THE SERIES ... Lakeland hosts Daytona for four games over this weekend series at Joker Marchant Stadium. The pairing gets underway with a doubleheader on Friday at 5 pm to make up a game rained out Aug. 11 at Daytona. The series continues on Saturday at 6 pm and concludes Sunday at 1 pm. The Cubs have won eight of the 14 games played in the series including seven of the last eight contests. Three of those victories came in extra innings, including a 4-3, 13 inning win in the two clubs last meeting on Aug. 10 at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. Connor Harrell has 18 hits in the series while Jeff McVaney and Curt Powell each have 14 hits. The Flying Tigers are hitting .261 in the series with nine homers while the Cubs have been held to a .211 mark with 11 dingers.
THE FLYING TIGERS (19-40, 6th, 14.5 GB; 61-65 overall) ... Lakeland dropped a 1-0 game in 10 innings last night to Dunedin, despite holding the Blue Jays to four hits. The Flying Tigers won the middle two games of the series, including the season’s largest victory with a 12-1 win in game two.
THE CUBS (33-25, 1st, 2.0 game lead; 59-67 overall) ... Daytona is also coming off a split of a four games series, winning the bookend games by one run each. The Cubs have just three wins in their last eight games, but have a two-game lead in the North Division over the Yankees. The second half crown could come down to the final weekend as Daytona host Tampa for three games Aug. 29-31.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS:
8/22 - LHP Alex Burgos (2-2, 3.81 ERA) ... Burgos made his first start of 2014 on Aug. 17 at Clearwater and gave up three runs on three hits with five walks in 2.0 innings. He had started 16 games at West Michigan in 2011 and 23 games for Lakeland in 2012 but moved to the bullpen for 30 appearances for the Flying Tigers last season and 22 more relief appearances this season. Burgos has allowed just six earned runs in his last 22.2 innings over his last eight outings. He is 0-1 with a 1.29 ERA in four relief appearances versus Daytona this season with 11 strikeouts and one walk in 7.0 innings.
8/22 - RHP Daryl Norris (6-1, 10.57 ERA) ... Norris also made a start on July 22 versus Jupiter and gave up three runs on eight hits in 2.2 innings. In his last appearance out of the bullpen on Aug. 17, he was tagged for six runs on five hits in 3.0 innings. Norris was 1-2 with a 6.59 ERA in three starts for the Gulf Coast League Tigers earlier this season. He spent his first season as a pro in the GCL in 2013, making 11 relief appearances. Norris has not faced the Cubs this season.
8/23 - RHP Edgar De La Rosa (7-9, 3.18 ERA) ... De La Rosa, who is seventh in the FSL with a 3.18 ERA and fourth with a .231 opponents batting average, has allowed five runs in each of his last two starts and has given up a total of 16 hits in 9.0 in those two games. At Dunedin, in his last start on Aug. 18, the Blue Jays scored five runs on 10 hits in 6.0 innings against De La Rosa. He did not walk a batter in that game, marking his first outing since April 9 that he has not issued a free pass. He is virtually the same pitcher home (4-4, 3.12) and away (3-5, 3.25), but has struck out 18 more at Joker Marchant Stadium than on the road (50-32). De La Rosa is 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA in three previous starts against Daytona with 12 K’s and six walks in 16.2 innings.
8/24 - RHP Logan Ehlers (3-2, 4.53 ERA) ... This is Ehlers’ third start in a row and fourth overall this season for Lakeland. He got his first win as a starter in his last outing on Aug. 19 at Dunedin, striking out five and walking one while allowing one run on six hits in 6.0 innings. Ehlers is 1-2 with a 2.77 ERA as a starter and was 3-0 with a 4.63 ERA as a reliever. Ehlers is 0-0 with a 6.75 ERA in 4.0 relief appearances against the Cubs with a pair of strikeouts and walks.
ROBBINS RANKS EIGHTH ... With 15 homers this season, James Robbins has moved into the top ten for career homers in a Lakeland uniform. Robbins now has 26 home runs over the 2012 and 2014 seasons as a Flying Tiger and trails Juan Camillo who hit 28 over the 2000-02 seasons. Robbins’ 15 dingers is tied for third in the Florida State League.
BIG NIGHT ... Lakeland crushed Dunedin 12-1 on Tuesday behind a career-high tying four hits by Tyler Hanover. The Flying Tigers’ third baseman had a pair of singles, a double and a triple in that game. Connor Harrell singled and doubled and Austin Green singled and homered as Lakeland outhit Dunedin 12-7. Jared Reaves had his second homer in four games while Chad Wright scored three runs. The 12-1 win was the largest margin of victory for the Flying Tigers defeated Tampa 17-0 in game one of a doubleheader on Aug. 31, 2013.
MEAN GREEN HOMERING MACHINE ... Catcher Austin Green has hit a home run in four of his last six games and now has 14 long balls this season. He is 8x14 his last three games with six runs scored and eight RBI.
HOT BAT ... Tyler Hanover is 8x13 his last three games with four runs scored, a double, two triples and two runs batted in. He has 21 multi-hit games including 17 games with two hits and one game with four hits—that coming two games ago, Aug. 19, at Dunedin.
STEADY HARRELL ... Connor Harrell has hits in 18 of his last 19 games going 21x64 (.328) during that stretch.
YA GOTTA LOVE BASEBALL ... After the first three games of the Dunedin series, the two clubs had combined for 44 runs on 73 hits. In game four it took Dunedin 10 innings to squeak out a 1-0 win as the two teams totalled just 10 hits between them.
DOUBLE TIME ... James Robbins has hit 54 doubles in his Lakeland career (2012 and 2014 seasons), a total that ranks second most in the modern Lakeland era, eight behind Leon Daigle’s total of 62 set from 2001 to 2002. Jeff McVaney has 27 doubles this season, which is tied for 10th most in franchise history, and now has 49 for his two-year career in Lakeland. The 49 career two-baggers ranks fifth on the all-time Flying Tigers list, one behind Jordan Lennerton (2008, 2010, 2011) and Alejandro Freira (1997, 1998). McVaney also ranks fifth in the FSL with 69 runs batted in this season.
BURGOS IN TOP TEN ... Alex Burgos has made 78 appearances over three seasons with the Flying Tigers putting in a tie for ninth place on the all-time list for Lakeland pitchers. Burgos is tied with Freddy Dolsi (2006-07) and Jim Ross (1982-93). Next on the ladder is Kevin Mobley who made 80 appearances over the 1998-99 seasons.
BATS ALIVE ... Most of the hits in the Blue Jays series came off the bats of the Flying Tigers as Lakeland posted double figures in runs in each of the first three games, hitting .350 in those three games. Among the 42 hits, the Flying Tigers hit 12 doubles, two triples and four homers.
TIGERS SIGN FLORIDA SOUTHERN PLAYER ... Detroit has signed former Florida Southern College pitcher Nate Carter as a non-drafted free agent. Carter was the Moccasins’ closer this past season, earning All-Sunshine State Conference honors after recording a 4-1 record with a 1.54 ERA and eight saves. Over his four-year career, Carter was 5-6 with a 2.91 ERA and 20 saves, third most in FSC history. He has been assigned to the Gulf Coast League Tigers. Among the 16 Florida Southern players ever signed by Detroit is Matt Joyce, a current Tampa Bay Rays outfielder/DH who made his Major League debut with the Tigers in 2008.
UP NEXT ... Lakeland will take Aug. 25 off and then heads to Vierra to play Brevard County for four games Aug. 26-28 starting with a doubleheader on Tuesday. Game one is the continuation of the suspended game from July 10 which will be played to nine innings followed by a seven-inning game. The Flying Tigers will then wrap up the season with a three-game homestand against Clearwater Aug. 29-31.
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