THE SERIES ... In a quirk in the FSL schedule, Lakeland will play host to Tampa for just a two-game series on June 2-3 with both games starting at 6:30 pm at Joker Marchant Stadium.
THE FLYING TIGERS (24-26, 4th, 5.5 GB) ... Tyler Hanover collected four base hits, including a pair of doubles, last night as the Flying Tigers snapped a three-game skid with a 4-1 triumph at Brevard County. Hanover, who is 7x12 his last three games, also scored a run and drove in a run in the win. With the win, Lakeland is 3-5 since May 24. Despite hitting just one homer in the last eight games, the Flying Tigers are tied for second in the FSL with 24 round-trippers.
THE YANKEES (25-26, T-2nd, 6.0 GB) ... Tampa has lost two in a row and is 3-9 since May 20, but are tied for second place with Clearwater as both clubs are six games back of front-running Daytona. Tyler Wade is sixth in the Florida State League with a .313 average and tied for second with 18 stolen bases while Mark Payton is tied for fourth in the FSL with a .374 on-base percentage.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS
6/02 – LHP Locke St. John (2-2, 3.21 ERA) ... St. John had his shortest outing of the season in his last start on May 28, leaving after 4.0 innings of work. He had held the Mets to two unearned runs on three hits but issued four free passes. St. John has given up just four earned runs (nine total) in his last 26.1 innings and five starts for a 1.37 ERA since May 6, but has just a 1-0 record to show for his efforts. He was 0-2 with a 6.06 ERA in April, but has bounced back with a 2-0 mark and a 1.72 earned run average in May.
6/03 – LHP Kevin Ziomek (4-4, 4.95 ERA) ... Ziomek, who is second in the FSL with 60 strikeouts, will be looking to recapture the magic that saw him post a 4-3 record and a 3.46 ERA in his first seven starts. In three starts since then, he has allowed 16 runs—15 earned—on 21 hits in 14.2 innings. In his last start on May 29 at St. Lucie, Ziomek surrendered five earned runs on seven hits while going just 2.2 innings-—his shortest outing since his first game at West Michigan on April 9, 2014. Ziomek had a 3.22 ERA in April, but a 6.09 in May.
SIMILAR CLUBS ... Lakeland trails Tampa by just one-half game and the two clubs, stat-wise, show these two clubs are very close in more ways than location. The Yankees are seventh in the FSL with a .243 team batting average; the Flying Tigers are eighth with a .240 mark. Lakeland has 415 hits as a club; Tampa, 413. Both squads have hit 69 doubles. The Yankees are tied for second in the league with 12 triples; the Flying Tigers are tied for third with 11. Tampa has drawn 154 walks; Lakeland, 153. The Flying Tigers pitching staff is ninth with a 3.44 staff ERA; the Yankees are 10th with a 3.46 mark. Lakeland hurlers have logged 452.2 innings; Tampa, 452.1. The Flying Tigers have allowed 173 earned runs; the Yankees, 174.
JAMMIN’ JIWAN ... Jiwan James had two hits in last night’s game and has now reached base safely in 23 straight games dating back to May 5—the longest active steak in the Florida State League. He brings a nine-game hit streak into this series in which he is 12x41 (.293) with six runs scored and has at least one hit in 21 of his last 23 games. James is batting .348 his last fives games (8x23).
MARTINEZ TAKES THE MOUND ... With his team trailing 11-0 heading into the bottom of the 8th inning on Saturday at Brevard County, Lakeland manager Dave Huppert opted to save an arm in the bullpen and turned to third baseman Francisco Martinez to pitch the eighth. It was Martinez’s first pro pitching stint and the Manatees took advantage, scoring three times on three hits and two walks. Martinez is the first position player to pitch for Lakeland this season and the first since James Robbins took the mound on Aug. 22, 2014 for his second appearance of last season. Back at his day job, in the batter’s box, Martinez is 5x12 his last three games.
NIGHT TO FORGET ... In the above mentioned game, Brevard County bowled over Lakeland 14-0. It was the Flying Tigers worst defeat since April 26, 2006 when Sarasota (Reds) rang up a 20-2 victory. It was also the first time the club had been shut out 14-0 since the Tampa Yankees posted the same score on June 3, 1995.
A CROUSE IN THE HOUSE ... Lakeland may have found a new starter in former reliever Matt Crouse. Taking the rotation spot vacated by the promotion of Tommy Collier, Crouse is 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA. He has gone 5.0 innings in each of his two starts and recorded seven strikeouts with zero walks in his 10 frames.
MIGHTIER THAN THE PEN ... The Flying Tigers relief core has allowed just seven runs—six earned—in the last 41.2 innings over the last ten games for a 1.30 ERA. Julio Felix has not allowed a run and given up just five hits in his last 15.1 innings over six relief outings.
VOELKER STOPPER ... Paul Voelker has worn the crown of stopper since joining the club and has picked up a save in all five of his save opportunities so far. He is 2-0 with five saves and a 1.64 ERA.
GUNNING THEM DOWN ... Lakeland catcher Grayson Greiner has thrown out 37.2 percent of the runners attempting to steal against him this season. He has gunned down 16 would-be thieves, the second most in the Florida State League.
STREAK SNAPPED ... Dominic Ficociello had reached base safely in 24 games prior to the Brevard County series. In game one, he was kept off the bags, ending the FSL’s longest active streak at 24 games.
A TOUGH AT BAT ... Javier Betancourt is the second toughest batter to strike out in the Florida State League with one whiff per 16.83 total plate appearances. He has not been struck out in any of his last nine games five times in his last 32 games dating back to April 27.
THE SKIPPER (thru 6/1) ... Flying Tigers manager Dave Huppert ranks 17th among minor league manager in terms of wins and has a 1,895-1,763 record entering tonight’s game. Huppert now trails Cal Ermer who is in 16th place with a 1,906-1,728 record compiled from 1947-1984. Huppert is a 2012 FSL Hall of Fame honoree and is back for a 28th season as a minor league manager. He is in his fifth season with the Flying Tigers and has a 287-301 record, including a FSL championship in 2012.
UP NEXT ... Lakeland continues its homestand with three games against Daytona, June 4-6. After a day off on June 7, the Flying Tigers the welcome Fort Myers, June 8-11.
THRESHERS THRASH DAYTONA ... Clearwater collected a league-best 22 hits in downing Daytona 18-5 on Sunday. The 18 runs is the most scored in the FSL this season. Of the Threshers’ 22 hits, only four were for extra bases. The top three batters in the line were a combined 3x16 while other six batters were 19x29 as every starter had at least one hit (two had four hits while three others had three base knocks). Finally, seven Clearwater hitters scored two runs each while an eighth crossed the plate three times.
FIELDS GET THE CALL ... The Detroit News reports former Lakeland Flying Tiger Daniel Fields (2010-12) has been called up to the big club on Tuesday. He’ll join Detroit for its series against Oakland. A roster spot with the Tigers opened up when Rajai Davis left to join his wife as they await the birth of their second child. Fields, a sixth-round pick by Detroit in 2009, was hitting .271 for AAA Toledo with three homers and 21 RBI.
No comments:
Post a Comment