THE SERIES ... St. Lucie took three of the four games played in the two teams’ first series on May 16-19. After winning the first two games, 6-4 and 6-3, the Mets fell to the Flying Tigers 3-2 in game three before capturing the finale 5-4 in 11 innings. Chad Wright went 6-for-17 in the series to lead Lakeland while Jeff McVaney and Curt Powell each had five hits and James Robbins clubbed two homers. Dilson Herrera led all hitters with a 10-for-19 effort including three doubles for St. Lucie.
THE FLYING TIGERS (4-15, 6th, 8.0 GB; 46-40 overall) ... Lakeland enters this series having lost 11 of its last 12 games. In their 11 losses, the Flying Tigers scored a total of 29 runs and batted .209, with 84 strikeouts. In their one victory on July 8, Lakeland downed Brevard County 9-2 collecting 10 hits in 32 at bats, including two doubles, a triple, and two homers. The Flying Tigers pitching staff remains fourth best in the league with a 3.20 ERA while the team batting average of .248 is third lowest.
THE METS (12-6, 2nd, 1.0 GB; 52-35 overall) ... St. Lucie comes into this series having lost three straight after being swept at Bradenton, but can still claim the second best record in the Florida State League. Prior to the three-game skid, the Mets had won eight straight. St. Lucie boasts the FSL’s top hitter in Jairo Perez who sits atop the league with a .358 average and a .564 slugging percentage The Mets have been hit hard by promotions, losing three of the league’s top hitters in T.J. Rivera (2nd, .341), Brandon Nimmo (5th, .322), and Dilson Herrera (8th, .307), who are now at AA Binghamton. St. Lucie leads the FSL with a .279 team batting average and is second in runs scored and third in home runs. The pitching staff has combined for a 3.94 ERA which is eighth in the FSL.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS:
7/11 - RHP Edgar De La Rosa (4-6, 2.59 ERA) ... De La Rosa, who is ninth in the FSL with a 2.59 ERA, spent his last turn in the rotation on the disabled list with a blister on the middle finger of his throwing hand, the same injury that sidelined him May 9-19. In his last action, he had a no-hitter thru 3.1 innings going on July 3 at Tampa before exiting with the blister. He has allowed just two runs on eight hits with 19 strikeouts and seven walks in his last 24.1 innings over four starts. In a previous start against St. Lucie on May 19, he gave up three runs on eight hits in 4.0 innings with one strikeout and two walks and left without a decision.
7/12 - RHP Locke St. John (0-1, 8.31 ERA) ... St. John had a rude welcoming to the Florida State League, giving up three runs on two homers in his first inning of work en route to allowing six runs (four earned) in 4.1 innings on July 7. A 32nd round pick by Detroit in this year’s draft, St. John struck out three and walked two in his Lakeland debut.
7/13 - RHP Kevin Eichhorn (5-2, 2.40 ERA) ... Eichhorn, who is fifth in the FSL with a 2.40 ERA, got the win in his last start on July 8 against Brevard County after holding the Manatees to one run on five hits with three punch outs and two free passes in 5.0 innings. He has allowed two or fewer runs in 11 of his 14 starts this season and gave up just three runs in two other starts. On May 18, he held St. Lucie to a pair of runs on eight hits with five strikeouts and two walks over 6.1 innings, but did factor into the decision. Eichhorn is 4-2 with a 2.28 ERA in 10 road games (including nine starts) this season.
7/14 - LHP Josh Turley (7-1, 1.85) ... After seven wins in his first seven decisions, Turley finally lost on July 9 when he allowed three runs on eight hits with five strikeouts and no walks in 7.0 innings versus Brevard County. His outing dropped Turley to second in the FSL with a 1.85 earned run average. His five K’s moved him into fourth place in the league with 81 strikeouts, just two ahead of teammate Jake Thompson. Turley’s 0.96 WHIP and .205 opponents average are still tops on the FSL. In his previous start against St. Lucie, he held the Mets to two runs on seven hits and struck out seven in 7.0 innings in a no-decision.
DIRKS PROGRESS ... Andy Dirks, who is with Lakeland on a rehab assignment, has singled in each of his two games played with the Flying Tigers and is 2-for-4 in the two games. In both games, he has played left field, leaving each contest after the fifth inning.
STREAK SNAPPED ... Lakeland broke a 10-game losing streak with a 9-2 win over Brevard County on July 8. The nine runs was matched the team’s combined total in the previous five games. The win also marked the debut of Kevin Bradshaw as Lakeland’s acting manager. Bradshaw, who previously managed Lakeland in 2001 and 2007, is filling in for Dave Huppert, who is on a medical leave.
ERROR STREAK ALSO SNAPPED ... The Flying Tigers, who enter this series as the Florida State League’s top fielding team with a .980 average, have not helped their cause of late, committing at least one error in eight straight games before going mistake-free on July 10. The worst exhibition came on July 8 when Lakeland was charged with a season-high four errors.
TKO AT 6 MIN ... Lakeland’s game versus Brevard County on Thursday was suspended after just one batter. After a 6:30 pm first pitch, the Manatees’ Nathan Orf singled to left to lead off the game. With a steady rain falling and a 3-2 count on batter Orlando Arcia, the teams were called off the field at 6:36 pm. A valiant effort by the Lakeland tarp crew fell short as the wet field made it impossible to fully cover the field. After the obligatory 30-minute wait time, the game was suspended. Since the two clubs do not play again in Lakeland, the contest will be continued on August 26 at Space Coast Stadium and played to nine innings with the Flying Tigers as the “home” team. A second seven-inning game will be played with the Manatees as the home team.
BURGOS EARNS TRIP TO ERIE ... Reliever Alex Burgos was promoted to AA Erie on Friday. Burgos was 1-1 with one save and a 4.46 ERA in 16 appearances for the Flying Tigers. In 34.1 innings, Burgos struck out 39 batters and walked 15.
NEW FACE ... For the first time since June 19, the Lakeland roster is at the maximum 25 players as right handed pitcher Edgar De La Rosa was activated off the disabled list on Friday and lefty Trent Szkutnik was added from the Gulf Coast League Tigers. De La Rosa missed one turn in the rotation while on the 7-day DL with a blister on the middle finger of his throwing hand. Szkutnik, a 20th round pick by Detroit in this year’s draft out of the University of Michigan, was 0-0 with a 3.48 ERA in four relief appearances in the GCL. He struck out seven in 10.1 innings. While a junior, Szkutnik was 1-6 with a 3.38 ERA, recording 47 strikeouts in 80.0 innings. For his career at Michigan, he was 7-15 with a 4.93 ERA and struck out 162 in 195.1 innings. As a prep player, Szkutnik went 31-6 with three no-hitters and a perfect game. He is third member of Detroit’s 2014 Draft Class to play for Lakeland, joining pitchers Locke St. John (32nd round) and Nate Fury (36th round).
START THE COUNTDOWN ... Lakeland enters the St. Lucie series with 3,991 all-time wins, needing 10 more to reach 4,000. Lakeland has a 3,991-4,221 record since 1963.
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON .... St. Lucie’s L.J. Mazzilli is the son of former New York Met, Lee Mazzilli, who also played for the Rangers, Pirates and Blue Jays from 1976-89, and managed the Baltimore Orioles in 2004 and 2005.
UP NEXT ... Following the Mets series, the Flying Tigers will have a day off and then play at Charlotte on July 16-19. Once returning to Joker Marchant Stadium on July 20, Lakeland will play 16 of 20 games at home with two eight game home stands extending into August sandwiched around a four-game road trip. As a reminder, the July 22 game has been moved to a 10:30 am start.
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