runs on 15 hits over 8.1 innings. In his last start on May 13 at Palm Beach, he gave up five runs – four earned – on seven hits in 6.1 innings. He is facing Daytona for the first time.
5/19 - RHP Drew VerHagen (0-3, 3.69 ERA) ... Drew VerHagen picked up his first professional win in his last start on May 14, working 6.0 scoreless innings while holding Palm Beach to two hits on four strikeouts. VerHagen began the game by retiring the first 11 Cardinals in order and has now not allowed a run in his last 12.2 innings. VerHagen was tagged with the loss to the Cubs on May 2 after surrendering six runs – five earned – on eight hits in 5.0 innings. In that game, he punched out five and issued one free pass.
THIS YEAR ... Daytona has owned the season series so far, winning four of the five previous meetings, including an 11-4 win in the last match-up on May 4 in Lakeland and have outscored the Flying Tigers 30-18 in the series. Lakeland has batted .250 in the five games in the series with three homers while Flying Tiger pitchers have a 5.65 ERA. Daytona is hitting .305 with four homers while the pitching staff has a 3.40 ERA.
STANDOUT STARTS ... Lakeland won its two games in the Palm Beach series behind great starting pitching. On May 14, Drew VerHagen worked six shutout innings with four strikeouts and two hits allowed. The next night, May 15, Wilsen Palacios matched the effort with six scoreless innings of his own while striking out a team-high nine batters while holding the Cardinals to three hits.
HOME, SWEET HOME? ... Lakeland doesn’t exactly have a home-field advantage this season, posting just a 5-12 record at Joker Marchant Stadium.
ALA-KRIZAN ... Jason Krizan has been a magician at the plate in the last few games, going 7x14 (.500) with three doubles the last three games and 13x33 (.394) since May 8.
OH BOY, LOY ... Brandon Loy is 10x26 his last eight games for a .385 average with three runs scored. Loy saw had a seven-game hit streak snapped on May 16. During the streak, the Flying Tigers infielder was 10x23 and has had hits in 12 of his last 15 games. Loy also ranks second in the FSL with 23 walks.
McVANEY FIELDS HIS POSITION ... Outfielder Jeff McVaney leads all Florida State League outfielders with 90 total fielding chances.
LEYLAND TAKES OVER AT FIRST ... With Aaron Westlake missing the last few games with an injury, Patrick Leyland has moved from behind the plate to take over at first base. Westlake left the May 11 game with an undisclosed ailment with Leyland handling the first sack since. Leyland has handled 30 chances at first with just one error.
GROUNDED ... Luis Sanz, who has taken over behind the plate, has one hit in his last 18 at bats and is 3x33 since May 5.
WILL FITS THE BILL ... Reliever Will Clinard has not allowed a run in his last 10.2 innings over six appearances recording a win and two saves.
HE’S HUMAN ... Melvin Mercedes finally allowed a run as the Palm Beach Cardinals touched the Flying Tigers reliever for a solo score on May 15. The tally snapped a streak of 14.1 scoreless innings and 11 appearances without a run allowed by Mercedes.
NICE TURNAROUND ... On May 9, Wilsen Palacios allowed a season-high seven runs against Clearwater. In his next start on May 15, the 6’3” righty rebounded, tossing 6.0 scoreless innings at Palm Beach on a season-low three hits allowed. In the May 15 start, Palacios struck out a team-best nine batters while issuing two free passes.
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 1,760-1,606 record entering the Daytona 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 will take on Fort Myers for four home games May 20-23. At 29-10, the Miracle own pro baseball’s best record.
COLLINS LEADS ‘EM ALL ... Former Flying Tiger Tyler Collins has hit eight homers so far this season at AA Erie and is tied for the most among all of Detroit’s minor league players. His 26 runs batted in is tops in the organization as well. Two other Lakeland alums, Erie’s Daniel Fields and AAA Toledo’s Ben Guez are tied for third with five round trippers.
ALUMNI ARMS ... Erie’s Victor Larez is tied for the organizational lead with five wins while Bruce Rondon, now back with the big club, has an organizational-best eight saves in nine opportunities.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Mission Notes vs. Palm Beach (May 13-16)
THE SERIES ... After taking Mothers Day off, Lakeland continues its road trip with four games at Roger Dean Stadium against the Palm Beach Cardinals on May 13-16. The first three games are at 6:35 p.m. with the series finale on Thursday, May 16 getting underway at 10:35 a.m.
THE FLYING TIGERS (13-21, 6th Place, 7.5 GB) ... After closing out April with four straight wins, Lakeland has lost seven of its last nine games after droping two of three at Clearwater. Run production has been the big key as the Flying Tigers have been held to three or less runs in five of the last seven games. Key base hits have plagued Lakeland as well, as the Flying Tigers had 28 hits in the Clearwater series, but stranded 26 baserunners in the three games. Lakeland’s team batting average of .253 ranks ninth in the league while the staff ERA of 3.92 ranks seventh.
THE CARDINALS (15-20, 4th Place 12.0 GB) ... Palm Beach comes into this series with an unexpected two days off as the club was rained out on Saturday and the entire FSL took Mothers day off. The Cardinals snapped a five-game losing streak with a 7-3 win over St. Lucie in their last game on May 10. Overall, Palm Beach has lost 11 of its last 13 games. Stephen Piscotty leads the Cardinals with a .317 average including a team-best seven homers while Danny Stienstra is second with a .309 mark. Stienstra brings an eight-game hit streak into the series in which he is 12x30 for a .400 pace. Tim Cooney is 3-3 and has a 2.75 ERA to rank 10th in the FSL. Palm Beach’s .260 batting average is fifth in the league while the staff ERA of 4.30 is third highest in the league.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS
5/13 - RHP Hudson Randall (0-1, 13.50 ERA) ... Randall got a rude welcome to the FSL getting tagged for seven runs on eights hits in just 2.0 innings in his first start on May 7. Randall brought a 2-2 record and a 1.35 ERA in five starts from West Michigan.
5/14 - RHP Drew VerHagen (0-3, 3.69 ERA) ... VerHagen had a good chance for his first win in his last start on May 8 against Jupiter, tossing 6.2 scoreless innings, leaving the game with a 1-0 lead, but the Cardinals later tied the game at 2-all, before Lakeland won in the bottom of the ninth. VerHagen took the loss in game seven of the 2012 season series against Palm Beach after pitching 3.2 innings and allowing one run on one hit and a pair of walks. Lakeland lost that game 1-0 in seven innings in the opening contest of a doubleheader.
5/15 - RHP Wilsen Palacios (1-3, 5.45 ERA) ... Palacios is coming off his worst start of the season, allowing seven runs on eight hits in 5.0 innings on May 9 against Clearwater. He did strike out seven but did not factor in the decision as Lakeland came back to win 8-7 in 10 innings. Palacios has been roughed up in his last two starts, surrendering 11 earned runs on 12 hits for a 0-1 record and a 9.00 ERA.
5/15 - LHP Kyle Ryan (0-2, 4.58 ERA) ... Ryan allowed just three runs on three hits in his last start on May 5 against Jupiter with four strikeouts and three walks and was saddled with the loss. In his last four starts, he is 2-1 with a 2.03 earned run average. In four home starts, Ryan has a 2-1 record and a 2.10 ERA. Almost half of his runs allowed (six of 14) have come in the first inning.
LAST YEAR ... The Flying Tigers took the season series in 2012 winning five of the eight games played. The two clubs split the series in Lakeland while the Flying Tigers won three of four games in Palm Beach.
CARDINAL FIRST ROUNDER ... Thirdbaseman Stephen Piscotty was St. Louis’ top pick (36th) overall in the first round of the 2012 draft out of Stanford University.
BROKEN WINGS ... The Cardinals entered the weekend with seven of their pitchers on the disabled list.
CLINARD TOSSING BLANKS ... Reliever Will Clinard has not allowed a run in his last five appearances out of the bullpen and has struck out seven over 7.2 innings during that span.
CASTRO MAKES LAKELAND DEBUT ... The newest Flying Tiger finally made his Lakeland debut on May 10 at Clearwater. Harold Castro got the starting nod at second base and responded with one hit in three at bats and scored one run.
BATTLE FOR THE SECOND SACK ... Another newcomer, Jordan Dean is also a second baseman. Dean has had two hits in three games – both doubles, while scoring a pair of runs and stealing a base.
BACK AT IT ... Tyler Hanover, who has also played second base this season, put together a string of five games in which he had two or more hits in each game and then was held hitless in three games. Hanover has snapped back with hits in each of his last four games for a 6x16 clip.
MAKING THE MOST OF THE HITS ... Michael Hernandez, who joined the club on April 25, has been making the most of his base hits as six of his 11 knocks have been for extra bases. He enters the Palm Beach series with five singles, three doubles, a triple and two home runs.
TWO AT A TIME ... Jason Krizan has collected two base hits in three of his last four games for a 6x15 pace and driven in three runs including a game-winning triple in Lakeland’s last home game on May 8.
ALSO WITH SIX HITS ... Brandon Loy has knocked out six hits in his last four games for a 6x12 clip.
POWER ON THE ROAD ... Lakeland has hit just 15 home runs this season – 11 of which have come on the road (only Jupiter and Bradenton – each with 14 – have fewer homers as a team than Lakeland). The Flying Tigers have also scored more runs on the road (83) than at home (54) and hit 20 points better in away games (.263) than at home (.243).
ARMS OF JEKYLL AND HYDE ... One is never quite sure what one gets with the Lakeland pitching staff as or late. On May 7, the Lakeland starter was tagged for seven runs while on May 8, that night’s starter tossed 6.2 shutout innings, but on May 9, Dr. Jekyll returned with seven runs being charged to the starter. The bullpen has had its share of ups and downs as well tossing 5.0 scoreless innings on May 9, but allowing five runs in 4.0 innings on May 11.
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 1,758-1,604 record entering the Cardinals 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 ... Lakeland returns home on May 17 to open their third seven-game homestand of the year. The first series begins May 17 as a 5 p.m. doubleheader against the Daytona Cubs in a make-up of the May 3 rain out. After the Cubs, the Flying Tigers host Fort Myers for four games.
ROUGH SUMMER FOR THE ORGANIZATION ... Of the four Detroit minor league teams currently in action, only Erie at 22-13 has a winning record. Overall, the four clubs have a combined 60-80 record for a .429 percentage – a mark that ranks 28th among all organizations. The Minnesota Twins, thanks in large part to Fort Myers amazing 27-8 record (best in all of baseball), lead all clubs with a 86-57 mark.
THE FLYING TIGERS (13-21, 6th Place, 7.5 GB) ... After closing out April with four straight wins, Lakeland has lost seven of its last nine games after droping two of three at Clearwater. Run production has been the big key as the Flying Tigers have been held to three or less runs in five of the last seven games. Key base hits have plagued Lakeland as well, as the Flying Tigers had 28 hits in the Clearwater series, but stranded 26 baserunners in the three games. Lakeland’s team batting average of .253 ranks ninth in the league while the staff ERA of 3.92 ranks seventh.
THE CARDINALS (15-20, 4th Place 12.0 GB) ... Palm Beach comes into this series with an unexpected two days off as the club was rained out on Saturday and the entire FSL took Mothers day off. The Cardinals snapped a five-game losing streak with a 7-3 win over St. Lucie in their last game on May 10. Overall, Palm Beach has lost 11 of its last 13 games. Stephen Piscotty leads the Cardinals with a .317 average including a team-best seven homers while Danny Stienstra is second with a .309 mark. Stienstra brings an eight-game hit streak into the series in which he is 12x30 for a .400 pace. Tim Cooney is 3-3 and has a 2.75 ERA to rank 10th in the FSL. Palm Beach’s .260 batting average is fifth in the league while the staff ERA of 4.30 is third highest in the league.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS
5/13 - RHP Hudson Randall (0-1, 13.50 ERA) ... Randall got a rude welcome to the FSL getting tagged for seven runs on eights hits in just 2.0 innings in his first start on May 7. Randall brought a 2-2 record and a 1.35 ERA in five starts from West Michigan.
5/14 - RHP Drew VerHagen (0-3, 3.69 ERA) ... VerHagen had a good chance for his first win in his last start on May 8 against Jupiter, tossing 6.2 scoreless innings, leaving the game with a 1-0 lead, but the Cardinals later tied the game at 2-all, before Lakeland won in the bottom of the ninth. VerHagen took the loss in game seven of the 2012 season series against Palm Beach after pitching 3.2 innings and allowing one run on one hit and a pair of walks. Lakeland lost that game 1-0 in seven innings in the opening contest of a doubleheader.
5/15 - RHP Wilsen Palacios (1-3, 5.45 ERA) ... Palacios is coming off his worst start of the season, allowing seven runs on eight hits in 5.0 innings on May 9 against Clearwater. He did strike out seven but did not factor in the decision as Lakeland came back to win 8-7 in 10 innings. Palacios has been roughed up in his last two starts, surrendering 11 earned runs on 12 hits for a 0-1 record and a 9.00 ERA.
5/15 - LHP Kyle Ryan (0-2, 4.58 ERA) ... Ryan allowed just three runs on three hits in his last start on May 5 against Jupiter with four strikeouts and three walks and was saddled with the loss. In his last four starts, he is 2-1 with a 2.03 earned run average. In four home starts, Ryan has a 2-1 record and a 2.10 ERA. Almost half of his runs allowed (six of 14) have come in the first inning.
LAST YEAR ... The Flying Tigers took the season series in 2012 winning five of the eight games played. The two clubs split the series in Lakeland while the Flying Tigers won three of four games in Palm Beach.
CARDINAL FIRST ROUNDER ... Thirdbaseman Stephen Piscotty was St. Louis’ top pick (36th) overall in the first round of the 2012 draft out of Stanford University.
BROKEN WINGS ... The Cardinals entered the weekend with seven of their pitchers on the disabled list.
CLINARD TOSSING BLANKS ... Reliever Will Clinard has not allowed a run in his last five appearances out of the bullpen and has struck out seven over 7.2 innings during that span.
CASTRO MAKES LAKELAND DEBUT ... The newest Flying Tiger finally made his Lakeland debut on May 10 at Clearwater. Harold Castro got the starting nod at second base and responded with one hit in three at bats and scored one run.
BATTLE FOR THE SECOND SACK ... Another newcomer, Jordan Dean is also a second baseman. Dean has had two hits in three games – both doubles, while scoring a pair of runs and stealing a base.
BACK AT IT ... Tyler Hanover, who has also played second base this season, put together a string of five games in which he had two or more hits in each game and then was held hitless in three games. Hanover has snapped back with hits in each of his last four games for a 6x16 clip.
MAKING THE MOST OF THE HITS ... Michael Hernandez, who joined the club on April 25, has been making the most of his base hits as six of his 11 knocks have been for extra bases. He enters the Palm Beach series with five singles, three doubles, a triple and two home runs.
TWO AT A TIME ... Jason Krizan has collected two base hits in three of his last four games for a 6x15 pace and driven in three runs including a game-winning triple in Lakeland’s last home game on May 8.
ALSO WITH SIX HITS ... Brandon Loy has knocked out six hits in his last four games for a 6x12 clip.
POWER ON THE ROAD ... Lakeland has hit just 15 home runs this season – 11 of which have come on the road (only Jupiter and Bradenton – each with 14 – have fewer homers as a team than Lakeland). The Flying Tigers have also scored more runs on the road (83) than at home (54) and hit 20 points better in away games (.263) than at home (.243).
ARMS OF JEKYLL AND HYDE ... One is never quite sure what one gets with the Lakeland pitching staff as or late. On May 7, the Lakeland starter was tagged for seven runs while on May 8, that night’s starter tossed 6.2 shutout innings, but on May 9, Dr. Jekyll returned with seven runs being charged to the starter. The bullpen has had its share of ups and downs as well tossing 5.0 scoreless innings on May 9, but allowing five runs in 4.0 innings on May 11.
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 1,758-1,604 record entering the Cardinals 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 ... Lakeland returns home on May 17 to open their third seven-game homestand of the year. The first series begins May 17 as a 5 p.m. doubleheader against the Daytona Cubs in a make-up of the May 3 rain out. After the Cubs, the Flying Tigers host Fort Myers for four games.
ROUGH SUMMER FOR THE ORGANIZATION ... Of the four Detroit minor league teams currently in action, only Erie at 22-13 has a winning record. Overall, the four clubs have a combined 60-80 record for a .429 percentage – a mark that ranks 28th among all organizations. The Minnesota Twins, thanks in large part to Fort Myers amazing 27-8 record (best in all of baseball), lead all clubs with a 86-57 mark.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Mission Notes vs. Clearwater (May 9-11)
THE SERIES ... After seven straight home games, Lakeland hits the road to play three games at Clearwater May 9-11. Game one is on Thursday at 7 pm with games two and three on Friday and Saturday at 6:30 pm. All games will be played at Bright House Networks Field.
THE FLYING TIGERS (12-19, 6th Place, 7.5 GB) ... Lakeland puts its 7-7 road record on the line with seven away games in the next eight days. The Flying Tigers snapped a five-game losing streak on Wednesday with their first walk-off win of the year. With the score tied at 2-all in the ninth, Jordan Dean led off with a walk while one out later, Jason Krizan tripled to centerfield to score Dean with the winning run. The victory was just the fifth home win of the season for Lakeland. The Flying Tigers have dropped to ninth in the FSL with a .251 average while the team ERA of 3.70 is fifth best.
THE THRESHERS (17-15, 2nd Place 3.0 GB) ... Clearwater is coming off a four-game sweep of Palm Beach and has now won six of their last seven. The Threshers have three hitters in the top ten in the league in Jose Mojica (.370, 3rd); Cameron Perkins (.357, 4th) and Aaron Altherr (.336, 8th). Perkins leads the FSL with 36 hits while Altherr is fourth with 41 hits. Maikel Franco is third with 13 doubles and second with 20 RBI. Thresher batters also rank in the top five in five other offensive categories. Two of the Threshers pitchers rank in the top five in the FSL in earned run average in Gabriel Arias (3-1, 1.24, 2nd) and Perci Garner (3-0, 2.36, 5th). No surprise that the Threshers are the top offensive team in the league with a .285 team average (second in runs scored). However, Clearwater has the third highest staff ERA (4.30) of any league team.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS
5/09 - RHP Wilsen Palacios (1-3, 4.31 ERA) ... Although he allowed just four hits, Palacios gave up four earned runs in 6.0 innings in taking the lost in his last start on May 4 at Daytona with four strikeouts and one walk. This is his fourth road start where he has an 0-1 record and a 5.40 ERA. He took the win on April 22 against Clearwater tossing six shutout innings while checking the Threshers on four hits and a season-high seven strikeouts.
5/10 - LHP Kyle Ryan (3-2, 3.29 ERA) ... Ryan was tagged with the loss in his last start on May 5 at home against Jupiter, surrendering three runs on just three hits with four strikeouts and three walks. In his last four outings, he is 2-1 with a 2.03 earned run average. He got a win on April 23 against Clearwater allowing a pair of earned runs on nine nine hits with three punch outs and no walks in 6.0 innings.
5/11 - RHP Jeff Ferrell (0-2, 4.58 ERA) ... Despite holding Jupiter to just one run on three hits over 5.0 innings, Ferrell did not factor into the decision in his last start on May 6. This is his fourth start after beginning the season in the bullpen where he wa 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA. As a starter, Ferrell is 0-1 with a 4.97 earned run average.
EARLIER THIS YEAR ... The Flying Tigers swept the Threshers in three games on April 21-23 in Lakeland (for three of their five home wins), winning the three games by a combined 22-8 score. In game one, Lakeland trailed 4-0 before scoring five times in the eighth for a 7-4 win. Wilsen Palacios tossed 6.0 shutout innings in game two as the Flying Tigers won 3-1. In the series finale, Lakeland scored six runs in the first inning and Chad Wright hit a pair of triples as the Flying Tigers had a season-high 17 hits in a 12-2 win. The 12 runs was also a season best.
BIG WEEK ... During Lakeland’s recent seven-game homestand, Lakeland drew 11,329 fans for an average of 1,618 per game. The Flying Tigers had draw over 2,000 fans in three of those games, including a season-high crowd of 4,087 for Bright House Networks night on May 4. The first Education Day game of the year on May 7 was attended by 3,526 fans while 2,032 came out to Lakeland City Baseball Day on May 5. Unfortunately, Lakeland is winless in six home games this season in which attendance is 1,000 or more.
RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME ... Jason Krizan came off the bench on Wednesday as a defensive replacement for Chad Wright. In his second at bat, Krizan singled to drive in Lakeland’s second run of the game. In the ninth, he came up to bat with one out and Jordan Dean on first. On a 1-1 pitch, Krizan drove a ball deep to center field for a triple to score Dean with Lakeland’s first walk-off win of the year.
WESTLAKE SWIMMING ALONG ... Aaron Westlake is 7x20 his last five games and has at least one hit in 20 of his last 25 games dating back to April 11 to raise his average 153 points.
FROM THE ‘PEN ... Melvin Mercedes has been touched for just one unearned run this season while posting a 2-0 record with three saves. Will Clinard has not allowed a run in his last four outings and just two in his last 13.2 innings over seven appearances.
BEST NIGHT ... Drew VerHagen tossed 6.2 shutout innings in his last start on May 8 against Jupiter holding the Hammerheads to five hits with four strikeouts and two walks.
ONE AT A TIME ... Jason King has gotten one base hit in seven of his last eight games.
FORMER FLYING TIGER COLLINS NAMED EASTERN LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK ... Last season, Tyler Collins hit seven home runs over the season for Lakeland. Last week, the outfielder slammed six homers as a member of the AA Erie SeaWolves to earn Eastern League Player of the Week honors. In addition to the six round-trippers, Collins hit .348 with 12 runs batted in and twice had two homers in a game.
ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER ON THE DL ... John Murrian became the latest Flying Tigers to suffer the injury bug, heading on the disabled list retroactive to May 2 where he joins six others. Taking his roster spot for just one game was former University of South Florida catcher Drew Longley who came up from Extended Spring Training on May 6 only to be sent back to EST on May 7. The newest Flying Tigers member is infielder Harold Castro, a second baseman up from EST.
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 1,757-1,602 record entering the Jupiter 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 ... After taking Sunday off for Mothers Day, Lakeland continues its week long road trip with four games at Palm Beach, May 13-16.
FORMER FLYING TIGERS EXCELLING AT AA ERIE ... Warick Saupold is sixth in the Eastern League with a 2.50 ERA while Victor Larez is tied for the league league with five wins. Tyler Collins is tied for the Eastern League lead with seven homers and is third with a .552 slugging percentage. Hernan Perez is third in the EL with 12 stolen bases and 40 hits. Daniel Fields is second at Erie with four homers while hitting .274.
ONE STEP AWAY ... At AAA Toledon, Jordan Lennerton is hitting .301 with four homers and 14 RBI and Nick Castellano is batting .230 with three homers and 11 runs batted in. Bruce Rondon has five saves in six opportunities and has not allowed a run in 10 appearances.
THE FLYING TIGERS (12-19, 6th Place, 7.5 GB) ... Lakeland puts its 7-7 road record on the line with seven away games in the next eight days. The Flying Tigers snapped a five-game losing streak on Wednesday with their first walk-off win of the year. With the score tied at 2-all in the ninth, Jordan Dean led off with a walk while one out later, Jason Krizan tripled to centerfield to score Dean with the winning run. The victory was just the fifth home win of the season for Lakeland. The Flying Tigers have dropped to ninth in the FSL with a .251 average while the team ERA of 3.70 is fifth best.
THE THRESHERS (17-15, 2nd Place 3.0 GB) ... Clearwater is coming off a four-game sweep of Palm Beach and has now won six of their last seven. The Threshers have three hitters in the top ten in the league in Jose Mojica (.370, 3rd); Cameron Perkins (.357, 4th) and Aaron Altherr (.336, 8th). Perkins leads the FSL with 36 hits while Altherr is fourth with 41 hits. Maikel Franco is third with 13 doubles and second with 20 RBI. Thresher batters also rank in the top five in five other offensive categories. Two of the Threshers pitchers rank in the top five in the FSL in earned run average in Gabriel Arias (3-1, 1.24, 2nd) and Perci Garner (3-0, 2.36, 5th). No surprise that the Threshers are the top offensive team in the league with a .285 team average (second in runs scored). However, Clearwater has the third highest staff ERA (4.30) of any league team.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS
5/09 - RHP Wilsen Palacios (1-3, 4.31 ERA) ... Although he allowed just four hits, Palacios gave up four earned runs in 6.0 innings in taking the lost in his last start on May 4 at Daytona with four strikeouts and one walk. This is his fourth road start where he has an 0-1 record and a 5.40 ERA. He took the win on April 22 against Clearwater tossing six shutout innings while checking the Threshers on four hits and a season-high seven strikeouts.
5/10 - LHP Kyle Ryan (3-2, 3.29 ERA) ... Ryan was tagged with the loss in his last start on May 5 at home against Jupiter, surrendering three runs on just three hits with four strikeouts and three walks. In his last four outings, he is 2-1 with a 2.03 earned run average. He got a win on April 23 against Clearwater allowing a pair of earned runs on nine nine hits with three punch outs and no walks in 6.0 innings.
5/11 - RHP Jeff Ferrell (0-2, 4.58 ERA) ... Despite holding Jupiter to just one run on three hits over 5.0 innings, Ferrell did not factor into the decision in his last start on May 6. This is his fourth start after beginning the season in the bullpen where he wa 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA. As a starter, Ferrell is 0-1 with a 4.97 earned run average.
EARLIER THIS YEAR ... The Flying Tigers swept the Threshers in three games on April 21-23 in Lakeland (for three of their five home wins), winning the three games by a combined 22-8 score. In game one, Lakeland trailed 4-0 before scoring five times in the eighth for a 7-4 win. Wilsen Palacios tossed 6.0 shutout innings in game two as the Flying Tigers won 3-1. In the series finale, Lakeland scored six runs in the first inning and Chad Wright hit a pair of triples as the Flying Tigers had a season-high 17 hits in a 12-2 win. The 12 runs was also a season best.
BIG WEEK ... During Lakeland’s recent seven-game homestand, Lakeland drew 11,329 fans for an average of 1,618 per game. The Flying Tigers had draw over 2,000 fans in three of those games, including a season-high crowd of 4,087 for Bright House Networks night on May 4. The first Education Day game of the year on May 7 was attended by 3,526 fans while 2,032 came out to Lakeland City Baseball Day on May 5. Unfortunately, Lakeland is winless in six home games this season in which attendance is 1,000 or more.
RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME ... Jason Krizan came off the bench on Wednesday as a defensive replacement for Chad Wright. In his second at bat, Krizan singled to drive in Lakeland’s second run of the game. In the ninth, he came up to bat with one out and Jordan Dean on first. On a 1-1 pitch, Krizan drove a ball deep to center field for a triple to score Dean with Lakeland’s first walk-off win of the year.
WESTLAKE SWIMMING ALONG ... Aaron Westlake is 7x20 his last five games and has at least one hit in 20 of his last 25 games dating back to April 11 to raise his average 153 points.
FROM THE ‘PEN ... Melvin Mercedes has been touched for just one unearned run this season while posting a 2-0 record with three saves. Will Clinard has not allowed a run in his last four outings and just two in his last 13.2 innings over seven appearances.
BEST NIGHT ... Drew VerHagen tossed 6.2 shutout innings in his last start on May 8 against Jupiter holding the Hammerheads to five hits with four strikeouts and two walks.
ONE AT A TIME ... Jason King has gotten one base hit in seven of his last eight games.
FORMER FLYING TIGER COLLINS NAMED EASTERN LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK ... Last season, Tyler Collins hit seven home runs over the season for Lakeland. Last week, the outfielder slammed six homers as a member of the AA Erie SeaWolves to earn Eastern League Player of the Week honors. In addition to the six round-trippers, Collins hit .348 with 12 runs batted in and twice had two homers in a game.
ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER ON THE DL ... John Murrian became the latest Flying Tigers to suffer the injury bug, heading on the disabled list retroactive to May 2 where he joins six others. Taking his roster spot for just one game was former University of South Florida catcher Drew Longley who came up from Extended Spring Training on May 6 only to be sent back to EST on May 7. The newest Flying Tigers member is infielder Harold Castro, a second baseman up from EST.
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 1,757-1,602 record entering the Jupiter 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 ... After taking Sunday off for Mothers Day, Lakeland continues its week long road trip with four games at Palm Beach, May 13-16.
FORMER FLYING TIGERS EXCELLING AT AA ERIE ... Warick Saupold is sixth in the Eastern League with a 2.50 ERA while Victor Larez is tied for the league league with five wins. Tyler Collins is tied for the Eastern League lead with seven homers and is third with a .552 slugging percentage. Hernan Perez is third in the EL with 12 stolen bases and 40 hits. Daniel Fields is second at Erie with four homers while hitting .274.
ONE STEP AWAY ... At AAA Toledon, Jordan Lennerton is hitting .301 with four homers and 14 RBI and Nick Castellano is batting .230 with three homers and 11 runs batted in. Bruce Rondon has five saves in six opportunities and has not allowed a run in 10 appearances.
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Mission Notes vs. Jupiter (May 5-8)
THE SERIES ... The Flying Tigers will host the Jupiter Hammerheads (Marlins) for four games, May 5-8, in a rematch of last year’s Florida State League championship series won by Lakeland in five games. Lakeland rallied from a 1-2 deficit for the league crown. The series opens Sunday at 1 pm with games two and four at 6:30 pm. Game three on Tuesday will be the first Education Day of the year and will get underway at 10:30 am.
THE FLYING TIGERS (11-16, 6th Place, 5.5 GB) ... Lakeland will be looking to snap a two-game losing streak after dropping a pair of games at home to Daytona (the middle game of the series was rained out and will be made up as part of a doubleheader on May 17). The Flying Tigers reached double digits in hits in both games against the Cubs, but couldn’t string the hits together losing 6-2 and 11-5. Despite having ten or more hits in the last six games, Lakeland ranks sixth in the FSL with a .261 team batting average while the staff ERA of 3.66 is fourth best in the league.
THE HAMMERHEADS (12-16, 4th Place 11.0 GB) ... Jupiter has won one more game than Lakeland, but has the misfortune of playing in the same Division as red hot Fort Myers (23-5) and trails the Miracle by 11 games. The Hammerheads, which began the season 0-7 and losing nine of their first 10 games, bring a six-game win streak into this series after back-to-back three-game sweeps of Dunedin and Charlotte. Austin Barnes is the FSL’s top hitter with a .382 average while ranking third with a .436 on-base percentage. Isaac Galloway is tied for fourth with 10 doubles and 20 runs scored. Closer Nick Wittgren has six saves which is tied for second most in the FSL. Jupiter is fourth in the league with a .266 team batting average and has the second lowest staff ERA at 3.38 on the season. With just 10 homers on the season, the Hammerheads have hit the fewest round-trippers of any FSL team.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS
5/05 - Kyle Ryan (3-1, 3.06 ERA) ... has won his last two starts ... has allowed just three earned runs over his last three starts (20.2 innings) ... allowed one run on six hits with three strikeouts and two walks in win at Charlotte in his last start on 4/29 ... is 2-1 with a 1.59 in three home starts ... dismiss his one bad start (7 ER, 10 H on 4/13 at Dunedin) and his ERA drops to 1.37 ... followed that bad outing with eight, one-hit, shutout innings against Dunedin on 4/18 (did not get the decision in that game).
5/06 - Hudson Randall (2-2, 1.35 ERA at West Michigan) ... making his Lakeland debut ... allowed just four earned runs in five starts at low-A West Michigan ... struck out three in each of his last two starts ... threw 5.2 scoreless innings to get first win on 4/20 ... has issued just four walks (three in last start) all season ... righthanders hit just .200 against Randall while lefties have a .293 mark.
5/07 - Jeff Ferrell (0-2, 5.52 ERA) ... making his third start since moving into the starting rotation on 4/20 ... was tagged for five earned runs on seven hits over 4.2 innings (4 K, 2 BB) in loss at Daytona in last start on 4/26 ... is 0-1 with a 7.04 in two starts (0-1 with a 3.86 ERA in four relief appearances) ... lefties are hitting a lofty .438 against Ferrell while righties are batting at a .289 clip.
5/08 - Drew VerHagen (0-3, 4.6 ERA) ... making his second start since coming off the disabled list on 5/2 ... gave up six runs (five earned) on eight hits (5 K, 1 BB) on 5.0 innings in lost on 5./2 against Daytona ... is 0-2 with a 7.07 ERA in three home starts.
LAST YEAR ... Lakeland won four of the six games in the regular season and then took the best of five from Jupiter in the FSL Championship round. The Flying Tigers went 3-1 on the road while splitting a pair of home games in Lakeland with two games rained out in the regular season. The two teams split the first two games in the playoffs in Jupiter while Lakeland won two of three at Joker Marchant Stadium.
HOT PROSPECTS ... Jupiter pitcher Justin Nicolino was ranked No. 4 among Marlins prospect by MLB.com entering 2013 season while fellow pitcher Jose Urena and infielder Noah Perio were ranked No. 12 and No. 14, respectively, in the same poll.
LAKELAND TRIVIA ... Lakeland beat Jupiter three games to two in the FSL Championship series last season. Game two was a thrilling 8-7, 15-inning win by Lakeland on the road. Who scored the go-ahead run in the top of the 15th for the Flying Tigers?
GATOR BOYS ... Lakeland’s Hudson Randall and the Hammerheads’ Anthony DeSciafani and Josh Adams were all college teammates at the University of Florida in 2010-11
LOW-SCORING AFFAIR ... These two clubs haven’t been setting the scoreboards a-blazin’ this season. Jupiter has scored the third fewest runs in the FSL (109) while Lakeland has the fifth fewest (116). Twelve of the Hammerheads’ games this season have come down to one-run with Jupiter winning just three of those contests. Lakeland is 0-4 in 1-run games.
GOOD THINGS COME IN SMALL PACKAGES ... At 5-foot-7, Tyler Hanover is not your prototypical major league prospect, but don’t tell his bat. The diminutive Hanover has had two or more hits in each of his last five games for 11 hits in 21 at bats for a .524 clip. He is now hitting .440 versus righthander pitchers and .375 versus lefties. In his six home games so far, Hanover is 11x20 for a .550 mark.
KEEP ON ROLLIN’ ... Patrick Leyland has moved into the starting catcher’s spot for Lakeland since joining the club on 4/28 and his hot bat may just keep him there for a while. In his six games as a Flying Tiger, Leyland has had two hits in three of the games and singled in the other three for a modest six-game hit streak and a .381 average. He is blistering right handed pitchers for a .500 clip.
JOLLY JEFF ... Jeff McVaney has had two or more hits in four of his last six games going 11x27 for a .407 clip. He has hit two doubles, two triples and two homers and driven in eight runs in those six games.
HIT ≠ RUNS ... Lakeland has had ten or more hits in each of the last six games (71x223) for a .318 clip but have stranded 45 runners in those six games scoring 42 times.
LONG BALL ... The Flying Tigers hit have hit six home runs in the last six games equalling their home run total for the first 21 games.
WHERE’D THAT COME FROM? ... The Lakeland bullpen was roughed up for seven earned runs on Saturday - more than they had surrendered in the last 10 games combined.
CONSISTENCY ... Lakeland is hitting .261 in 13 home games and has an identical .261 average in 14 road 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 1,756-1,599 record entering the Jupiter 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 ... Lakeland travels to Clearwater for three games May 9-10.
TRIVIA ANSWER ... Luis Castillo, who entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the 15th inning for Lakeland, singled and was sacrificed to second by Curt Casali. He then scored the game-winner when Hernan Perez tripled into the gap in left center.
THE FLYING TIGERS (11-16, 6th Place, 5.5 GB) ... Lakeland will be looking to snap a two-game losing streak after dropping a pair of games at home to Daytona (the middle game of the series was rained out and will be made up as part of a doubleheader on May 17). The Flying Tigers reached double digits in hits in both games against the Cubs, but couldn’t string the hits together losing 6-2 and 11-5. Despite having ten or more hits in the last six games, Lakeland ranks sixth in the FSL with a .261 team batting average while the staff ERA of 3.66 is fourth best in the league.
THE HAMMERHEADS (12-16, 4th Place 11.0 GB) ... Jupiter has won one more game than Lakeland, but has the misfortune of playing in the same Division as red hot Fort Myers (23-5) and trails the Miracle by 11 games. The Hammerheads, which began the season 0-7 and losing nine of their first 10 games, bring a six-game win streak into this series after back-to-back three-game sweeps of Dunedin and Charlotte. Austin Barnes is the FSL’s top hitter with a .382 average while ranking third with a .436 on-base percentage. Isaac Galloway is tied for fourth with 10 doubles and 20 runs scored. Closer Nick Wittgren has six saves which is tied for second most in the FSL. Jupiter is fourth in the league with a .266 team batting average and has the second lowest staff ERA at 3.38 on the season. With just 10 homers on the season, the Hammerheads have hit the fewest round-trippers of any FSL team.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS
5/05 - Kyle Ryan (3-1, 3.06 ERA) ... has won his last two starts ... has allowed just three earned runs over his last three starts (20.2 innings) ... allowed one run on six hits with three strikeouts and two walks in win at Charlotte in his last start on 4/29 ... is 2-1 with a 1.59 in three home starts ... dismiss his one bad start (7 ER, 10 H on 4/13 at Dunedin) and his ERA drops to 1.37 ... followed that bad outing with eight, one-hit, shutout innings against Dunedin on 4/18 (did not get the decision in that game).
5/06 - Hudson Randall (2-2, 1.35 ERA at West Michigan) ... making his Lakeland debut ... allowed just four earned runs in five starts at low-A West Michigan ... struck out three in each of his last two starts ... threw 5.2 scoreless innings to get first win on 4/20 ... has issued just four walks (three in last start) all season ... righthanders hit just .200 against Randall while lefties have a .293 mark.
5/07 - Jeff Ferrell (0-2, 5.52 ERA) ... making his third start since moving into the starting rotation on 4/20 ... was tagged for five earned runs on seven hits over 4.2 innings (4 K, 2 BB) in loss at Daytona in last start on 4/26 ... is 0-1 with a 7.04 in two starts (0-1 with a 3.86 ERA in four relief appearances) ... lefties are hitting a lofty .438 against Ferrell while righties are batting at a .289 clip.
5/08 - Drew VerHagen (0-3, 4.6 ERA) ... making his second start since coming off the disabled list on 5/2 ... gave up six runs (five earned) on eight hits (5 K, 1 BB) on 5.0 innings in lost on 5./2 against Daytona ... is 0-2 with a 7.07 ERA in three home starts.
LAST YEAR ... Lakeland won four of the six games in the regular season and then took the best of five from Jupiter in the FSL Championship round. The Flying Tigers went 3-1 on the road while splitting a pair of home games in Lakeland with two games rained out in the regular season. The two teams split the first two games in the playoffs in Jupiter while Lakeland won two of three at Joker Marchant Stadium.
HOT PROSPECTS ... Jupiter pitcher Justin Nicolino was ranked No. 4 among Marlins prospect by MLB.com entering 2013 season while fellow pitcher Jose Urena and infielder Noah Perio were ranked No. 12 and No. 14, respectively, in the same poll.
LAKELAND TRIVIA ... Lakeland beat Jupiter three games to two in the FSL Championship series last season. Game two was a thrilling 8-7, 15-inning win by Lakeland on the road. Who scored the go-ahead run in the top of the 15th for the Flying Tigers?
GATOR BOYS ... Lakeland’s Hudson Randall and the Hammerheads’ Anthony DeSciafani and Josh Adams were all college teammates at the University of Florida in 2010-11
LOW-SCORING AFFAIR ... These two clubs haven’t been setting the scoreboards a-blazin’ this season. Jupiter has scored the third fewest runs in the FSL (109) while Lakeland has the fifth fewest (116). Twelve of the Hammerheads’ games this season have come down to one-run with Jupiter winning just three of those contests. Lakeland is 0-4 in 1-run games.
GOOD THINGS COME IN SMALL PACKAGES ... At 5-foot-7, Tyler Hanover is not your prototypical major league prospect, but don’t tell his bat. The diminutive Hanover has had two or more hits in each of his last five games for 11 hits in 21 at bats for a .524 clip. He is now hitting .440 versus righthander pitchers and .375 versus lefties. In his six home games so far, Hanover is 11x20 for a .550 mark.
KEEP ON ROLLIN’ ... Patrick Leyland has moved into the starting catcher’s spot for Lakeland since joining the club on 4/28 and his hot bat may just keep him there for a while. In his six games as a Flying Tiger, Leyland has had two hits in three of the games and singled in the other three for a modest six-game hit streak and a .381 average. He is blistering right handed pitchers for a .500 clip.
JOLLY JEFF ... Jeff McVaney has had two or more hits in four of his last six games going 11x27 for a .407 clip. He has hit two doubles, two triples and two homers and driven in eight runs in those six games.
HIT ≠ RUNS ... Lakeland has had ten or more hits in each of the last six games (71x223) for a .318 clip but have stranded 45 runners in those six games scoring 42 times.
LONG BALL ... The Flying Tigers hit have hit six home runs in the last six games equalling their home run total for the first 21 games.
WHERE’D THAT COME FROM? ... The Lakeland bullpen was roughed up for seven earned runs on Saturday - more than they had surrendered in the last 10 games combined.
CONSISTENCY ... Lakeland is hitting .261 in 13 home games and has an identical .261 average in 14 road 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 1,756-1,599 record entering the Jupiter 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 ... Lakeland travels to Clearwater for three games May 9-10.
TRIVIA ANSWER ... Luis Castillo, who entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the 15th inning for Lakeland, singled and was sacrificed to second by Curt Casali. He then scored the game-winner when Hernan Perez tripled into the gap in left center.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Mission Notes vs Daytona (May 2-4)
THE SERIES ... After a brief foray into the South Division, Lakeland returns to its home division to host the Daytona Cubs for three games on May 2-4. Games one and two begin at 6:30 p.m. with Saturday’s game getting underway at 6:00 p.m. The games can be heard live on the Cubs’ website at www.daytonacubs.com.
THE FLYING TIGERS (11-14, T-4th Place, 4.0 GB) ... With Wednesday’s game at Charlotte rained out, the Flying Tigers bring a four-game win streak in to the Daytona Series – their longest streak of the season. Lakeland, which has now won seven of its last nine games, has climbed out of the cellar for the first time since April 16. The Flying Tigers rank fifth in the Florida State League with a .257 team batting average while the staff ERA of 3.32 is third lowest in the league.
THE CUBS (14-12, T-2nd Place 1.5 GB) ... Like Lakeland, Daytona also brings a four-game win streak into the series after beating Palm Beach 3-1 Wednesday morning. Ben Carhart, who is second in the FSL with 10 doubles, brings a seven-game hit streak into this series, going 13x25 (.520) since April 23. Javier Baez is 9x23 (.391) with hits in each of his last six games while Jorge Soler has at least one base hit in 15 of his 18 games played this season. Stephen Bruno is fifth in the FSL with a .354 average and fourth with a .432 on base percentage while Dustin Geiger is third with 23 RBI. Daytona has the third highest team batting average (.269) in the league, but the staff ERA of 4.60 is also third highest.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS
5/02 - RHP Jeff Ferrell (0-2, 5.52 ERA) ... is 0-1 with a 7.04 ERA in two starts since moving into the starting rotation on April 20 ... gave up five runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and two walks his last start on April 26 at Daytona in taking the loss ... worked a season-long 4.2 innings in the Daytona start.
5/03 - RHP Nick Avila (1-0, 1.04 ERA) ... making his second start since moving into the rotation on April 17 ... gave up one run on three hits with one strikeout and three walks in 3.0 innings in last start on April 27 at Daytona ... did not factor into the decision in that game.
5/04 - RHP Wilsen Palacias (1-2, 3.91 ERA) ... lasted just 4.1 innings in last start on April 28 at Charlotte, allowing three runs (two earned) on seven hits with a pair of punch outs and three free passes ... tossed six shutout innings on April 22 in win over Clearwater with seven strikeouts ... one of two remaining starters from the rotation that began the season (the other three are on disabled list).
EARLIER THIS YEAR ... Daytona took two of the three games played at Jackie Robinson Park on April 25-27. The Cubs won the first two contests by scores of 5-3 and 7-3 while Lakeland won the series finale 5-1 behind a pair of homers by Eugenio Suarez and Aaron Westlake.
BATS ALIVE ... Someone left the Bat Signal on for the Flying Tigers and they have responded by hitting .325 the last four games with 35 runs scored. Lakeland has had ten or more hits in seven of their last 10 games for a .308 average over that span. Eugenio Suarez has led the charge going 17x41 (.415) in the last ten games while Chad Wright (15x44, .341) and Aaron Westlake (14x46, .304) are close behind. Westlake has knocked in 10 runs as well while Jeff McVaney and Suarez have each plated eight runs.
POWER SURGE ... Lakeland batters have clubbed five homers in the last four games, twice knocking two pitches out of the park in one game. Eugenio Suarez and Jeff McVaney each homered on April 27 at Daytona while Avisail Garcia and Michael Hernandez each went deep on April 30 at Charlotte. McVaney also touched them all at Charlotte on April 29. Lakeland had hit just six homer in the previous 21 games.
SOLID BEGINNING ... Pat Leyland has gotten at least one hit in each of his three games since joining Lakeland on April 28, playing two games behind the plate and one game as the designated hitter.
LAKELAND TRIVIA ... Pat Leyland now joins his Detroit Tiger managing father, Jim Leyland, on the Lakeland all-time roster. The elder Leyland played for Lakeland in 1964 and 1969 (and also managed Lakeland from 1976-78). What position did Jim Leyland play as a member of the then-Lakeland Tigers?
STREAKIN’ ALONG ... Eugenio Suarez brings an 11-game hit streak into this series – the longest streak this season by a Flying Tiger. Suarez is 18x45 (.400) dating back to April 19 with 11 runs scored, four doubles, two triples, a homer, and eight RBI. Lakeland is 7-3 since moving Suarez into the lead-off spot in the batting order.
SUPER SUB ... Tyler Hanover has made three spot starts since April 19 and has responded with seven hits in those three games for a .583 clip. He has scored three runs and driven in two more in those three contests and Lakeland is 3-0 in games in which he plays third base.
UNTOUCHABLE ... Reliever Melvin Mercedes etched himself into the collective memories of Flying Tiger fans by working the final inning of Lakeland’s FSL championship win over Jupiter in 2012. This season may etch his performance into the powers to be. Through eight appearances, Mercedes has allowed just one unearned run in 10.2 innings pitched.
THREE-FIFTHS OF THE STARTING ROTATION ON THE DL ... Starting pitcher Kevin Eichhorn is the latest Flying Tiger to see himself on the disabled list, joining fellow starting pitchers Tommy Collier and Drew VerHagen as well as reliever Joe Rogers. Position players Steven Moya and Dean Green are also out while recovering from injuries.
PERFECT STARTS TO THE WEEK ... Lakeland is a perfect combined 7-0 in games played on Sunday and Monday, including a 4-0 mark on Sunday. Conversely, the team is still looking for its first end-of-the-week win, going 0-4 on both Thursdays and Fridays. Saturdays are so-so as the Flying Tigers have split their four games.
THANKS FOR STOPPING BY ... Avisail Garcia completed his rehab assignment in Lakeland by being recalled by Detroit on May 1 and the getting assigned to Toledo. During his stay in Lakeland, Garcia was 10x24 for a .417 average with nine runs scored while hitting a pair of triples and one homer for four runs batted. With his help, Lakeland went 4-2 during his stint.
THE BOSS’ SON ... Lakeland added catcher Pat Leyland to the roster on April 28 from Extended Spring Training (EST) while infielder Jesus Ustariz, who had been with the club since April 23 but had not seen any action, was sent to EST. Leyland is the son of Detroit Tiger manager Jim Leyland.
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 1,756-1,597 record entering the Daytona 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 ... Lakeland will host Jupiter May 5-8.
TRIVIA ANSWER ... Like father, like son. Jim Leyland was a catcher for Lakeland catching 43 games in 1964 and 56 games in 1969, including a two-inning stint as a pitcher. In that one appearance, he gave up two earned runs on four hits while posting one strikeout and walking none.
THE FLYING TIGERS (11-14, T-4th Place, 4.0 GB) ... With Wednesday’s game at Charlotte rained out, the Flying Tigers bring a four-game win streak in to the Daytona Series – their longest streak of the season. Lakeland, which has now won seven of its last nine games, has climbed out of the cellar for the first time since April 16. The Flying Tigers rank fifth in the Florida State League with a .257 team batting average while the staff ERA of 3.32 is third lowest in the league.
THE CUBS (14-12, T-2nd Place 1.5 GB) ... Like Lakeland, Daytona also brings a four-game win streak into the series after beating Palm Beach 3-1 Wednesday morning. Ben Carhart, who is second in the FSL with 10 doubles, brings a seven-game hit streak into this series, going 13x25 (.520) since April 23. Javier Baez is 9x23 (.391) with hits in each of his last six games while Jorge Soler has at least one base hit in 15 of his 18 games played this season. Stephen Bruno is fifth in the FSL with a .354 average and fourth with a .432 on base percentage while Dustin Geiger is third with 23 RBI. Daytona has the third highest team batting average (.269) in the league, but the staff ERA of 4.60 is also third highest.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS
5/02 - RHP Jeff Ferrell (0-2, 5.52 ERA) ... is 0-1 with a 7.04 ERA in two starts since moving into the starting rotation on April 20 ... gave up five runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and two walks his last start on April 26 at Daytona in taking the loss ... worked a season-long 4.2 innings in the Daytona start.
5/03 - RHP Nick Avila (1-0, 1.04 ERA) ... making his second start since moving into the rotation on April 17 ... gave up one run on three hits with one strikeout and three walks in 3.0 innings in last start on April 27 at Daytona ... did not factor into the decision in that game.
5/04 - RHP Wilsen Palacias (1-2, 3.91 ERA) ... lasted just 4.1 innings in last start on April 28 at Charlotte, allowing three runs (two earned) on seven hits with a pair of punch outs and three free passes ... tossed six shutout innings on April 22 in win over Clearwater with seven strikeouts ... one of two remaining starters from the rotation that began the season (the other three are on disabled list).
EARLIER THIS YEAR ... Daytona took two of the three games played at Jackie Robinson Park on April 25-27. The Cubs won the first two contests by scores of 5-3 and 7-3 while Lakeland won the series finale 5-1 behind a pair of homers by Eugenio Suarez and Aaron Westlake.
BATS ALIVE ... Someone left the Bat Signal on for the Flying Tigers and they have responded by hitting .325 the last four games with 35 runs scored. Lakeland has had ten or more hits in seven of their last 10 games for a .308 average over that span. Eugenio Suarez has led the charge going 17x41 (.415) in the last ten games while Chad Wright (15x44, .341) and Aaron Westlake (14x46, .304) are close behind. Westlake has knocked in 10 runs as well while Jeff McVaney and Suarez have each plated eight runs.
POWER SURGE ... Lakeland batters have clubbed five homers in the last four games, twice knocking two pitches out of the park in one game. Eugenio Suarez and Jeff McVaney each homered on April 27 at Daytona while Avisail Garcia and Michael Hernandez each went deep on April 30 at Charlotte. McVaney also touched them all at Charlotte on April 29. Lakeland had hit just six homer in the previous 21 games.
SOLID BEGINNING ... Pat Leyland has gotten at least one hit in each of his three games since joining Lakeland on April 28, playing two games behind the plate and one game as the designated hitter.
LAKELAND TRIVIA ... Pat Leyland now joins his Detroit Tiger managing father, Jim Leyland, on the Lakeland all-time roster. The elder Leyland played for Lakeland in 1964 and 1969 (and also managed Lakeland from 1976-78). What position did Jim Leyland play as a member of the then-Lakeland Tigers?
STREAKIN’ ALONG ... Eugenio Suarez brings an 11-game hit streak into this series – the longest streak this season by a Flying Tiger. Suarez is 18x45 (.400) dating back to April 19 with 11 runs scored, four doubles, two triples, a homer, and eight RBI. Lakeland is 7-3 since moving Suarez into the lead-off spot in the batting order.
SUPER SUB ... Tyler Hanover has made three spot starts since April 19 and has responded with seven hits in those three games for a .583 clip. He has scored three runs and driven in two more in those three contests and Lakeland is 3-0 in games in which he plays third base.
UNTOUCHABLE ... Reliever Melvin Mercedes etched himself into the collective memories of Flying Tiger fans by working the final inning of Lakeland’s FSL championship win over Jupiter in 2012. This season may etch his performance into the powers to be. Through eight appearances, Mercedes has allowed just one unearned run in 10.2 innings pitched.
THREE-FIFTHS OF THE STARTING ROTATION ON THE DL ... Starting pitcher Kevin Eichhorn is the latest Flying Tiger to see himself on the disabled list, joining fellow starting pitchers Tommy Collier and Drew VerHagen as well as reliever Joe Rogers. Position players Steven Moya and Dean Green are also out while recovering from injuries.
PERFECT STARTS TO THE WEEK ... Lakeland is a perfect combined 7-0 in games played on Sunday and Monday, including a 4-0 mark on Sunday. Conversely, the team is still looking for its first end-of-the-week win, going 0-4 on both Thursdays and Fridays. Saturdays are so-so as the Flying Tigers have split their four games.
THANKS FOR STOPPING BY ... Avisail Garcia completed his rehab assignment in Lakeland by being recalled by Detroit on May 1 and the getting assigned to Toledo. During his stay in Lakeland, Garcia was 10x24 for a .417 average with nine runs scored while hitting a pair of triples and one homer for four runs batted. With his help, Lakeland went 4-2 during his stint.
THE BOSS’ SON ... Lakeland added catcher Pat Leyland to the roster on April 28 from Extended Spring Training (EST) while infielder Jesus Ustariz, who had been with the club since April 23 but had not seen any action, was sent to EST. Leyland is the son of Detroit Tiger manager Jim Leyland.
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 1,756-1,597 record entering the Daytona 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 ... Lakeland will host Jupiter May 5-8.
TRIVIA ANSWER ... Like father, like son. Jim Leyland was a catcher for Lakeland catching 43 games in 1964 and 56 games in 1969, including a two-inning stint as a pitcher. In that one appearance, he gave up two earned runs on four hits while posting one strikeout and walking none.
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