Friday, June 27, 2014

Mission Notes vs. Daytona (June 27-29)

THE SERIES ... Lakeland continues one the road with three games at Daytona. The series gets underway Friday, June 27 at 7 pm and continues on Saturday, June 28, also at 7 pm. The finale is Sunday, June 29 at 1 pm. Lakeland was won five of the six previous meetings this season and is 2-1 against the Cubs at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. The one Daytona win was a 2-1 decision in 12 innings on May 4. Lance Durham has 10 hits for the Flying Tigers in the series while Curt Powell has eight singles. Lakeland has hit seven homers in the six games. The Flying Tigers have outhit the Cubs .289 to .190 and outscored Daytona 43 to 21.

THE FLYING TIGERS (3-5, 45-30; T-5th, 2.0 GB) ... Lakeland dropped a 4-2 decision at Brevard County last night in a game was shortened to eight innings due to rain. Manatee pitcher Jorge Lopez went the distance for the visitors, limiting Lakeland to two hits thru the first seven innings.  James Robbins finally got Lakeland on the board in the eighth with his team-leading 10th homer of the season. Lakeland is still looking to string some W’s together, going as the team is 8-10 since seeing an eight-game win streak snapped on June 2. Josh Turley remains second in the Florida State League with a 1.66 ERA to go with his perfect 7-0 record. Turley is also tops in the league withy a 0.97 WHIP and second with a .208 opponents’ batting average. Kevin Eichhorn (4-2) is seventh with a 2.39 earned run average. The Lakeland pitching staff has the fourth best ERA in the league at 3.02 while the team batting average of .253 is eighth.

THE CUBS (5-3, 41-33; T-1st, 1.0 Game Lead) ... Daytona has set a patter of win two, lose on, win two lose one the last nine games, going 6-3 doing that span to move into a first place tie with Brevard County, who the Flying Tigers last played. Last night, the Cubs were on the losing end of a 5-34 decision to Dunedin at home. Bijan Rademacher is fourth in the Florida State League with a .402 on-base percentage while Pin-Chieh Chen is tied for the FSL lead with six triples. Daytona is 11th in the league in both batting average (.244) and ERA (4.39). 

LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS
6/27 - RHP Edgar De La Rosa (4-5, 2.82 ERA) ... De La Rosa took the loss to Clearwater in his last start despite holding the Threshers to one run on two hits and striking out eight in 7.0 innings. He has gone 7.0 innings in each of his last two starts with 15 strikeouts and just one run allowed on four hits. De La Rosa is 2-2 with a 2.59 ERA in six previous road starts this season. He pitched in back-to-back starts against Daytona on April 29 and May 5, taking the win on April 29, holding the Cubs to one hit in 7.0 shutout innings and eight strikeouts. In the second start, he was tagged for five runs (four earned) in 2.2 innings.
6/28 - RHP Yorfrank Lopez (4-4, 4.34 ERA) ... Lopez got the win against Clearwater in his last start on June 23, working 5.2 innings and allowing just one run on four hits with seven strikeouts. He has recorded 24 strikeouts in his last four starts and has a 2-1 record that quarter of games with a 1.27 earned run average. Lopez is 1-1 with a 3.23 ERA in seven previous road starts. He faced Daytona in consecutive starts on April 28 and May 4. In the first game, he surrendered six runs on eight hits in just 2.2 innings. In his second start, he gave up one run on two hits  in 7.0 innings.
6/29 - RHP Kevin Eichhorn (4-2, 2.39 ERA) ... Eichhorn had his worst outing of the season in a loss at Brevard County on June 24, giving up five runs on eight hits in just 3.2 innings. The five runs matched his total allowed in three previous starts combined. After tossing back-to-back outings of 7.0 scoreless innings on May 7 and 13, Eichhorn has allowed 15 run in the next seven starts and is 1-2 with a 3.21 ERA. All of his decision have come in nine road appearances, including eight starts, where he has a 2.17 ERA. This will be his first appearance against the Cubs.

HOMERING JIM ... James Robbins has hit three homers in his last four games to give him a team-high ten on the season. However, Lakeland has been on the wrong end of the score the last two times he has gone yard. His 10 dingers is just two shy of Steven Moya’s total of 12 which led the 2013 Flying Tigers. Robbins is 5-for-14 with six RBI his last three games.

LUCKY 7 ... Josh Turley scatted eight hits on Wednesday night and held Brevard County to just one run over 7.0 innings to improve to a perfect 7-0 on the season. He is the first Lakeland pitcher to win his first seven decisions since P.J. Finegan ran off seven straight wins as a reliever in 2006. The last Lakeland starter to open the season with seven wins was David Darwin who in 1997 won his first eight games before tasting defeat. Darwin finished the campaign with a 10-1 record.

LUCKY 7, PART TWO ... Jeff McVaney brings a seven-game hit streak into the Daytona series, going 10-for-26 (.385) with four runs scored and six more driven in. 

WITHER THE “O” ... Lakeland batted just .199 over the last two series and scored just 19 runs. The Flying Tigers pitchers have done their part to keep Lakeland games allowing 23 runs with 10 coming in a 10-4 loss in the opening game of the Brevard series. Lakeland batters have whiffed 40 times the last six games while drawing just 13 walks.

DRUM ON DRUMMOND ... Calvin Drummond has not allowed a run in his last seven appearances out of the bullpen, working 9.2 innings while giving up seven hits and recording 13 strikeouts and issuing four walks. On the road this season, Drummond has a sparkling 0.77 ERA in eight appearances.

YOU DA MAN ... With All-Star closer Angel Nesbitt’s promotion to AA Erie right after the All-Star game, the closer role has been manned by Brennan Smith. Smith has five saves in six save opportunities since April 28, taking the loss in one game. Five of his six saves on the season have come at Joker Marchant Stadium.

WHO CARES WHERE THEY PLAY? ... Lakeland batters have been consistent, hitting .252 at home and .253 on the road. The Flying Tigers have scored 141 runs at home and 173 on the road. Twenty homers have been hit at cavernous Joker Marchant Stadium while the squad has knocked 18 balls out of the park on the road. The pitchers don’t see a difference either, recording a 3.06 ERA at home and a 2.99 mark on the road. Lakeland is 22-13 at home this season and 23-16 on the road (and 0-1 at neutral site games).

WHAT LATE HEROICS? ... Lakeland won six games in its last at bat during the month of May but has just one late-game win in June, that being a 10-inning, 4-3 win over Palm Beach on June 2.

GET LOTSA HITS ... The Flying Tigers are 35-8 when outhitting their opponents this season and 6-20 when being outhit.

WORKING FOR THE WEEKEND ... Lakeland is a combined 20-11 in weekend games, posting a 7-3 record on Fridays, a 7-5 mark on Saturday and a 6-3 record on Sunday.

CONSISTENCY ... Lakeland has lost exactly 10 games in each month of the season so far, going 16-10 in April and 19-10 in May. The squad will have to sweep this season to finish with 10 losses as they enter with a 10-10 record so far in June.

PLAYING A MAN DOWN ... The Flying Tigers have had a little more room on the bench the last few games as the squad has been at 24 active players (one below the league maximum) since Angel Nesbitt’s promotion on April 19.

UP NEXT ... After an off day on June 30, Lakeland will play a four-game set against Tampa, competing at home on July 1 and 2 (both at 6:30 pm) before playing one game at the Yankees on July 3 (7:00 pm) and then capping the series at Joker Marchant Stadium on July 6 (1:00 pm).

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Mission Notes vs. Brevard County (June 24-26)

THE SERIES ... The Flying Tigers hit the road for three games at Brevard County June 24-26. All games are set for 6:35 pm starts at Space Coast Stadium in Viera. The Manatees are one of only two teams in the FSL that have a winning record against the Flying Tigers (the other is St. Lucie which is 3-1 against Lakeland). Brevard County has won five of the seven games played in the season series, splitting four games in Lakeland and winning two at Space Coast Stadium as well as the one played at Dodger Town in celebration of Jackie Robinson Day on April 15. 

THE FLYING TIGERS (2-3, 44-28; T-4th, 1.0 GB) ... Lakeland topped Clearwater 5-2 on Monday, scoring all five runs in the third inning off Aaron Nola, the Phillies’ top pick in the 2014 draft (seventh overall selection), who was making his professional debut. With the win, the Flying Tigers are 3-4 since the All-Star break. Josh Turley (6-0) is second in the Florida State League with a 1.91 ERA and tops with a 0.94 WHIP and .198 opponents’ percentage. Kevin Eichhorn (4-1) is third with a 1.93 earned run average and Jake Thompson (6-2) is ninth with a 2.43 ERA. Chad Wright is 10th in the FSL with a .306 average. Lakeland’s staff ERA of 2.93 is fourth best in the league while the .254 team batting average is fifth highest. 

THE MANATEES (3-2, 39-32; T-1st, 1.0 Game Lead) ... Brevard County downed Dunedin 7-4 on Monday, putting up six runs in the second inning. The Manatees are 6-2 since the All-Star break. Tyler Wagner (6-4) is fourth in the league with a 1.96 ERA while Tanner Poppe is tied for fourth with nine saves. Michael Reed is second in the FSL with 19 stolen bases and third with a .413 on-base percentage. Tyrone Taylor leads with 27 doubles and 33 extra base hits. Nathan Orf has a league-high .448 on-base percentage. Brevard County has the lowest staff ERA (2.75) of any league team while the .252 team batting average is seventh best.

LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS
6/21 - RHP Kevin Eichhorn (4-1, 1.93 ERA) ... Eichhorn struck out five and allowed one run on nine hits in 6.0 innings in his last start on June 19 at Tampa. He has now allowed six earned runs in his last 24.0 innings over four starts for a 2.25 ERA and is 1-1 in those four games. Eichhorn is 4-1 with a 1.37 ERA in eight road games, including sevens starts. This is his first start against the Manatees, although he has made a pair of relief appearances back on April 8 and 14.
6/22 - LHP Josh Turley (6-0, 1.91 ERA) ... Turley allowed just two hits in 6.0 shutout innings with eight strikeouts and three walks in getting the win in his last start at home on June 20 against Tampa. In his last four starts, he has allowed three runs (all coming in one game) in 27.0 innings for a 1.00 ERA and has struck out 23 in those four games. Turley is 5-0 with a 1.94 ERA in 10 starts this season after beginning 2014 with five appearances out of the bullpen. Like Eichhorn, this is Turley’s first start against Brevard County, but he does have two relief stints.
6/23 - RHP Jake Thompson (6-2, 2.43 ERA) ... Thompson worked 5.0 innings on June 21 in his last start at Clearwater and allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits with seven strikeouts and two walks. In his previous start on June 9 at Dunedin, he was tagged for six runs on six hits in just 1.2 innings. Throw out that game and his ERA drops to 1.66. Thompson is 2-2 on the road with a 4.06 ERA in seven road starts. He took the loss in his only start against Brevard County this season, giving up one run on four hits in 7.0 innings on April 16.

THOMPSON HEADED TO FUTURES GAME ... Lakeland pitcher Jake Thompson has been named to the 2014 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game which will be played July 13 at Target Field in Minneapolis. Thompson will be joined by former Flying Tiger, Steven Moya.

MAKING THE BEST OF IT ... Harold Castro doesn’t get to see that much action, but when he does get on the field, he makes the best of it. Castro has played in 11 games and has hits in nine of those contests. He collected three base hits in Monday’s game against Clearwater, marking the third time this season he has had a trio of hits in one game.

STEADY DOES IT ... Connor Harrell has hits in six of his last seven games and nine of his last 11. He is batting .237 against lefties and .268 against righthanders. Harrell has a .292 average in 25 road games and .221 in 32 home games.

BIG MAC ... Jeff McVaney has hits in each of his last four games, going 6-for-14 with five runs batted in. He is third on the team with six homers on the season, five coming away from the cavernous Joker Marchant Stadium which is 420 to center and 340 down the lines.

SIR JAMES ... James Robbins entered Monday’s game tied with Connor Harrell for the team lead with seven homers. Robbins took over sole possession of the tead lead with a towering blast over the scoreboard in right field for his eighth round tripper. Seven of Robbins’ eight homers have come at home while hitting just one dinger on the road. Robbins has seven hits in 22 at bats against the Manatees with the seven hits representing the most hits by any Lakeland player in the series.

EIGHT IS GREAT ... In his last start on June 22 against Clearwater, Edgar De La Rosa took the loss despite giving up just one run on two hits with eight strikeouts in 7.0 innings. It was his third game with eight punch outs and now gives him 15 strikeouts in his last two starts in which he has allowed just one earned run in 14 innings.

BACK-TO-BACK SEVENS ... Yorfrank Lopez evened his record at 4-4 with a win on Monday against Clearwater. In that game, Lopez held the Threshers to one run with seven strikeouts—his second straight game with seven punch outs. He has now struck out 24 batters over his last four starts while allowing just three earned runs in 21.0 innings.

HEIR-APPARENT CLOSER ... With Angel Nesbitt now at AA Erie, manager Dave Huppert has turned to Brennan Smith, who picked up his fifth save on Monday and is now 5-for-6 in save opportunities in 2014.

IN AND OUT ... Lakeland has three home runs in the first five games of the second half. The Flying Tigers have hit homers in games 1, 3, and 5 of the second half while keeping the ball in the yard in games 2 and 4.

GIVE ME FOUR ... The Flying Tigers have scored four or more runs in a game 41 times this season, posting a 32-9 record in those games. When they fail to score at least four runs, the team is 12-19. Lakeland is 9-22 when the opponent scores four or more runs and 34-6 when limiting opponents to three or fewer runs.

PLAYING THE “D” ... Lakeland committed just one error in the three-game Clearwater series and continues to lead the Florida State League in fielding percentage with a .982 mark, five points better than the second place team. The Flying Tigers defense has been charged with just 50 errors on the season, 13 fewer than any other league team. James Robbins tops all FSL first baseman with a .995 fielding percentage with just three errors in 654 total chances. Connor Harrell leads all league outfielders with a perfect 1.000 fielding mark, having not committed an error in 162 chances this season.

THE ARM CATCHING THE ARMS ... Austin Green has gunned down 40.8 percentage of would-be base stealers this season—a mark that is third best in the league. The All-Star catcher has thrown out 20 of 49 runners.

UP NEXT ... After this series, Lakeland stays on the road for two games at Daytona, June 28-29, before closing out June with an off day on the 30th. Lakeland will then play nine home games in the first 10 days of July, including a seven-game home stand, July 4-10.

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Mission Notes vs. Clearwater (June 21-23)

THE SERIES ... The Flying Tigers play a three-game series against the Clearwater Threshers beginning Saturday night at 6:30 at Bright House Field before returning to Lakeland for games Sunday at 1 pm and Monday at 6:30 pm. The Flying Tigers had won the first seven games in this season series before the Threshers took the last meeting 3-0. 

THE FLYING TIGERS (43-26, 1-1 2nd Half: T-1st, 0.0 GB) ... Lakeland finds itself in a six-way tie for first in the North Division after every ball club in the Division that won on Thursday, lost on Friday night to leave all six teams at 1-1. The Flying Tigers are looking to find their groove again that saw them win eight straight from May 25-June 2. Since then, the club is 6-6. Lakeland batters have struck out 46 times the last four games and have hit double figures in whiffs six times in the last 11 games. However, in five of those games with 10 or more strikeouts, they also had 10 or more hits. The Flying Tigers staff ERA of 2.95 is third lowest in the FSL while .257 team batting average is fourth best in the league.

THE THRESHERS (18-52, 1-1 2nd Half: T-1st, 0.0 GB) ... Clearwater downed Dunedin 6-5 last night to claim its sixth win in the last nine games. Three of those six wins were shutouts, including a 3-0 blanking of Lakeland in the two teams’ last meeting on June 17. Ethan Stewart is tied with Lakeland’s Kevin Eichhorn with 79.1 innings pitched, but has walked 49 batters—the most of any FSL pitcher. Colin Kleven has walked just 1.56 batters per nine innings which is tied for third best in the league while reliever Lee Ridenhour has issued 1.83 free passes per nine frames, which is fifth best among league relievers. The Threshers are last in the league in hitting (.225) and ERA (4.79), however, the team is hitting .244 and has a 4.46 ERA in the month of June. 

LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS
6/21 - RHP Jake Thompson (6-2, 2.48 ERA) ... Thompson last pitched on June 14 at the FSL All-Star game working a scoreless 2nd inning, striking out three and giving up a pair of hits. Thompson had his worst outing of the season in his regular season last start on June 9 at Dunedin, giving up six runs on six hits in just 1.2 innings. The six earned runs matched his total allowed over his previous four starts. The loss was Thompson’s first since April 16. He has made one previous start against Clearwater, tossing 6.2 shutout innings on April 11 on four hits and five strikeouts with a pair of walks.
6/22 - RHP Edgar De La Rosa (4-4, 2.97 ERA) ... De La Rosa tossed two-hit ball over 7.0 scoreless innings against Clearwater in his last start on June 16. He struck out seven in that game and walked three and has now won his last three decisions while posting a 4-1 mark in his last five decisions. De La Rosa has made two previous starts against the Threshers and has not allowed a run in 15.0 innings while giving up just three hits and striking out 10 with seven walks.
6/23 - RHP Yorfrank Lopez (3-4, 4.56 ERA) ... Lopez took the loss against Clearwater in his last start on June 17, giving up three runs (two earned) on seven hits in 6.0 innings with seven strikeouts and one walk. He has allowed two earned runs in his last 16.0 innings over three starts for a 0.56 ERA. This is Lopez’s fourth outing versus the Threshers and he is 1-1 with a 3.12 ERA with 14 strikeouts and seven walks in 17.1 innings.

STILL IN THERE ... Chad Wright continues to rank in the top ten in the league in hitting, although an 0-for-4 game last night dropped him to .315 on the season and down one notch to eighth in the FSL.

THE ARMS HAVE IT ... The pitching trio of Josh Turley, Kevin Eichhorn, and Jake Thompson remain in the top ten in the Florida State League in terms of earned run average. Turley (6-0) is second with a 1.91 ERA while Eichhorn (4-1) is right behind him with a 1.93 mark. Thompson (6-2) is 10th with a 2.48 earned run average while ranking fourth with 8.61 strikeouts per nine innings. Turley leads the league with a 0.94 WHIP, a .198 opponents’ average, and 8.45 baserunners allowed per nine innings, and also is fifth in the FSL with 66 strikeouts. Eichhorn is third in the circuit with 79.1 innings pitched.

HUNTING FOR SHARKS ... Connor Harrell is 10-for-34 against Clearwater in the series this season for a .294 average. He has three doubles and a solo homer against the Threshers in eight games played. Harrell is hitting .293 in 35 road games with six doubles, two triples and four of his six homers coming away from Joker Marchant Stadium. Jeff McVaney has nine hits versus Clearwater including two doubles and a homer for four  runs batted in during his eight games in the series. Both James Robbins and Chad Wright have had nine hits in the series.

HOT BAT ... Curt Powell has collected six hits over the last three games and is 7-for-16 (.438) his last four outings with five runs batted in. He likes the friendly confines of Joker Marchant Stadium, batting a hefty .350 in 26 home games while hitting .270 in 30 road contests. However, 13 of his 20 runs scored and eight of his 10 doubles have come away from his home field.

FIRE FROM THE HILL ... The Lakeland pitching staff has allowed just three earned runs over the last five games for a 0.65 ERA. The starters have surrendered two runs over 31.0 innings for a 0.58 earned run average during that span while the relievers have given up just one earned run in 10.2 innings for a 0.84 mark.

BURGMOND ... Alex Burgos has been touched for just a single run in his last 14.0 innings over six appearances. He has struck out 16 batters in those six games while walking three and allowing seven hits. Calvin Drummond has not given up a run in his last 9.1 innings over six outings with 13 strikeouts and eight hits.

DURHAM TRIPPED ... Lance Durham saw his six-game hit streak come to a close last night, going 0-for-4. In his six game clip, he was 10-for-23 for a .435 mark. 

LONG TIME IN BETWEEN ... When catcher Austin Green was charged with a throwing error on June 17 against the Threshers, it was only his second error of the season and his first since an errant throw on in the second game of the season on April 4. Green has cut down 40.7 percent of would-be base stealers this season—fourth best mark in the league.

THE ORGANIZATION ... Overall, the eight clubs in the Detroit minor league organization have a combined record of 187-157. The .544 winning percentage is sixth best amongst the 30 Major League teams. As of Saturday morning, the big club (38-32) is hanging on to a 1/2 game lead in the American League Central while the AAA club, Toledo, is at the bottom looking up in the International League West, trailing the first place team by 7.5 games. One step up, AA Erie is in fourth place in the Eastern League Western Division by 11.5 games. One rung down, West Michigan won the first half of the Midwest League Eastern Division by 1/2 game. In the New York-Penn League, Connecticut is off to a 3-5 start while the Gulf Coast League Tigers dropped their season opener.

ALUMS IN THE SHOW ... Nick Castellanos is hitting .265 for Detroit with five homers and 25 runs batted in ... Bryan Holaday is hitting .303 with seven RBI ... Don Kelly is batting .235 ... Eugenio Suarez has a .282 average with three homers and six runs batted in ... Rick Porcello is 9-4 with a 3.76 ERA ... Luke Putkonen has allowed eight runs in 2.2 innings ... Drew Smyly is 3-6 with a 3.48 ERA ... Justin Verlander is 6-7 with a 4.98 ERA.

UP NEXT ... After this series, Lakeland hits the road for six games, starting with four at Brevard County, June 24-27, and then two at Daytona, June 28-29, before closing out June with an off day on the 30th.

A LOOK AHEAD ... Lakeland will play nine home games in the first 10 days of July, including a seven-game home stand, July 4-10.

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Mission Notes vs. Tampa (June 19-20)

THE SERIES ... The Flying Tigers open the second half with a two-game, home-and-away series against Tampa. Game one is at George Steinbrenner Field on Thursday at 7 pm while game two is Friday at Joker Marchant Stadium at 7:11 p.m.

THE FLYING TIGERS (42-25, First Half: 2nd, 3.0 GB) ... Lakeland closed out the first half with a split of two games against Clearwater with the third game rained out. The Flying Tigers won the opening game of the series 7-1 as every player got at least one hit in a 16-hit attack. Clearwater shutout Lakeland the next night 3-0 as the Flying Tigers stranded a combined 22 runners in the two games. Chad Wright is seventh in the Florida State League with a .320 average. On the hill, Kevin Eichhorn (4-1) remains second with a 1.96 ERA while Josh Turley (5-0) is fourth with a 2.08 mark and Jake Thompson (6-2) is tenth with a 2.48 ERA. Turley leads the FSL with a 0.95 WHIP and a .207 opponents batting average. Angel Nesbitt has the second most saves (14) in the league. The Flying Tigers pitching staff has the fourth lowest ERA in the league (2.99) while the team batting average of .257 ranks fifth.

THE YANKEES (33-37, First Half: 4th, 13.5 GB) ... Tampa got tripped by Daytona by an 11-2 score on Wednesday, but took the first two games in the series. Tampa is now 3-6 its last nine games. The Yankees have lost two of the top home run hitters in the FSL as Peter O’Brien and Eric Jagielo each had ten round-trippers before O’Brien was promoted to AA and Jagielo was placed on the Disabled List. Jake Cave has collected 83 base hits to rank fourth in the league in that category while pitcher Rafael De Paula is fourth with 71 strikeouts on the season. Tampa’s staff ERA of 3.43 ranks sixth in the FSL while the .249 team batting average is fourth lowest in the FSL.

LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS
6/20 - RHP Kevin Eichhorn (4-1, 1.96 ERA) ... Eichhorn took the loss in his last start on June 7 despite giving up just two runs, one earned, on seven hits in 4.0 innings. He is 2-1 his last seven starts with 1.80 ERA. In those seven games, he has 29 strikeouts, but has also walked 13 during that span. Eichhorn has three previous outings against Tampa, including two starts, and is 1-0 with a 0.56 ERA having allowed just one earned run on 10 hits in 16.0 innings with 11 strikeouts.
6/21 - RHP Jake Thompson (6-2, 2.48 ERA) ... Thompson had his worst outing of the season in his last start on June 9 at Dunedin, giving up six runs on six hits in just 1.2 innings. The six earned runs matched his total allowed over his previous four starts. The loss was Thompson’s first since April 16. He is 4-0 at home this season with a 1.01 ERA in six starts. This is his fourth start versus the Yankees in 2014 and he is 1-0 with a 1.26 earned run average in the series with 17 strikeouts in 14.1 innings.

TIGERS TO TIGERS ... Nate Fury becomes the first player from the Detroit Tigers’ 2014 Draft Class to make the Lakeland roster. Fury was taken in the 36th round out of Louisiana State University, alma mater of fellow Flying Tiger Tyler Hanover. Fury, a 5’11” righty, played two seasons for LSU making 46 relief appearances for the Tigers. 

A RARE 40 ... Lakeland finished the first half with 42-25 record-—the best record at the midway point for a Lakeland club since the 2005 team won the Division with a 45-22 mark. The 42 wins is the third most wins for any Lakeland team at the halfway mark since the FSL went to split seasons in 1988, and is just the fourth time that a Lakeland squad has won 40 or more games in the first half. The 1990 team, under manager John Lipon, went 44-24 and then finished 39-25 in the second half. The 2002 team, that played for the FSL championship under Gary Green, was 40-32 at the midway point, but dropped to 29-38 in the final half. The 2005 squad, led by manager Mike Rojas, won both halves, finishing 45-20 in the first and 40-26 in the second half.

DANCIN’ DURHAM ... Lance Durham brings a five-game hit streak into the series and is 9x19 (.474) during those five games. 

ANGEL TAKES WINGS ... Angel Nesbitt was promoted to AA Erie on Thursday and Eduardo Sanchez, who was on the Temporary Inactive List, has been released.

THE WRIGHT MAN ... Chad Wright has hits in nine of his last ten games and has gone 13x39 (.333) during that stretch.

SOLO SHOTS ... James Robbins and Jeff McVaney have hit seven and six home runs, respectively. However, a combined ten of those (five by each player) have came with no one on base. Overall, of the 33 home runs hit by Lakeland this season, 19 have been of the solo variety. Connor Harrell has hit six home runs this season, four coming with a man on base.

BASES-LOADED KIND ... Tampa pitching has given up two grand slams in its last five games. Overall, there have been 17 grand slams in the Florida State League this season including one each by James Robbins and Lance Durham. Daytona’s Rock Shoulders (one of this author’s all-time favorite player names) and Fort Myers’ Adam Brett Walker each have gone deep twice with the bases loaded.

NEW LEAD-OFF MAN? ... Perhaps Lakeland skipper should move Austin Green into the lead-off spot-—at least for the first inning—as the Flying Tigers catcher is batting .372 when leading off an inning.

WHO YA GONNA CALL? ... With runners in scoring position and two outs, who would you want at the plate? Based on his stats, its Lance Durham. the Lakeland designated hitter is 11-for-23 in that situation while Curt Powell is next at 10-for-31. Powell jumps ahead in hitting with runners in scoring position, going 20-for-56 (.357) with 22 RBI. Durham is 22-for-65 with RISP for a .338 mark and is tied with Jeff McVaney with 31 runs batted in when faced with runners on second and/or third.

STAT LEADERS ... At the halfway mark in the season, here’s a look at the team leaders in various categories. Chad Wright leads the Flying Tigers in batting average (.320), hits (79) and runs scored (44); Jeff McVaney leads with 16 doubles, 39 RBI and eight stolen bases; Tyler Hanover has a team-best four triples; James Robbins has the most homers with seven. On the mound, Jake Thompson is a perfect 6-0 to lead the staff in wins and is also tops with 59 strikeouts. Angel Nesbitt is a perfect 14-of-14 in save opportunities.

ONE STEP UP ... Here’s a glimpse at the Lakeland players that have jumped to AA Erie this season: Corey Jones is hitting a crisp .321 with 13 doubles, a triple, three dingers and 15 RBI; Brandon Loy was batting .209 before suffering a serious leg injury; Dixon Machado is hitting .218 with six doubles, a triple and a homer for seven RBI; Guido Knudson is 0-2 with an 8.31 ERA in 11 appearances and is 0-for-1 in save opportunities. Slade Smith is also 0-2 with a 8.80 ERA in 13 stints and is 0-for-2 in save opps; Will Startup is 2-1 with a 4.62 in 18 games and is also 0-for-2 in save situations.

GONE CLUBBIN’ ... Before leaving the Tampa Yankees back on May 9, Peter O’Brien had hit ten homers (which still ranks third in the Florida State League). He is now a member of the AA Trenton Thunder in the Midwest League and has proved he can hit at that level too, smashing 13 homers thru 38 games to give him 23 home runs in 68 games. His 23 dingers is second most in the Minor Leagues, trailing only Joey Gallo (now with AA Frisco in the Texas League) who has 25 homers in 67 games.

UP NEXT ... After two games against the Yankees, the Flying Tigers will play Saturday, June 21 at Clearwater before returning to Joker Marchant Stadium for two more games against the Threshers on June 22 and 23.

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Mission Notes vs. Clearwater (June 16-18)

THE SERIES ... The Flying Tigers return from the All-Star Break with a three-game series against Clearwater, the last games of the first half. The first two games will be played at 7 pm on June 15 and 16 at Bright House Field with the finale taking place at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland on June 17 at 6:30 pm. The Flying Tigers swept the two previous series against the Threshers winning three games in Lakeland (two by shutout) and three in Clearwater. The final two contests went 13 and 11 innings.

THE FLYING TIGERS (41-24, 2nd, 4.5 GB) ... Lakeland beat Brevard County 3-0 in the first game of a make-up doubleheader on Thursday, but could not get game two underway due to rain. The Flying Tigers have gone 5-4 the last nine games, not winning, or losing, more than one game in a row. Chad Wright is fifth in the Florida State League with a .321 batting average and tied for fourth with 44 runs scored. Kevin Eichhorn (4-1) has moved into second in the league with a 1.96 ERA while Josh Turley (5-0) is fourth with a 2.08 mark. Turley has a league-best 0.05 WHIP and a .207 opponents batting average. Angel Nesbitt is second in the FSL with 14 saves and needs one more to move into a tie for the league lead. His next save will also move him into the top ten on the Lakeland single season list. The Flying Tigers are fourth in the FSL with a 3.05 ERA and have posted a league-high 10 shutouts. Lakeland is fifth with a .255 team batting average and has scored the fifth most runs. 

THE THRESHERS (16-50, 6th, 30.0 GB) ... Clearwater also won 3-0 in its last game and has been victorious in four of the last five after losing seven in a row. The Threshers did not reach double figures in wins until May 25 when won at Daytona to improve to 10-39. Art Charles is tied for fourth in the league with 18 doubles. The Threshers have the highest staff ERA (4.85) of any FSL team and has given up the most runs of any staff. Clearwater pitchers have recorded the fewest strikeouts in the league.

LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS
6/16 - RHP Edgar De La Rosa (3-4, 3.30 ERA) ... De La Rosa picked up the win in his last start on June 8 versus Dunedin after allowing four runs on six hits in 6.1 innings of work. He did not strike out a batter in that game, marking the first time this season he has failed to record a strikeout De La Rosa has now given up seven earned runs over 12.1 innings in his last two starts after tossing 7.0 scoreless innings on May 29. In his only previous appearance against Clearwater, he held the Threshers to one hit over 8.0 scoreless innings, but did not get the win as Lakeland won 4-2 in 11 innings at Bright House Stadium.
6/17 - RHP Yorfrank Lopez (3-3, 4.85 ERA) ... Lopez threw 6.0 scoreless innings in his last start on June 12 against Brevard County, getting the win after limiting the Manatees to four hits with five strikeouts. He has now allowed just one run and struck out 10 in his last 10.0 innings over two starts. Lopez has twice started against Clearwater with mixed results. On April 13, he tossed 6.1 scoreless innings and held the Threshers to two hits in a win. In his next start on April 18 at Clearwater, he was tagged for five runs on four hits with five strikeouts in 5.0 innings, but did not factor into the decision.
6/18 - RHP Kevin Eichhorn (4-1, 1.96 ERA) ... Eichhorn took the loss in his last start on June 7 despite giving up just two runs, one earned, on seven hits in 4.0 innings. He is still looking for his first home win and is 0-0 with a 2.70 ERA in six games, including four starts, at Joker Marchant Stadium. Eichhorn has not faced Clearwater this season.

NORTH WINS ALL-STAR TILT ... Austin Green helped the North to a 6-4 come-from-behind win in the FSL All-Star Game on Saturday. With his team trailing 4-2, Green singled to left field to drive in a run and later, scored the go-ahead on a two-run double by Daytona’s Gioskar Amaya. Angel Nesbitt came on in the ninth and struck out two of the three batters he faced to get the save. Jake Thompson pitched the second inning and struck out three and allowed a pair of hits while Josh Turley gave up two runs on three hits in the third. Kevin Eichhorn worked the seventh inning and gave up one hit with one walk and one strikeout.

BLUE JAYS CLINCH ... With a Dunedin win Thursday night, the Blue Jays clinched the first half pennant in the North Division for the third straight season. Since the Florida State League went to split seasons in 1988, only seven teams that won the first half have gone on to win the league championship. Ten teams that took the first half also won the second half, but that has only happened twice since 1998. Two teams that qualified for postseason as a wildcard team won the playoffs.

ON THE OTHER SIDE ... In the South Division, Fort Myers leads St. Lucie by just 1/2 game with three games left. 

WELL RESTED ... Thanks to Mother Nature and the FSL All-Star break, the Flying Tigers have played just one game in the last six days. Lakeland was rained out on June 10 and 11 and finally played on June 12, but could only play the first game of a doubleheader as the second game never got underway as rains once again fell on Joker Marchant Stadium.

LIGHTS OUT ... Angel Nesbitt has been the closest to automatic that a reliever can get. He is a perfect 14-for-14 in save opportunities and has not surrendered a run in his last 17.1 innings over 15 appearances since May 5. He has only given up four hits in that span and has struck out 23 and walked just one. His ERA is a miniscule 0.79 entering this series. He is 2-0 with seven saves and a 1.04 ERA in 12 relief appearances at home and 0-0 with seven saves in 12 road outings with a 0.53 ERA.

HAPPY HAROLD ... Harold Castro has had hits in eight of his nine games played since joining Lakeland in late May. He is hitting .393 against righthanders with 11 hits in 28 at bats. 

BULLISH BURGOS ... Alex Burgos has allowed just one run in his last 14 innings over six relief appearances. Throw out his season debut on April 23 in which he allowed five earned runs and Burgos’ ERA drops to 1.59 on the year, In seven road stints this season, Burgos is 1-1 with one save and a 1.98 earned run average.

DRUM ON ... Calvin Drummond has also been stingy with the runs allowed, tossing 7.1 scoreless innings in his last five appearances, including 3.0 shutout innings in his last outing on June 6 at Fort Myers.

LOTSA LANCE ... Lance Durham is 6-for-10 hit his last three games.

STEADY “D” ... Lakeland remains the top fielding team in the Florida State League with a .983 fielding percentage and has committed just 44 errors in 65 games—15 fewer than any other league team. James Robbins is the top fielding first baseman in the league with a .997 defensive mark with just two errors in 593 total chances. Tyler Hanover tops all league third baseman with a .966 fielding percentage and has five errors in 149 chances. Connor Harrell leads all FSL outfielders with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage, handling 148 total chances without an error. All-Star Austin Green is the top fielding catcher with a .997 fielding mark and has just one error in 333 chances. Green has also thrown out 40.9 percent of would-be base stealers, fourth best mark in the league.

ONE OF FOUR ... Wednesday’s home game in the Clearwater series is one of just four home games Lakeland will play in the final 13 days of June. The Flying Tigers will make up for lost time in July, with nine home games in the first 10 days of the month. After nine games on the road, Lakeland will return for an eight-game home stand before hitting the road for four games to close out the month.

UP NEXT ... Lakeland opens the second half with a pair of games against Tampa, playing June 19 at George Steinbrenner Field and June 20 at Joker Marchant Stadium.

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Mission Notes vs. Brevard County (June 10-12)

THE SERIES ... The first two games of this three-game home series will take place Tuesday and Wednesday at 6:30 pm with the finale on Thursday at 10:30 am in the first of two Parks and Recreation days. Brevard County has beaten Lakeland more than any other team in the league, sporting a 5-1 record in 2014. The Flying Tigers won the final game of a three-game set in Lakeland on April 8-10 while the Manatees swept the three-game return series in Viera. The Manatees have posted two shutouts in the series and have outscored the Flying Tigers 31-13.

THE FLYING TIGERS (40-24, 2nd, 3.5 GB) ... Lakeland ran into a buzz saw in Dunedin last night as the Blue Jays flew to a 14-2 win. With the loss, the Flying Tigers remain 3.5 games behind Dunedin with six games remaining. Lakeland is 3-4 its last seven games, having not won, or lost, more than one game in a row. Chad Wright is now fifth in the Florida State League with a .319 batting average and 75 hits. Wright is also fourth with 43 runs scored. Kevin Eichhorn (4-1, 1.96) and Josh Turley (5-0, 2.08) are ranked fourth and sixth, respectively in the league’s ERA standings. Turley leads the league with a 0.95 WHIP and is second with a .207 opponents’ batting average. Angel Nesbitt picked up another save Sunday and is second in the FSL with 13 while Jake Thompson is fifth with 59 strikeouts and fourth with a .218 opponents’ batting average. The Flying Tigers dropped a spot to fourth in the league with a 3.09 staff ERA while the team batting average of .255 ranks fifth. The team has struck out the third most times and drawn the third fewest walks in the FSL.

THE MANATEES (33-29, 3rd, 9.5 GB) ... Brevard County shut out Tampa, 3-0, on Monday for a second straight win giving the Manatees four wins in their last five games. Michael Reed has 18 stolen bases to rank second in the Florida State League in that category and is also second with a .429 on-base percentage and 36 walks. Nathan Orf is right behind Reed with a .409 on-base mark and 30 base on balls while Tyrone Taylor leads the circuit with 29 extra base hits. The Manatees have the second lowest staff ERA (2.60) in the FSL and have struck out the fourth most batters. There are one of three teams (along with Lakeland and Dunedin) to have tossed nine shutouts this season. The team batting average of .249 is fifth lowest in the league and they have scored the third fewest runs of any team. However, they have struck out the fewest times for any FSL squad.

LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS
6/10 - RHP Yorfrank Lopez (2-3, 5.34 ERA) ... Lopez is going for his first win since May 25. In his last start on June 5, he held Fort Myers to one run on four hits and five strikeouts but lasted just 4.0 innings. He has been up and down the last three games, allowing zero runs, four runs, and one run for a 2.81 ERA. Lopez is 1-3 at home with a 7.62 ERA in six starts. He made his season debut against Brevard County on April 8, giving up six runs—three earned—on six hits with four strikeouts and three walks in taking the loss.
6/11 - LHP Josh Turley (5-0, 2.08 ERA) ... Turley gave up three runs on four hits while striking out seven in a no-decision against Fort Myers on June 6. The three runs and seven strikeouts matched his season highs.  He had tossed 22.0 scoreless innings over his last four starts. He is 2-0 at home with a 2.25 ERA. Turley has made two previous appearances against the Manatees, both in relief, and has not allowed a run over 5.0 innings against Brevard County.
6/12 - RHP Kevin Eichhorn (4-1, 1.96 ERA) ... Eichhorn took the loss in his last start on June 7 despite giving up just two runs, one earned, on seven hits in 4.0 innings. He is still looking for his first home win and is 0-0 with a 2.70 ERA in six games, including four starts, at Joker Marchant Stadium. This is Eichhorn’s third day start and he is 1-0 with a 2.38 in the sunshine. He has made two relief appearances versus Brevard County and is 0-0 with a 2.16 ERA against the Manatees.

THE FIRST 40 ... With Lakeland’s 6-5 win over Dunedin on Sunday, the team hit the 40-win mark for the first half. It is the most wins for a Lakeland team in the first half since the 2005 team set the benchmark with a 45-22 record.

DURHAM’S BACK ... Lance Durham had a ten-game win streak from May 23-June 2 and then went 1-for-19. However, in the last two games, the Flying Tigers’ designated hitter has five hits in his last eight at bats.

FSL ALL-STARS ... Lakeland will have five representatives in this weekend’s All-Star Game in Bradenton in starting pitchers Kevin Eichhorn, Jake Thompson, and Josh Turley, closer Angel Nesbitt, and catcher Austin Green. Brevard County will send four All-Stars to the game in starting pitchers Jed Bradley and Tyler Wagner, reliever Tanner Poppe and catcher Cameron Garfield.

GREEN CHOSEN FOR HOME RUN DERBY ... Austin Green will represent Lakeland in the Home Run Debry at the FSL All-Star Game June 14. Green has hit three dingers this season. Avisail Garcia won the Home Run Debry in 2012 while playing for Lakeland.

PROVING WHY HE’S AN ALL-STAR ... Angel Nesbitt is second in the FSL with 13 saves and 18 games finished for Lakeland. He is tied for the league-lead with 23 appearances while he has the fifth best opponents’ batting average among relievers with a .193 mark. He is also fifth among relievers with 9.72 strikeouts and second with 8.37 baserunners allowed per nine innings.

A NIGHT TO FORGET ... Lakeland suffered its worst defeat of the year on Monday, falling 14-2, at Dunedin. The Blue Jays jumped on Flying Tigers starter Jake Thompson for six runs on six hits in just 1.2 innings and added six more runs off of Logan Ehlers on eight hits in just 2.1 innings. It was Lakeland’s worst defeat since Jupiter shutout the Flying Tigers 13-0 in the first game of a doubleheader on June 30, 2007 (incidentally, Lakeland was also shutout 4-0 in game two). 

JOLLY JEFF ... Jeff McVaney was 9-for-19 in five games from June 4-8 with a pair of doubles, a solo homer, and five runs batted in. 

OH, SNAP ... Curt Powell saw his nine-game hit streak snapped on Monday, going 0-for-4 against Dunedin. During his streak he was 18-for-43 (.419). Powell has had at least one hit in 26 of his last 31 games, picking up 43 hits in 127 at bats for a .339 clip.

OH, SNAP, PT. II ... Chad Wright saw hit brief six-game hit streak snapped on Monday as well. He had two hits on Sunday against Dunedin and has hits in 24 of his 58 games played this season and has had 16 games with two hits and eight more with three hits. 

STAY ‘TIL THE END ... Folks should stick around for all nine innings when watching the Flying Tigers. The club has come back and won 10 of the 25 games in which they trailed after five innings. The 10-15 record leads all Florida State League clubs. The squad is 8-6 in games that are tied after six innings; 8-4 in those contest with the score knotted after seven frames; and 8-5 in tied games after eight innings. Thanks in large part to closer Angel Nesbitt, the Flying Tigers are 31-0 when taking a lead into the ninth inning (only Dunedin, which had the FSL’s leading closer with 15 saves, tops Lakeland with a 34-0 mark). Lakeland is also 20-5 when scoring last in a game. The Flying Tigers are also 15-8 in one-run games, 11-5 in 2-run games and 6-5 in extra innings.

THROWING GOOSE EGGS ... Lakeland is tied for the most shutouts in the league with nine and has been shutout just four times-—third fewest times of any Florida State League ballclub.

ROSTER MOVE ... Pitcher Eduardo Sanchez who recently joined the club from AAA Toledo, was placed on the Temporary Inactive List on Monday. Sanchez, who had not pitched previously this year, was 0-2 with an 18.00 ERA in three appearances for Lakeland allowing four earned runs on six hits over 2.0 innings.

UP NEXT ... Lakeland has June 13-15 off for the Florida State League All-Star game before returning to action at Clearwater for two games on June 16-17 and one at home on June 18.

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Mission Notes vs. Dunedin (June 8-9)

THE SERIES ... Lakeland plays a critical two-game series against the Dunedin Blue Jays on June 4-5 with the competition opening Sunday at 1 pm in Lakeland and concluding with a 6:35 pm in Dunedin Monday. These two contenders have split their eight games this season. The Blue Jays have won two of the three played in Lakeland so far while the Flying Tigers have taken three of the five played in Dunedin.

THE FLYING TIGERS (39-23, 2nd, 3.5 GB) ... Lakeland split its four games at Fort Myers with each of the last three games ending in 4-3 scores. Lakeland won the opener 10-3 and took game three, 4-3, in 11 innings. The Flying Tigers are now 2-3 their last five games. Chad Wright has climbed to fifth in the Florida State League with a .320 batting average and ranks fourth with 43 runs scored. Jeff McVaney is fifth with 38 runs batted in and 16 doubles. Three Lakeland hurlers remain in the top ten in the league in Jake Thompson (3rd, 1.65); Kevin Eichhorn (5th, 1.96); and Josh Turley (2.08 to go with his 5-0 record and 58 strikeouts). Angel Nesbitt is the active leader in the league with 12 saves. The Flying Tigers are third in the FSL with a 2.89 staff ERA and are tied with Dunedin with a league-high nine shutouts. Lakeland is sixth in the league with a .255 batting average and third with 33 homers. The Flying Tigers defense is tops in the league with a .983 fielding percentage with 13 fewer errors than the second place team. Five Flying Tigers are the top defensive players at their respective positions: 1B–James Robbins (.997, 2 errors in 573 chances); SS–Dixon Machado, now at AA Erie (.972); 3B–Tyler Hanover (.965); OF–Connor Harrell (1.000, 137 chances); P–Josh Turley (1.000, 21 chances).

THE BLUE JAYS (42-19, 1st, 3.5 game lead) ... Dunedin, which is tied with Kane County (Cubs) for the most wins in baseball, also split its last series at home against St. Lucie. After dropping the opener 4-3, the Blue Jays took the next game, 7-4, before being shutout 5-0 in game three and winning the finale, 4-2. Dalton Pompey leads the Blue Jays with a .318 average which ranks sixth in the Florida State League while swiping a FSL-best 22 bases. Derrick Chung is tenth with a .311 mark while K.C. Hobson has driven in a league-best 51 runs and Dwight Smith is second with 44 runs scored. On the hill, Daniel Norris is second with a 1.32 ERA to go with his perfect 5-0 record and 73 strikeouts. Taylor Cole is eighth with a 2.12 mark while leading with 88 strikeouts (14 more than the net pitcher). Dunedin has lowest staff ERA in the league at 2.51 and leads the league with 518 strikeouts. At the plate, the team has a .256 team batting average which is fourth highest in the league. The Blue Jays have also stolen 71 bases, second only to the 76 swiped by Bradenton. 

LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS
6/08 - RHP Edgar De La Rosa (2-4, 3.04 ERA) ... De La Rosa gave up three runs on six hits and four walks in his last outing on June 3 against Palm Beach. In the outing before that, he tossed 7.0 shutout innings on May 29 at Jupiter. De La Rosa has had four outings in which he has not allowed a run. In his last four starts, he has surrendered 27 hits and 15 runs, although only eight were earned. He had his worst outing of the year the last time he faced the Blue Jays, taking the loss on May 24 after being tagged for eight runs—only two earned—on eight hits in just 3.2 innings.
6/09 - RHP Jake Thompson (6-1, 1.65 ERA) ... Thompson has allowed just two earned runs in 15.0 innings over his last three starts, but has only worked 5.0 in each of those three games. In his last start on June 4 at Fort Myers, he gave up two runs—one earned—on four hits with four strikeouts to get his sixth win. Thompson is 2-1 with a 2.59 ERA in five previous road games this season. The last time he faced Dunedin on May 3, he got the win after striking out seven in 7.0 scoreless innings.

RARE THEFTS ... Jeff McVaney swiped a pair of bases Saturday night to become just the second Flying Tiger to steal two bases in a game this season. His two stolen bases are the first this month by a Lakeland player. Since May 12, Lakeland has recorded just five stolen bases, matching the number of triples during the same time span.  

TWO-TEAM RACE ... The battle for the first half division title comes down to Dunedin and Lakeland as the other four teams in the division have been eliminated from the race. Both teams will have eight games remaining in the first half after this series. Lakeland hosts Brevard County (31-29) for three games before the All-Star break and plays three against Clearwater (12-49)—two on  the road and one at home. Dunedin hosts Daytona (25-35) for three games and then plays a three-game set at Brevard County (31-29).

FSL PLAY-OFF REMINDER ... The winner of the first half plays the winner of the second half at the end of the season. In the event of a repeat Division winner, the team with the next best overall record in the Division will qualify for the playoffs as a Wild Card team.

A THREE-BAGGER SHY ... Jeff McVaney singled, doubled and homered on Saturday at Fort Myers, falling a triple shy of being the first Lakeland batter to hit for the cycle since Michael Bertram accomplished the rare feat on July 18, 2009. McVaney finished the Fort Myers series going 8-for-16 over the four games with a pair of doubles, a solo homer, and four runs batted in. The three hits in the series finale marked the fourth time he has had a trio of hits in a game to go with his 12 two-hit games.

THE EIGHT BALL ... Curt Powell has had hits in each of the last eight games going 17x38 for a .447 pace since May 28. He has had at least one base hit in 25 of his last 28 games, putting up 42 hits in 118 at bats for a .356 pace. Powell had five hits in the series opener versus the Miracle for his second five-hit game this season. He has also had 12 games with two hits. Powell is hitting .352 in 23 home games and .274 in 26 road games.

DOWN SOUTH JUKIN’ ... Lakeland wrapped up its first half foray into the South Division with a 14-9 record. The Flying Tigers swept Jupiter; went  3-1 against Bradenton and Palm Beach; split with Fort Myers; and dropped three of four to St. Lucie.

MULTI-HIT KING ... Chad Wright brings a five-game hit streak into this series. Twice against Fort Myers he had two hits in a game and now has had two or more hits in 23 of his 56 games played. He has had 15 games with two hits and eight more with three hits. Wright is hitting .292 in 28 home games and jumps up to .348 in 28 road games.

THE TWO SIDES OF LEON ... Leon Durham put together a 10-game hit streak from May 23-June 2, collecting 13 hits in 77 at bats for a .277 clip.  Since the streak ended, the Lakeland designated hitter has gone 1-for-19.

BEEN HERE A WHILE ... Lakeland moved into second place back on April 18 with a 9-8, 13 inning win over Clearwater and has remained there ever since. The Flying Tigers closed within 2.5 games on several occasions and were 6.0 games back of Dunedin on May 24.

ANOTHER LAKELAND ALUM MAKES THE BIGS ... Eugenio Suarez became the latest Flying Tiger alum to make it to the big leagues as the former Lakeland shortstop was called up by Detroit on Wednesday. Suarez in 25 games for the Flying Tiger last season, batting .311 with 12 runs batted in. In the field, he played 24 games at shortstop with a .931 fielding percentage and one game at second base. He made his Major League debut on June 4, going 0-for-1 after entering the game in the top of the seventh. He made his first Major League start on June 7, hitting a two-run homer off Jon Lester in his second at bat for his first big league hit and  finished 1-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored.

UP NEXT ... Lakeland will welcome the Brevard County Manatees to Joker Marchant Stadium next for a three-game series. Games one and two are on June 10 and 11 and are set for 6:30 pm starts with the finale June 12 at 10:30 am in the first of two summer camp day games.

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Mission Notes vs. Fort Myers (June 4-7)

THE SERIES ... Lakeland plays June 4-7 at Fort Myers with the first three games getting underway at 7:05 pm and the finale set for 6:05 pm. The Miracle are the only club the Flying Tigers have not faced yet in 2014.  

THE FLYING TIGERS (37-21, 2nd North, 3.5 GB) ... Lakeland saw its eight-game winning streak come to a close on Tuesday, falling 6-3 to Palm Beach. The Flying Tigers had won the first three games to take the series, their tenth series win of the season. Even though they were held to just four hits last night, Lakeland is batting .274 over the last 16 games dating back to May 19 with ten game of 10 or more hits. Tuesday’s loss dropped Lakeland to 3.5 games behind Dunedin which crushed Jupiter 14-2 after putting up a 10-spot in the seventh inning. Three Lakeland pitchers remain in the top ten in the league in Jake Thompson (3rd, 5-1, 1.64); Josh Turley (5th, 3-0, 1.85); and Kevin Eichhorn (6th, 4-0, 1.95) while Angel Nesbitt is second in the FSL with 11 saves. Jeff McVaney is fourth in the league with 22 extra-base hits while Chad Wright is fourth with 38 runs scored. The Flying Tigers are fourth in the FSL with a 2.92 ERA and are tied for the league lead with nine shutouts. The team batting average of .254 ranks sixth while the team has hit the third most homers.

THE MIRACLE (34-23, 1st South, 1.5 game lead) ... Fort Myers shutout Tampa 8-0 last night to take the series, three games to one. The win is the Miracle’s ninth in their last 11 games. Adam Walker leads the Florida State League with 12 home runs and is tied for second with 44 runs batted in while Travis Harrison ranks third with 16 doubles. Two Miracle pitchers rank in the top ten in the Florida State League in David Hurlbut (8th, 3-3, 2.05) and Jose Berrios (9th, 5-2, 2.24 ERA). Berrios is also third with 65 strikeouts. He and teammate Jason Wheeler have tossed two of the three shutouts in the league this season. Fort Myers has the third lowest ERA (2.87) in the league and has given up the second fewest homers. The Miracle rank seventh with a .252 team batting average, but have scored the most runs in the league.

LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS
6/04 - RHP Jake Thompson (5-1, 1.64 ERA) ... Thompson struck out seven and allowed just one hit in 5.0 scoreless inning in a win on May 30 at Jupiter in his last start. He has not gone beyond the fifth inning in any of last four starts. Thompson has held opponents to two runs or fewer in nine of his ten starts this season and recorded five or more strikeouts in seven starts.
6/05 - RHP Yorfrank Lopez (2-3, 5.56 ERA) ... Lopez gave up four runs on seven hits in his last start on May 31 against Palm Beach. In his previous start he had tossed two-hit ball over 7.0 scoreless innings. Lopez has just one win (May 25) in his last nine starts and has a 3.67 ERA over his last six starts.
6/06 - LHP  Josh Turley (5-0, 1.85 ERA) ... Turley tossed 7.0 scoreless innings and allowed four hits to get the win in his last start on June 1 against Palm Beach. He has not surrendered a run in 15.0 innings over his last two starts and has given up just six hits with eight strikeouts. Turley is 4-0 with a 1.87 ERA in eight starts.
6/07 - RHP Kevin Eichhorn (4-0, 1.95 ERA) ... Eichhorn gave up three runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts over 7.0 innings in a no-decision start on June 2 versus Palm Beach. He now has a 2.67 ERA over his last four games with a 1-0 mark and 21 strikeouts. Eichhorn is now 4-0 with a 2.05 ERA in nine starts this season.

“HUPP” MOVES UP ... Congratulations to Flying Tigers skipper Dave Huppert who surpassed Jim Leyland on Sunday to move into sole possession of third place for wins by a Lakeland manager. Already the minor league’s winningest active manager with 1,846 victories, Huppert is now 238-221 in four seasons in Lakeland. Leyland, who went on to manage in the Major Leagues from 1986-2013, including the 2006-13 seasons with Detroit, was 237-177 from 1976-78. Moving into second place may take a while for Huppert as John Lipon racked up a 379-288 record from 1988-1992. The all-time winningest Lakeland manager is Dick Tracewski who had a 392-402 record from 1970-1975.

FSL ALL-STARS ... Congratulations to starting pitchers Jake Thompson, Kevin Eichhorn, and Josh Turley; reliever Angel Nesbitt; and catcher Austin Green on being named to the Florida Southern League 2014 Midseason All-Star Team. The quintet will travel to Bradenton next weekend for the 53rd Annual FSL All-Star Game June 14 at McKechnie Field. The five all-stars is the most for Lakeland since the 2010 squad also had five honorees. It’s the most pitchers selected since the 2005 team also had three starters (including Justin Verlander) and a relief pitcher chosen.

GRAND SLAM TIME ... Lance Durham blasted a bases-loaded homer on May 31 in the Flying Tigers’ 7-5 win over Palm Beach to give him back-to-back games with four runs batted in. It was Lakeland’s second grand slam of the season as James Robbins also hit one on April 28 in a 11-10 win over Daytona. For Durham, it was his first grand slam since Aug. 11, 2010 when he accomplished the feat as a member of the Auburn Doubledays, an affiliate of Toronto in the New York-Penn League.

A ROLL IN THE MAY ... The Flying Tigers posted a 19-10 record in the month of May—the best record of any team in the Florida State League. Its the first time since 2008 that Lakeland had won 19 games in May. The 35-20 start thru the first two months of the season is the best record for April and May by a Lakeland team since the 2005 team went 34-17.

BRAGGING RIGHTS ... The next four games could be a preview of the Florida State Playoffs as the top two teams from the North Division tangle with the top two teams in the South Division. Lakeland (2nd-North) travels to Fort Myers (1st-South) while Dunedin (1st-South) is at home against St. Lucie (2nd-South). 

DURHAM STREAK SNAPPED ... Lance Durham went 0x4 last night to bring an end to his ten-game hit streak. During the streak, Durham was 13x47 for a .277 clip, with five runs scored, four doubles, a triple and a grand slam for 13 RBI. 

HOT HARRELL ... Connor Harrell was also held hitless last night, and is now 10x29 for a .345 pace with four runs scored, two doubles and three runs batted in over the last six games.

POWELL-ERFUL ... Curt Powell managed one of Lakeland’s four hits last night and in the last seven games has a .317 average (14x35). Powell has hits in 30 of his last 34 games and is 43x136 (.316) with 13 runs scored, six doubles, a triple, a homer, and 15 RBI in those 34 games.

WONDERFUL WRIGHT ... Chad Wright provided the offense in last night’s game with a three-run homer in the third inning. He now has hits in 16 of his last 20 games and is 32x89 (.360) during that stretch with 19 runs scored, nine doubles, a triple, a homer, and 12 RBI.

ROSTER MOVES ... On Tuesday, Lakeland added righthanded pitcher Eduardo Sanchez from AAA Toledo. Sanchez was originally signed as amateur free agent by St. Louis in 2005 and was picked up by Detroit in November 2013. He has pitched in parts of three seasons in the Major Leagues for the Cardinals in 2011 and 2012 and the Cubs in 2013 for a 3-3 record with five saves and a 3.68 ERA in the big leagues. Sanchez has played eight previous seasons in the minors including a 2009 stop at FSL in Palm Beach and has a 15-12 record with 48 saves and a 3.43 ERA in the minors. To make room on the roster, Tanner Bailey was sent to Extended Spring Training. Bailey was 1-2 with a 3.43 ER in five games, including three starts, and pitched the only complete game for the Flying Tigers.

UP NEXT ... The Flying Tigers will have another crucial series against Dunedin June 8 in Lakeland and June 9 in Dunedin. It is the last time the two clubs will face each other in the first half.