THE SERIES ... Tampa swept a doubleheader last night in Lakeland and now leads the season series 8-6.
THE FLYING TIGERS (10-37, 6th place, 19.5 GB; 43-73-1 overall; 18 games remaining) ... Lakeland is 1-12 since Aug. 5 and 5-31 dating back to July 7. With their poor record, it is no surprise that Lakeland has the worst winning percentage in the Florida State League when scoring first and the worst when scoring last. The club also has the lowest winning percentage in the FSL in one-run games (13-21).
THE YANKEES (25-25, 3rd place, 6.5 GB; 59-61 overall) ... The Yankees have won seven of their last nine games. Ericson Leonora homered in game one of last night’s doubleheader to take over sole possession of first place in the FSL with 13 home runs while Abiatal Avelino is fourth with 32 steals. Tampa has been charged with the most errors of any FSL club and has the worst fielding percentage (.967). In addition, they have turned the fewest double plays in the league. The two-hit shutout by Chaz Hebert in game two last night dropped his ERA to 3.04 with is eighth best in the FSL. It also marked Hebert’s second complete game, tying him for third most in the league.
LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS (HOME SERIES)
TUE., AUG. 18 – RHP Jonathan Maciel (4-8, 5.12 ERA) ... Maciel tossed 4.1 scoreless innings of one-hit ball in his last start on Aug. 13. He did not factor into the decision with his one strikeout and five walks. In his last nine starts, Maciel is 2-2 with a 3.17 ERA (17 ER/48.1 IP) with 28 strikeouts and 16 walks. He is 3-2 with a 3.99 ERA on the road vs. 1-6 with a 6.32 ERA at home. Maciel is 1-0 with a 3.27 ERA in two starts against the Yankees this season.
WED., AUG. 19 – LHP Kevin Ziomek (6-10, 3.82 ERA) ... Ziomek, who leads the FSL with 124 strikeouts, took the loss in his last start on Aug. 14 at Daytona, despite holding the Tortugas to three runs on four hits in 6.0 innings with eight strikeouts and three walks. In his last three starts, he is 1-1 with a 1.29 ERA and 24 strikeouts and five walks. On Aug 4 vs. Clearwater and Aug. 9 vs. Daytona, he three a combined 15.0 shutout innings with 16 strikeouts and two walks. Ziomek, who is second in the FSL with 129.2 innings pitched, is 0-2 with a 4.67 ERA in three previous starts vs. Tampa. He is 4-6 with a 3.92 ERA with 80 strikeouts on the road while posting a 2-4 record and a 3.66 ERA with 44 Ks at home.
FLYING Z ... With his eight strikeouts on Aug. 14, Kevin Ziomek increased his FSL lead with 124 strikeouts on the season. The 124 also moved Ziomek into a tie for the fourth most in Lakeland history. The southpaw matched Richard Monteleone’s total in 1983. The Lakeland record of 134 strikeouts was set by Rich Lacko in 1987 and equaled by Jordan Tata in 2005. Ziomek is shooting to become just the second Lakeland pitcher to lead the league in strikeouts since Duane Below became the first with 126 in 2008. Ziomek also is tied the league lead with 23 games started and 129.2 innings pitched.
STREAK SNAPPED ... Curt Powell was held hitless in three at bats in game one yesterday to see his 14-game hit streak come to a close. He was 22x57 (.386) during those 14 contests with six runs scored and five runs batted in. The 14-game streak matched Javier Betancourt’s team-high 14-game streak set earlier this season on May 5-19.
HAPPY JAVIER ... Javier Betancourt has hits in 13 of his last 16 games for a .354 average (22x62). During those 16 games, he has two or more hits in six of them.
A BRIGHT SPOT ... Lakeland has the fifth best fielding percentage in the league while Javier Betancourt leads all second baseman with a .982 fielding percentage with just nine errors in 506 total chances. His 506 chances and 213 putouts are also tops for second sackers. Betancourt is the third toughest batter in the league to strike out, whiffing just once every 11.45 total plate appearances.
ODDS & EVENS ... In alternating games dating back to Aug. 10, Jiwan James is 9x16 (.565) in the odd games and 0x14 in even games. His 464 at bats this season is second most in the Florida State League.
NO RUNS, FORREST, NO RUNS ... Lakeland has scored three or fewer runs in 68 of the team’s 117 games this season. In the 406 innings Lakeland has played since July 1, the Flying Tigers have been in the lead for just 72 frames. Lakeland has scored the fewest runs of any full season minor league club (381) and has the second lowest batting average (.236) in the Florida State League.
HANGING IN THERE ... Although he was held to one hit in the Monday doubleheader, Francisco Martinez remains second in the league with 178 total bases, but St. Lucie’s Dominic Smith has pulled into a tie with the Lakeland first baseman.
GOOD WHEN THEY GET THERE ... Lakeland has taken a lead into the ninth inning just 29 times this season, but the good news is the team is 28-1 in that situation. However, they have trailed going into the ninth 52 times, emerging with the win just once.
NO SWEET 16 ... The shutout in game two of last night’s twinbill marked a FSL-high 16th time this season Lakeland has been held scoreless. The 16 blankings is the most for any Lakeland team in the last 20 seasons.
THE BULLPEN ... Will Clinard has allowed just two runs in his last 13.0 innings over his last six appearances with eight strikeouts and zero walks ... Calvin Drummond has let up one earned run—three overall—in his last 15.0 innings over six appearances with 14 strikeouts and a pair of free passes ... Gabe Hemmer has surrendered just one run in his 18.1 innings and eight appearances and has struck out 18 as a member of the Flying Tigers ... Whit Mayberry has been scored upon just three times in his 23.1 innings and 11 outings with Lakeland and has 22 strikeouts.
THE SKIPPER (thru 8/17) ... Dave Huppert ranks 17th among minor league manager in terms of wins with an 1,897-1,771-1 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 289-310-1 record at Lakeland, including a FSL championship in 2012.
HOT AUGUST NIGHTS ... Tampa has two hitters enjoying the dog days of August. Jorge Mateo is hitting a crisp .388 this month while Mike Ford is close behind at .380 with 13 runs batted in.
UP NEXT ... Lakeland’s next series if Aug. 20-22 at home vs. Dunedin.
AROUND THE FSL ... Clearwater’s Willians Astudillo continues to lead the league with a .329 batting average. He is blistering the ball for a .514 average in 11 games played this month ... Palm Beach has been involved in 35 games that have ended in one team being shutout this season with the Cardinals shutting out 19 of their opponents ... Fort Myers has played the most extra-inning games with a 12-9 mark ... Daytona, which leads the league in home runs, is one of three teams not to have a player hit a grand slam this season. Lakeland and Bradenton are the other two clubs ... Three players have had five hits in a game this season: Austin Meadows (Bradenton, May 14, vs. Brevard Count); Francisco Martinez (Lakeland, July 16, vs. Bradenton); and Collin Radack (Palm Beach, Aug. 4, vs. Charlotte) ... Charlotte’s Buddy Borden owns the only no-hitter thrown in the FSL this season. He held Clearwater hitless in game one of a doubleheader on May 13.
No comments:
Post a Comment