THE SERIES ... Lakelands heads across I-4 for a three-game set at Daytona, Aug. 13-15, with all three games getting underway at 7:05. All three games will be live-streamed on the Daytona website. The Flying Tigers won five of the first eight meetings, but the Tortugas have had Lakeland’s number since, winning the last seven straight to take a 10-5 lead in the season series.
THE FLYING TIGERS (9-33, 6th place, 18.0 GB; 42-69-1 overall; 24 games remaining) ... Lakeland was swept by Clearwater to start the week and has now lost eight in a row and is 4-27 since winning three straight over Dunedin, July 4-6. Fifteen of those 27 losses have been by two or fewer runs and Lakeland has scored three or fewer runs in 63 of the team’s 112 games this season. The eight-game losing streak marks the fifth losing streak of six or more game this season for Lakeland. The Flying Tigers have been outscored 45-16 in the last eight games and are hitting just .215 in that stretch. In the 364 innings Lakeland has played since July 1, the Flying Tigers have been in the lead for just 65 frames. Lakeland has scored the fewest runs in the league, averaging 3.3 runs per game while allowing 4.2 per contest. The team’s .238 batting average is second lowest in the Florida State League.
THE TORTUGAS (28-16, 1st place, 0.5 game lead over Clearwater; 65-49 overall) ... Daytona is holding on to a slim 1/2 game lead over Clearwater in the second half standings. The Tortugas have played three fewer games than the Threshers, which won the first half. Daytona has won its last two games by a combined 18-3 score over Dunedin and has captured 10 of its last 12 outings and is 19-5 since July 19. Phillip Ervin continues to lead the FSL with 12 homers while Sebastian Elizalde remains atop the RBI race with 71. Elizalde is also tied for first with 40 extra base hits, fifth with a .415 slugging percentage, and fourth with 170 total bases. Amir Garrett has 2.68 ERA which is fourth best in the league while El’Hajj Muhammad is tied for third in the FSL with 15 saves. The Tortugas has slugged a league-high 67 homers—19 more than any other team-—and have stolen the most bases (132). -
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS
WED., AUG. 13 - RHP Jonathan Maciel (4-8, 5.33 ERA) ... Maciel gave up five runs—four earned—on six hits in 4.0 innings in his last start on Aug. 8 vs. Daytona. It was his worst outing since allowing seven runs on 10 hits in 3.1 innings at Brevard County on May 30. Maciel is 2-3 with a 3.45 ERA since that start against the Manatees. He is 3-2 with a 4.33 in ERA in 10 road starts compared to a 1-6 mark and a 6.32 ERA In 10 home starts. He has 28 strikeouts and 13 walks in each location. Maciel is 0-0 with a 6.08 ERA In three previous starts vs. Daytona.
THU., AUG. 14 - LHP Kevin Ziomek (6-9, 3.78 ERA) ... Ziomek is the reigning FSL Pitcher of the Week after hurling 15.0 innings of shutout baseball in two starts. On August 4, he got the win over Clearwater holding the Threshers to two hits with a season-high 11 strikeouts. On Sunday, he struck out five Daytona batters in 7.0 more scoreless innings to take over the league lead with 116 Ks. Ziomek, who leads the FSL with 116 strikeouts, is 0-1 with a 2.88 ERA in three previous start against the Tortugas. The 116 strikeouts by Ziomek is the most for a Lakeland pitcher since L.J. Gagnier whiffed 123 in 2009. Ziomek now ranks seventh on the Lakeland single season strikeout list, six behind Brian Powell and Greg Whiteman who are tied for sixth with 122 strikeouts.
FRI., AUG. 15 - LHP Kyle Lobstein (0-1, 3.52 ERA) ... Lobstein is making his third Major League rehab start with the Flying Tigers while working his way back from a sore shoulder that has sidelined him since May 24. In his two previous starts (both against Clearwater), he has gone 3.0 and 4.2 innings with a combined total of three earned runs on seven hits with four strikeouts.
11 STRAIGHT ... With a single in last night’s game, Curt Powell brings an 11-game hit streak into this series. He is 18x44 (.409) during those 11 contests with six runs scored and two runs batted in. Powell, who has 16x33 (.484) his last nine games. He has played all four infield positions and has made five starts at first base and is 9x18 during those games.
GETTIN’ IT DONE ... Francisco Martinez has hits in nine of his last 10 games and is 12x42 (.286) during that stretch. He moved up to second in the Florida State League standings with 173 total bases. He moved to first base when Dominic Ficociello was promoted to AA Erie. In 20 games, he has not been charged with an error in 206 total chances.
HITS IN BUNCHES ... Jiwan James is one of four players tied for the FSL lead with six triples. He has hits in 11 of his last 14 games and has two or more hits in eight of those contests, including a three-hit game last night with a solo home run. James is now 22x60 (.367) in his last 14 games.
BEFORE AND AFTER ... Catcher Grayson Greiner was throwing out 40.4 percent of would-be base stealers from the start of the season to early June. He had gunned down 23 of 57 opponents on the base paths before being placed on DL on June 11 after being hit with a foul ball. Greiner spent 11 days on the Disabled List and was activated on June 22. Since then, opponents have been successful on 40 of 50 stolen base attempts as Greiner’s percentage is 20.0 percent over the last two months.
QUICK HITS ... Greyson Greiner is 13x86 (.151) with 27 strikeouts over his last 25 games ... Tyler Hanover is 3x24 (.125) over his last seven games ... Drew Longley is 2x17 (.117) his last four games, but one of those hits was a two-run homer in last night’s 10-5 loss to Clearwater ... Brett Pirtle has two hits in 22 at bats (.901) with Lakeland ... Jared Reaves is 5x18 (.278) his last three games ... Raph Rhymes is 4x28 (.143) the last six games ... Ismael Salgado is 3x26 (.115) his last nine games with nine strikeouts ... Ben Verlander is 2x33 (.061) over his last nine games with 11 strikeouts.
THE BULLPEN ... Calvin Drummond has given up three runs—one earned—in his last five appearances with 12.1 innings with 12 strikeouts and one walk ...Tyler Ford had not allowed a run in his first seven outings, but has given up five runs in his last three appearances (4.1 innings) ... Gabe Hemmer has given up just one run in seven appearances and 16.1 innings as a Flying Tiger with 14 strikeouts and three walks ... Whit Mayberry had allowed just one run in his first 17.2 innings and eight outings with Lakeland, but surrendered two run in 1.2 innings on his last appearance ... Scott Sitz has been scored upon just one in his last 15.1 innings and eight outings with 13 strikeouts and three walks (all three in one game that included a pair of intentional walks) ... nine of Adenson Verastegui’s 10 earned runs allowed came in a stretch of four outings from July 7-21, with just one run allowed in his other 10 appearances.
ALL-TIME FUTILITY ... While Lakeland’s 42-69-1 record is not good, it pales in comparison to the 1984 squad that finished 46-98, winning just 32 percent of its games in racking up the most losses in franchise history.
HALF-TIME FUTILITY ... Lakeland is on pace to finish with a 15-51 second half record. The 15 wins would match the Miami Miracle’s FSL-worst mark of 15-54 in the first half of the 1990 season. The Flying Tigers’ would-be .227 winning percentage would be second worst in league history. Lakeland finished the second half of 2014 with a franchise-worst 20-50 record. Since the end of the first half of last season, Lakeland has gone 62-119.
THE SKIPPER (thru 8/11) ... Dave Huppert ranks 17th among minor league manager in terms of wins with an 1,896-1,767-1 record entering this series. Next up for Huppert is Cal Ermer who is in 16th place with a 1,906-1,728 record from 1947-1984. A 2012 FSL Hall of Fame honoree, Huppert is in his 28th season as a minor league manager. This is his fifth season with the Flying Tigers and he has a 288-306-1 record at Lakeland, including a FSL championship in 2012.
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