Mission Notes vs. Charlotte (July 30-Aug. 2)

THE SERIES ... Lakeland returns home from an eight-game road trip to host Charlotte for four games. The first two games are at 6:30 pm with Saturday’s game at 6 pm and the finale on Sunday at 1 pm. The Stone Crabs won the first meeting between these two clubs on June 16 by a 3-2 score in game one of a doubleheader. The Flying Tigers came back to take the next three games, 2-1, 7-6 (10 inn.), and 7-3. Francisco Martinez had six hits in the four games for Lakeland while Jiwan James and Raph Rhymes each had five hits. Kean Wong collected eight hits for Charlotte.

THE FLYING TIGERS (7-24, 6th North, 13.5 GB; 40-60-1 overall) ... Lakeland snapped a 14-game losing streak in game two of Monday’s doubleheader at Fort Myers, but have since lost back-to-back games, including a 6-0 loss with just three hits last night. With that loss, Lakeland has now lost 18 of its last 20 games. The Flying Tigers are tied with Jupiter for the second lowest team batting average (.236) in the FSL while the 336 runs is fewest amongst league teams. The pitching staff’s 3.56 ERA is fourth highest in the league.

THE STONE CRABS (15-17, 5th South, 8.0 GM, 60-42 overall) ... Charlotte is coming off a four-game sweep at home against Dunedin, outscoring the Blue Jays, 21-8 in the series. With the sweep, the Stone Crabs are 8-3 since July 20. It’s a tale of two halves for Charlotte. The Stone Crabs breezed to the first half Division title with a 45-25 record, outpacing Fort Myers by 7.0 games. However, in the second half, the team is in fifth place with a 15-17 record, 8.0 games behind Palm Beach. One reason for the difference may be the promotions of starter Jacob Farina, who had league highs with a 10-1 record and a 1.33 ERA, and closer Brad Schreiber, who had a FSL-leading 18 saves. Willy Adames, who was part of the trade that brought David Price to Detroit, is tied with Lakeland’s Jiwan James and one other for the FSL lead with six triples. Adames is also fifth in the league with 43 walks. Buddy Borden has an 8-4 record and an ERA of 2.65 which is fifth best in the league. Charlotte is third in the league with a .264 team batting average while the offense has scored 429 runs, second most in the league. The staff ERA of 2.66 is third lowest.

LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS

THU., JULY 30 - LHP Kevin Ziomek (5-8, 4.06 ERA) ... Ziomek, who ranks third in the FSL with 100 strikeouts, held Palm Beach to two runs—one earned—on seven hits and four strikeouts in 6.0 innings in his last start on July 24 but did factor into the decision. He has struck out 20 batters over his last five starts and has a 3.00 ERA In that stretch, but is 0-3 for his efforts. Ziomek started against Charlotte on June 16 and shutout the Stone Crabs over 4.0 innings of two-hit ball with a pair of strikeouts and two walks.

FRI., JULY 31 - RHP Endrys Briceno (0-1, 6.00 ERA) ... Bricenco pitched in three games in 2014 before going on the DL where he spent the rest of that season and the first half of the 2015 campaign. In his first start off the DL on July 24, he faced Palm Beach and gave up a pair of runs on three hits in 3.0 innings of work, taking the loss. He walked three and hit four batters in that game. Briceno was not active with the Flying Tigers when they played Charlotte earlier.

SAT., AUG. 1 - LHP Locke St. John (2-10, 5.00 ERA) ... St. John gave up a season-high 10 hits in his last start on July 27 against Fort Myers and has now allowed 25 hits in his last three outings. In that outing, he allowed five runs—four earned—in 4.2 innings of work with one walk and zero strikeouts. He is 0-8 in his last 12 starts and has not tasted victory since beating Dunedin on May 17. St. John did not pitch against Charlotte in the first series.

SUN., AUG. 2 - RHP Jonathan Maciel (4-8, 5.19 ERA) ... Maciel beat Fort Myers on July 27 after limited the Miracle to one run on five hits with two walks and two strikeouts in 6.0 of work. He is 2-2 his last six starts with a 2.81 ERA in that stretch. Maciel started against the Stone Crabs on June 17 and limited Charlotte to a pair of earned runs—four overall—on six hits over 5.0 innings with three strikeouts and one walk.

ROSTER MOVES ... Jared Reaves was activated off the Disabled List on Tuesday with Keaton Jones being sent to Connecticut.

THE DL EFFECT ... 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 34 of 42 stolen base attempts as Greiner’s percentage is 19.0 percent over the last month plus.

HEATING UP ... Javier Betancourt has hits in six of his last eight games, going 20x31 during that streak for a .323 average. He has had four games with two hits in each during that stretch. He is fourth in the FSL with 391 at bats and is the third toughest batter in the FSL to strikeout with one strikeout per 11.75 plate appearances. Jiwan James was 5x12 (.417) in each of his last three games and is now 16x56 (.287) in his last 13 games. He is tied with two others for the league lead with six triples and is third with 398 at bats.

HANGING TOUGH ... Francisco Martinez saw a nine-game hit streak snapped last night. He was 12x33 during the streak for a .364 clip with six runs scored. Martinez is third in the FSL with 156 total bases and fifth with a .419 slugging percentage and 33 extra-base hits. 

LIGHTS OUT IN THE PEN ... Will Clinard has tossed back-to-back games with 3.0 shutout innings  in each and has allowed just two runs over his last 14.0 innings and six relief appearances. Calvin Drummond did not allow a run in either of his last three outings with 5.1 innings of work. Tyler Ford is perfect over seven relief outings, having tossed 14.0 shutout innings with 16 strikeouts and just two walks. Whit Mayberry has given up just one earned run as a Flying Tiger over seven relief appearances and 16.2 innings while striking out 16 and walking five. Scott Sitz has not given up a run in his five outings since returning to Lakeland. He has tossed 10.1 shutout innings with seven hits allowed and nine strikeouts and three walks (two of them intentional).

THE SKIPPER (thru 7/29) ... Dave Huppert ranks 17th among minor league manager in terms of wins with an 1,894-1,758-1 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 286-297-1 record at Lakeland, including a FSL championship in 2012. 

ALUMNI REPORT ... Steven Moya, now playing at Toledo, leads the organization with 17 homers and 62 runs batted in. Erie’s Paul Voelker leads all Detroit minor leaguers with 15 saves while Lakeland’s own Kevin Ziomek is tops with 100 strikeouts. Ziomek is the 34th Lakeland pitcher since 1978 to reach the century mark in strikeouts.

FORMER FLYING TIGER HITS FOUR HOMERS IN TWO GAMES ... Former Flying Tiger, Curt Casali, had impressive back-to-back games for the Rays, going 3x4, with two homers and three RBI on July 27 and then following that with an identical night on July 28. In the two games against Detroit, Casali was 6x8 with four homers and six RBI.

UP NEXT ... After a day off on Aug. 3, Lakeland heads to Clearwater for three games on Aug. 4-6 before returning home Aug. 7 to open a six-game homestand against Daytona and Clearwater.

Mission Notes vs. Fort Myers (July 26-29)

THE SERIES ... Lakeland continues its eight-game road trip with a four-game series at Fort Myers July 26-29. The opener is set for 4:05 pm Sunday with the next three games scheduled for 7:05 pm. The Flying Tigers were swept by the Miracle in the first half in Lakeland. Fort Myers won the opener 5-3 and then, after a rain out, shut out Lakeland 4-0 in a game called after five innings due to rain. The two teams locked up for a doubleheader the next night with the Miracle winning the first game 2-1 in 13 innings and then taking the nightcap 7-3 in seven frames. Lakeland was outscored 18-7 in the four-games. The Flying Tigers’ team batting average of .236 is second lowest in the league while the staff ERA of 3.54 is fourth highest. Lakeland’s 326 runs scored is second lowest in the FSL.

THE FLYING TIGERS (6-21, 6th North, 12.5 GB; 39-57-1 overall) ... Lakeland had a wet time in Palm Beach as the first two nights of the series were rained out. The Cardinals won the Friday night doubleheader, but the Saturday twin bill was rained out with the games being lost to schedule. The two losses on Saturday extended the Flying Tigers losing streak to 13 games, the longest in at least the last 20 years for Lakeland. It is the longest losing streak for any FSL team since Jupiter lost 13 straight games in 2011. The Hammerheads also lost 15 consecutive games in 2010, the longest losing streak for any league team in the last 10 seasons.

THE MIRACLE (17-13, 3rd South, 4.0 game lead, 55-45 overall) ... Fort Myers split its four-game series with Tampa, including a doubleheader split on Saturday. The Miracle are 5-4 their last nine games after dropping four straight from July 12-16. Catcher Alex Swim, currently on the Disabled List, is second in the league with a .318 batting average and fourth with 106 hits while fellow catcher Mitch Garver is second in the FSL with 50 walks. Righthander Chih-Wei Hu tops the league with an impressive 2.03 ERA to go with his 5-2 record while Aaron Siegers is eighth with a 2.88 earned run average. The Miracle pitching staff has the lowest ERA in the league with a 2.57 mark. They have also struck out the third most opponents of any league team.

LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS

SUN., JULY 26 - LHP Locke St. John (2-9, 4.85 ERA) ... St. John was charged with the loss in his last start on July 18 at Bradenton despite holding the Pirates to three runs on eight hits in 6.0 innings. He is now 0-7 over his last nine starts while allowing 31 runs in 41.1 innings for a 6.75 earned run average with 22 strikeouts and 16 walks. St. John lost his only previous start against Fort Myers on June 8, giving up four runs on eight hits in 5.0 innings with one walk and one strikeout.

MON., JULY 27 - RHP Jonathan Maciel (3-8, 5.42 ERA) ... Maciel was tagged with the loss in his last start on July 19 at home vs. Clearwater despite limiting the Threshers to a pair of runs on six hits with six strikeouts and two walks. He is 1-2 in his last five starts with a 3.07 ERA. During those five starts he had 19 strikeouts and six walks. Maciel took the loss in a previous start against the Miracle on June 11, surrendering seven runs on a season-high 12 hits in 5.1 innings with one walk and three strikeouts.

TUE, JULY 28 - LHP Trent Szkutnik (0-4, 6.75 ERA) ... Szkutnik worked 5.0 innings in his last start on July 20 at home against Clearwater, allowing five runs on six hits with four strikeouts and two walks. He has now given up 11 earned runs on 14 hits in 8.2 innings in his last two starts, losing both games. Szkutnik was not with the Flying Tigers for the earlier series vs. the Miracle.

WED., JULY 29 - RHP Brennan Smith (4-2, 2.54 ERA) ... Smith had his worst outing of the season in his last start on July 21 against Clearwater, giving up five runs on eight hits in 6.0 innings with two walks and four strikeouts. He had not allowed more than two runs in any of his 15 previous outings. Smith is 3-2 with a 2.45 ERA in eight starts. He worked 3.0 innings in a previous start on June 11 against Fort Myers, giving up one run on four hits with one walk and three strikeouts.

BRICENO MAKES RETURN ... Endrys Briceno took the mound in game two of Friday’s doubleheader, making his first appearance for Lakeland since April 17, 2014. The righthander went on the Disabled List shortly after that start and did not return for the rest of the season and began 2015 on the DL. He was activated on July 20.

BETANCOURT’S BAT ... Javier Betancourt is 6x16 his last four games and has three games with two hits. 

JAMES GANG ... Jiwan James has hits in eight of his last nine games and is 11x40 during that stretch for a .275 average with four runs scored, two doubles, and a triple.

MANLY MARTINEZ ... Francisco Martinez has hits in six straight games and is 9x22 during that half dozen games for a .409 clip. He has scored five runs in the last four games as well. Through in a five-hit night on July 16 at Bradenton, the Flying Tigers first baseman is 14x32 for a .438 average in the last eight games. Martinez is third in the FSL with a .429 slugging percentage and 33 extra-base hits and second with 153 total bases.

IN THE PEN ... Will Clinard has tossed back-to-back games with 3.0 shutout innings and has allowed just two runs over his last 14.0 innings and six relief appearances. Tyler Ford is perfect over six relief outings, having tossed 13.0 shutout innings with 16 strikeouts and just two walks. Whit Mayberry has given up just one earned run as a Flying Tiger over six relief appearances and 15.0 innings while striking out 15 and walking five. Scott Sitz has not given up a run in his four outings since returning to Lakeland. He has tossed 9.0 shutout innings with seven hits allowed and eight strikeouts and three walks (two of them intentional).

STREAK SNAPPED ... Newcomer Gabe Hemmer suffered his first loss as a member of the Flying Tigers uncorking a wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth, allowing the Cardinals a walk-off win in game one of Friday’s doubleheader. He entered the game with 10.2 shutout innings in four trips.

INSIDE THE SKID ... During Lakeland’s 13-game losing streak, the Flying Tigers have been outscored 63-25. Opponents have had eight games with double-digit hits during the last 13 games and have posted a .294 batting average while Lakeland has managed just one game with 10 or more hits and has batted .195 during the losing streak.

THE SKIPPER (thru 7/25) ... Dave Huppert ranks 17th among minor league manager in terms of wins with an 1,893-1,755-1 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 285-294-1 record at Lakeland, including a FSL championship in 2012. 

UP NEXT ... Lakeland’s next home game is July 30 as they open a four-game series with Charlotte.

CHARLOTTE GATORS? ... The Charlotte Stone Crabs took their sea-life theme to a new level Friday morning as a 10-foot alligator wandered onto the Charlotte Sports Park field and settled in the visitors’ dugout. Animal control officials rounded up the unwanted intruder and the dugout was safe for the next sea creature—the Daytona Tortugas.

RAIN, RAIN ... The FSL got in every game of the first half. From Thursday to Saturday, the league had five games cancelled due to rain and two other games end in tied scores after being stopped by rains.

Mission Notes vs. Palm Beach (July 22-25)

THE SERIES ... Lakeland opens an eight-game road trip with four games at Palm Beach on July 22-25. The first three games get underway at 6:35 with the finale Saturday at 5:35. All games can he heard on the Cardinals website. Palm Beach swept Lakeland in four games in the first half on May 13-16 and outscored the Flying Tigers 22-1, posting three shutouts.

THE FLYING TIGERS (6-19, 6th, 11.5 GB; 39-55-1 overall) ... Lakeland is coming off being swept by Clearwater in three games and has now lost 11 games in a row and has dropped its last four series. The 11 game skid, which began on July 10, is the longest for Lakeland since at least 1995. The Flying Tigers have now lost 13 of their last 14, and 19 of the last 23 games. Lakeland has the second lowest batting average (.237) in the league and has scored the third fewest runs (323). The staff earned run average of 3.56 is fourth highest in the FSL.

THE CARDINALS (18-8, 1st, 2.0 game lead, 50-46 overall) ... Palm Beach won two of its three games at home against Bradenton, winning the opener 3-2 and the finale 7-4 while dropping the middle game 5-3. The Cardinals are 5-1 their last six games and are 14-5 since July 2. C.J. McElroy is fourth in the FSL with 25 stolen bases while Luke Voit sits atop the league with 50 walks and is third with a .370 on-base percentage. Rob Kaminsky has a 2.13 ERA which is second in the Florida State League while Trey Nielsen is fifth with a 2.80 mark. Alex Reyes has struck out 96 opponents for the second highest total in the FSL. Palm Beach has the lowest batting average (.233) in the league and has scored the fewest runs (317) of any team. On the mound, the Cardinals pitching staff has the third best ERA (2.67) of the 12 league teams.

INSIDE THE CARDINAL ROSTER ... Pitcher Rob Kaminsky was St. Louis’ top pick in the first round of the 2013 draft and was the 28th overall pick while fellow hurler Josh Lucas is a 2009 graduate of Lakeland High School. Pitcher Robby Rowland is the son of former Detroit Tiger Rich Rowland. 

LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS

   WED., JULY 22 - LHP Kevin Ziomek (5-8, 4.17 ERA) ... Ziomek lasted just 2.0 innings in his last outing on July 17 at Bradenton after allowing six runs—two earned—on six hits with one strikeout and two walks. The 2.0 innings is his shortest outing of the season. Ziomek, who is fourth in the FSL with 91 strikeouts, is 1-3 in his last five starts. During that stretch, he has given up 16 runs—10 earned—on 33 hits with 20 strikeouts in 27.0 innings. He has walked seven batters in his last three starts. Ziomek took the loss in his earlier start against Palm Beach, allowing four earned runs on seven hits in 5.0 innings with eight strikeouts.

   THU., JULY 23 - LHP Locke St. John (2-9, 4.85 ERA) ... St. John was charged with the loss in his last start on July 18 at Bradenton despite holding the Pirates to three runs on eight hits in 6.0 innings. He is now 0-7 over his last nine starts while allowing 31 runs in 41.1 innings for a 6.75 earned run average with 22 strikeouts and 16 walks. St. John lost his season debut on April 13 against the Cardinals surrendering four runs on five hits with one strikeout and four walks.

   FRI., JULY 24 - RHP Jonathan Maciel (3-8, 5.42 ERA) ... Maciel was tagged with the loss in his last start on July 19 at home vs. Clearwater despite limiting the Threshers to a pair of runs on six hits with six strikeouts and two walks. He is 1-2 in his last five starts with a 3.07 ERA. During those five starts he has 19 strikeouts and six walks. The Cardinals plated five runs on eight hits in 5.0 innings against Maciel in his only previous start against Palm Beach on April 15.

   SAT., JULY 25 - LHP Trent Szkutnik (0-4, 6.75 ERA) ... Szkutnik worked 5.0 innings in his last start on July 20 at home against Clearwater, allowing five runs on six hits with four strikeouts and two walks. He has now given up 11 earned runs on 14 hits in 8.2 innings in his last two starts, losing both games. He was not with Lakeland when the Flying Tigers faced Palm Beach in the first half.

INSIDE THE SKID ... During Lakeland’s 11-game losing streak, the Flying Tigers have been outscored 58-22. Opponents have had seven games with double-digit hits during the last 11 games and have posted a .300 batting average while Lakeland has managed just one game with 10 or more hits and have batted .197. The Flying Tigers starting pitchers have a 5.14 ERA during the skid, while the bullpen has a 3.69 earned run average. Overall, the staff has a 4.53 ERA in the last 11 games.

ZEROS IN THE PEN ... Tyler Ford has been untouchable since joining Lakeland in late June. In six appearances out of the bullpen, Ford has worked 13.0 scoreless innings and allowed just 10 hits while striking 16 and walking only two opponents. His longest outing of 3.1 innings came on July 5 at home vs. Dunedin. Gabe Hemmer has also been perfect with 10.2 shutout innings in fourth relief outing since becoming a Flying Tiger earlier this month. His debut of 4.0 innings was the longest of his Lakeland stint so far. Scott Sitz in his third stint this season with Lakeland and has not allowed a run in four outings this month over 9.0 innings with eight strikeouts and two walks. 

FRANKLY FRANCISCO ... Francisco Martinez has hits in four straight games (6x15) and is 11x25 over the last six games for a .440 clip with three runs scored, one double and three runs batted in. He is third in the FSL with 32 extra base hits, tied for third with 149 total bases, and fourth with a .426 slugging percentage.

TWO-FERS ... Javier Betancourt has had two hits in each of his last two games and is 4x9 in those two games with a pair of runs scored and a double. Curt Powell was 2x2 in last night’s game and also had a double. Raph Rhymes had two hits—both doubles—in Monday’s contest and has scored two runs in the last two games. 

LOTS OF TRIPS FOR LITTLE ... Ben Verlander had nine plate appearances in the last two games and came away with just two at bats. He walked twice and was hit by a pitch while popping up once on Monday. On Tuesday, he drove in a pair of runs with sacrifice flies and walked two more times, once with the bases loaded for another RBI, In his only at bat be grounded into a force out and eventually came around to score.

THE SKIPPER (thru 7/21) ... Dave Huppert ranks 17th among minor league manager in terms of wins a 1,893-1,753-1 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 285-292-1 record at Lakeland, including a FSL championship in 2012. 

UP NEXT ... The Flying Tigers continue their eight-game road trip with four games at Fort Myers on July 26-30. Lakeland’s next home game is July 30 as they open a four-game series with Charlotte.

A LOOK INSIDE THE ORGANIZATION ... The Detroit Tigers (MLB) are in third place in the American League Central Division with a 46-47 record. Toledo (AAA) is in last place in the International League West Division with a 42-55 mark while Erie (AA) is also on the bottom looking up at the rest of the Eastern League Western Division with a 37-58 record. Lakeland (High-A) is in the cellar of the Florida State League North Division at 6-19 (39-55-1 overall). West Michigan (Low-A) is sitting atop the Midwest League Eastern Division with a 16-9 record (49-45 overall) while Connecticut (SS) is in third place in the New York-Penn Leaguer Stedler Division at 14-16. In the Gulf Coast League, the Tigers (R) are in first place with a 12-11 record.

Mission Notes vs. Clearwater (July 19-21)

THE SERIES ... Lakeland hosts Clearwater for three games today thru Tuesday. Today’s game is a 1 pm start with the next two games getting underway at 6:30 pm. This is the fourth series of the season between these two clubs with the Threshers taking two sets, two games to one, but the Flying Tigers won the one series in Lakeland, also by a two games to one margin. The last three games in the last series in Clearwater went into extra innings (12, 10, 13) with each game being decided by one run. 

THE FLYING TIGERS (6-16, 6th, 8.5 GB; 39-52-1 overall) ... Lakeland was swept in four games at Bradenton in its last series and has now lost its last three series. The Flying Tigers have lost eight straight, 10 of their last 11, and 16 of the last 20 games. Lakeland was outscored 23-6 in the Bradenton series and has scored just nine runs over the last seven games. The eight-game losing streak is the second longest of the season for the Flying Tigers who suffered nine consecutive defeats from June 6-16. Outfielder Jiwan James is one of four players atop the FSL standings with five triples while Raph Rhymes is fourth with 41 walks. Javier Betancourt is the third hardest batter to set down on strikes with just one strikeout per 11.44 plate appearances.

THE THRESHERS (15-8, 1st, 3.5 game lead; 52-41 overall) ... Clearwater has lost its last three games to Palm Beach and was shut out twice in two of those losses. The skid has not hurt the Threshers as they are in first place with a 3-1/2 game lead over Daytona and Tampa which are tied for second at 11-11. Willians Astudillo is third in the FSL with a .304 batting average and is the toughest hitter in the minor leagues to strike out with one strikeout every 32.67 plate appearances. He has not struck out in his last 19 games dating back to June 26 and has whiffed just nine times this season in 273 at bats. Andrew Pullin is third with 54 RBI. Brandon Leibrandt, son of former Major League pitcher, Charlie Leibrandt, ranks seventh in the league with a 2.86 ERA to go with his 6-2 record. He is also third with a 1.00 WHIP (walks and hits allowed per inning) and fifth with a .229 opponents batting average. The Threshers are second in the FSL with a .226 team batting average.

LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS

SUN., JULY 18 - RHP Jonathan Maciel (3-7, 5.58 ERA) ... Maciel was activated off the Disabled List on Saturday where he had been since July 10. He is making his first start since facing the Threshers on July 9 when he worked 6.0 innings at Clearwater, allowing three runs on seven hits with three strikeouts and zero walks. It was his only appearance vs. Clearwater this season. In his last four starts, he is 1-1 with a 3.09 ERA with 13 strikeouts and four walks. 

MON., JULY 19 - LHP Trent Szkutnik (0-3, 6.37 ERA) ... Szkutnik surrendered six runs on seven hits in 3.2 innings of work in his last start on July 15 at Bradenton with three walks and no strikeouts. The six runs equals the combined total he had allowed in three previous starts and matches his season-high. He has not faced Clearwater this season.

TUE., JULY 20 - RHP Brennan Smith (4-1, 1.99 ERA) ... Smith limited Bradenton to one run on a homer and three other hits in 5.1 innings on July 16 with four strikeouts and a pair of walks, but did not factor into the decision. Since joining the starting rotation, Smith is 3-1 with a 1.57 ERA in seven outings with 34 strikeouts and seven walks with 26 hits allowed in 34.1 innings of work. He has not faced the Threshers this season.

WHAT’S ONE MORE ... Lakeland had already played 13 extra-inning games this season, so it was no surprise that one of the games at Bradenton went in overtime. The Marauders downed the Flying Tigers 2-1 in 16 innings on Thursday. It was the fourth game this season of 16 innings or more for Lakeland and the fifth extra-inning game this month. In those five games, the Flying Tigers have played an extra 27 innings or the equivalent of three extra games. The 14 extra-inning games played by Lakeland is the fourth most played in the FSL, trailing Fort Myers (20 games, 11-9 record), Bradenton (16, 8-8), and Clearwater (15, 11-4).

NUMBER SWITCH-A-ROO ... When Curt Powell returned to Lakeland on July 14, he was assigned #25 as his former #10 was being worn by pitcher Whit Mayberry. The two have since swapped numbers and Powell again wears the jersey number he sported in his earlier stint with the club.

A FRANCISCO FIVER ... Francisco Martinez collected a career-high five singles in six at bats in Lakeland’s 16-inning loss at Bradenton on July 16. It was the first five-hit game for any Flying Tiger this season and just the second in the Florida State League in 2015. Bradenton’s Austin Meadows accomplished the feat on May 14 vs. Brevard County. The last Lakeland player to have five hits in game was Curt Powell who did so twice last season, first on May 23 at Charlotte in a 19-inning affair and again on June 4 at Fort Myers in a “normal” nine-inning game.

NOW PLAYING FIRST BASE ... With the promotion of Dominic Ficociello to Double-A Erie, Francisco Martinez is now manning first base for Lakeland. Prior to Ficociello’s departure, Martinez had played just five innings at the first sack this season and had not played first base since his rookie season of 2008 in the Venezuelan Summer League when he started 11 games at first.

ZEROES FOR SITZ ... Scott Sitz has not allowed a run in his last three outings since rejoining Lakeland on July 9. In his three relief appearances, Sitz has tossed 8.0 shutout innings with seven strikeouts and three walks while surrendering five hits.

HEMMER TIME ... Gabe Hemmer threw 2.1 more shutout innings in a relief appearance at Bradenton on July 16 and has now worked 10.2 scoreless innings for Lakeland.

SIMILAR HALVES ... Through 22 games in the first half, Lakeland sported a 8-14 record. Through the same number of game this half, the Flying Tigers are 6-16.

ROSTER MOVES ... Righthander Jonathan Maciel was activated from the Disabled List on Saturday where he had been since July 10. Also on Saturday, outfielder Austin Schotts was placed back on the DL, retroactive to July 17. Schotts was just activated off the DL on Thursday.

THE SKIPPER (thru 7/18) ... Dave Huppert ranks 17th among minor league manager in terms of wins a 1,893-1,750 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 285-289 record at Lakeland, including a FSL championship in 2012. 

UP NEXT ... The Flying Tigers hit the road for eight games, starting with four games at Palm Beach on July 22-25 and then four at Fort Myers on July 26-30. Lakeland’s next home game is July 30 as they open a four-game series with Charlotte.

NO MORE EXTRA INNINGS? ... There have been past All-Star games that have finished in a tied score as the two clubs run out of pitching. The Eastern League was faced with that situation in its All-Star contest on July 15. However, instead of just ending the game with a 4-4 score, the game was decided with a one-swing, home run derby shootout. With just one swing per batter, it took four rounds before Reading’s Brian Pointer took one deep to give the Eastern Division the win.

Mission Notes vs. Bradenton (July 15-18)

THE SERIES ... Lakeland travels to Bradenton for four games, July 15-18 at McKechnie Field with all four games slated for 6:30 pm. The two teams split a four-game set at Joker Marchant Stadium on May 21-24 with Bradenton posting a 9-1 win in game won before Lakeland came back to squeak out a 4-3 win in 10 innings. After a 7-6 win in game three by the Flying Tigers, the Marauders won the finale, 2-1 in the third straight one-run game.

THE FLYING TIGERS (6-12, 6th North, 7.5 GB; 39-48-1 overall) ... Lakeland was swept in four games by St. Lucie in the most recent series. After being shut out in the middle two games, Lakeland finally got on the board in the bottom of the ninth of game four to snap a streak of 29 consecutive scoreless innings. The Flying Tigers are 4-12 since seeing an eight-game win streak snapped on June 27. Francisco Martinez leads Lakeland and is third in the Florida State League with 31 extra-base hits. Raph Rhymes is fourth in the league with 40 walks while Javier Betancourt strikes out once every 13.21 at bats, making him the second toughest hitter to strikeout in the FSL.

THE MARAUDERS (11-8, T-3rd South, 2.0 GB; 43-46 overall) ... Bradenton has been on a roller coaster this month. The squad won five im a row from July 2-6, before dropping five straight. However, the Marauders have won their last two games, winning at Daytona 4-3 in 10 frames on Sunday and 5-2 on Monday. Chris Diaz is 9x21 over his last six games for .429 clip while Justin Maffei went 7x12 the final three games at Daytona. Jin-De Jhang is fifth in the Florida State League with a .300 batting average while Austin Meadows is tied for eighth with a .295 mark and is fifth with 95 base hits and 47 runs scored. JaCoby Jones has driven in 48 runs, fourth-best total in the league while Eric Weiss is tied for second with a .372 on-base percentage. Bradenton leads the FSL in bating average (.276), runs scored (378) and base hits (867) and is third with 92 stolen bases. On the flip side, the Marauders pitching staff has the second highest ERA in the league (3.74).

LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS

WED., JULY 15 - Trent Szkutnik (0-2, 5.19 ERA) ... Szkutnik has had back-to-back impressive outings but has nothing to show for his efforts. After holding Dunedin to one run on four hits with six strikeouts in 6.0 innings on July 5, he came back and limited St. Lucie to one run on eight hits in 5.0 frames with three K’s on July 10. Szkutnik has recorded 21 strikeouts in his 26.0 innings, but has allowed 38 hits as opponents are batting .345 against him.

THU., JULY 16 - Brennan Smith (4-1, 2.02 ERA) ... Smith held St. Lucie to a pair of runs on five hits in 7.0 innings and punched out a career-high 10 batters on July 11, but was tagged with the loss. It was his first loss of the 2015 season. In his last six starts, Smith has given up only five runs on 17 hits over 28.0 innings for a 1.60 ERA in the half-dozen games with 30 strikeouts and just five walks. Since joining the starting rotation, Smith is 3-1 with a 1.55 ERA in six previous starts.

FRI., JULY 17 - Kevin Ziomek (5-7, 4.07 ERA) ... Ziomek, who is tied for second in the FSL with 90 strikeouts, allowed four runs—three earned—on six hits in 6.0 innings with four strikeouts and three walks in a loss in his last start on July 12 against St. Lucie. He has now surrendered eight runs on 27 hits in his last four outings and after whiffing a season-high 10 batters on July 2 at Daytona, has recorded five strikeouts in his last two starts. He faced Bradenton on May 23 and gave up six runs on 10 hits in 4.2 innings but did not factor into the decision.

SAT., JULY 18 - Locke St. John (2-8, 4.88 ERA) ... St. John limited St. Lucie to a pair of runs on seven hits in 4.0 innings in taking the loss in his last start on July 13 vs. St. Lucie. He has struck out 12 batters over his last three starts while walking only three batters. St. John faced Bradenton on May 22 and held the Marauders to three runs on eight hits in 6.1 innings, but did not get a decision. 

WITHER THE OFFENSE ... Lakeland amassed 40 hits in the three-game Dunedin series on July 4-6, but has had 48 hits in the last seven games for a .191 team batting average in that span. Of those 48 hits only eight were for extra bases. The Flying Tigers struck out 33 times in the St. Lucie series and stranded 30 runners.

STINGY BULLPEN ... Lakeland relievers have given up just 10 earned runs—15 total—in the last 68.1 innings (over 15 games) for a 1.32 earned run average since June 29.

NEW GUYS THROWING BLANKS ... Tyler Ford worked a scoreless inning on Monday and has not been scored upon in his five outings with the Flying Tigers, throwing 10.2 shutout innings ... Gabe Hemmer has thrown 8.1 innings without giving up a run since joining Lakeland ... Ryan Castellanos tossed 3.0 scoreless innings in Sunday’s game and has not allowed a run in his two outings with Lakeland so far.

ONE HOT BAT ... Francisco Martinez has the one hot bat in the Lakeland line-up. He has hits in nine of his last 11 games with two hits in six of those games. Martinez is 14x45 during that streak for a .311 average with seven runs scored, four doubles, three homers, and 10 RBI.

GREINING IT OUT ... Grayson Greiner collected four hits, including a pair of doubles in his three games in the St. Lucie series. Behind the dish, Greiner has thrown out 27 would-be base stealers in 81 attempts for a 33.3 percentage, seventh best among all FSL catchers. Overall, Lakeland catchers have gunned down 34.9 percent, fourth best in the league.

MULTI-HIT GAMES ... Francisco Martinez has 26 games with two or more hits inclining five games with three hits. Javier Betancourt has 25 multi-hit games, including one four-hit game and three three-hit games. Dominic Ficociello, since promoted to Double-A, leads Lakeland with 29 multi-hit games this season, including five games with three hits. 

HIT THE ROAD, JACK ... Tyler Hanover has a lofty .327 batting average in 17 road games while Jiwan James has a .272 average in 39 road games and Ben Verlander is hitting .256 in 36 road games.

FICOCIELLO MOVES UP ... Dominic Ficociello was promoted to AA Erie on Tuesday. The Flying Tigers first baseman was seventh in the Florida State League with a .297 batting average and was tied for third with 97 base hits. Ficociello had started at first for 76 of Lakeland’s 88 games with Bobby Borchering (since released) manning the first sack for 12 games and Francisco Martinez making one start at first. Also on Tuesday, Curt Powell was added to the roster from AA Erie. Powell began the season with the Flying Tigers and was hitting .342 in 33 games before earning a step up the ladder to the SeaWolves roster on May 18. He played in 20 games before going on the disabled list on June 16 where he stayed until July 2. On Wednesday, outfielder Austin Schotts was activated from the disabled list while catcher Tim Remes was sent to Connecticut.

THE SKIPPER (thru 7/13) ... Dave Huppert ranks 17th among minor league manager in terms of wins a 1,893-1,746 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 285-285 record at Lakeland, including a FSL championship in 2012. 

UP NEXT ... The Flying Tigers will return home for a three-game series July 19-21 against Clearwater.

Mission Notes vs. St. Lucie (July 10-13)

THE SCHEDULE ... Lakeland returns home for a four-game series with the St. Lucie Mets Friday-Monday. The series gets underway Friday at 6:30 pm followed by a 6 pm game on Saturday. Sunday is at 1 pm with the Monday finale at 6:30 pm.

THE SERIES ... The two clubs split a four-game series May 26-29 in St. Lucie with the Flying Tigers winning the middle two games 4-1 and 4-3 while the Mets won the opener and finale by identical 6-3 scores.

THE FLYING TIGERS (6-8, T-4th North, 4.5 GB; 39-44-1 overall) ... Lakeland and squeezed by the Threshers 4-3 in 13 innings last night in Clearwater. It was the Flying Tigers’ third straight extra-inning game and their fourth in the last five contests. In the last five games, Lakeland has played a combined 65 innings.

THE METS (7-8, 4th-South, 4.0 GB; 42-43 overall) ... St. Lucie beat Charlotte 7-2 last night to win its second straight game after losing four in a row. The Mets have two of the top four hitters in the FSL in Jeff McNeil who is batting .320 to lead the league and Dominic Smith who is fourth with a .300 mark. McNeil, who leads the league with a .378 on-base percentage, is also second with 97 hits and tied for second with 50 runs scored as well as fourth with 29 extra-base hits. Smith leads the FSL with 26 doubles and is third with 51 RBI. St. Lucie is the second highest scoring team in the league and has the fourth highest team batting average.

LOCAL PRODUCT ... St. Lucie catcher Jeff Glenn is a 2009 graduate of Winter Haven High School and was a ninth-round pick of the Mets that year.

LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS

FRI., 7/10 - LHP Trent Szkutnik (0-2, 6.00 ERA) ... Szkutnik had his best outing in his last start on July 5 at home against Dunedin, working 6.0 innings and holding the Blue Jays to one run on four hits with six strikeouts. Unfortunately, he did not get the decision as the game was not decided until the bottom of the 21st inning. He has struck out 13 batters over his last three starts and 14.1 innings while walking five. He was not with the club for the first-half Mets’ series.

SAT., 7/11 - RHP Brennan Smith (4-0, 1.93 ERA) ... Smith got the win in his last start on July 6 after holding Dunedin to one run on five hits in 6.0 innings. He struck out five for a second straight start and did not issue a free pass. Smith has won his last four decisions and is 3-0 with a 1.23 ERA in five previous starts. He came on in relief against the Mets on May 26, working 1.2 innings and allowing two runs on one hit and two walks while striking out a pair.

FRI., 7/10 - LHP Kevin Ziomek (3-0, 2.00 ERA) ... Ziomek, who is tied for third in the FSL with 86 strikeouts, gave up two runs—one earned—in 7.0 innings in his last start on July 7 at Clearwater. He surrendered seven hits in that contest and recorded only one strikeout after punching out 10 in his previous start on July 2 at Daytona. Ziomek has a 1.95 ERA over his last four starts, but has just one win for his efforts. He lost his start at St. Lucie on May 29 after being tagged for six runs—five earned—on seven hits in just 2.2 innings.

FRI., 7/10 - LHP Locke St. John (3-0, 2.00 ERA) ... St. John did not factor in the decision in his last start at Clearwater on July 8. He allowed four runs (all in the fifth inning) on five hits over 4.2 innings with four strikeouts and two walks. St. John has surrendered 11 runs in his last 15.1 innings over three starts, but has recorded 11 strikeouts during that span. He faced St. Lucie on May 28 and allowed a pair of unearned runs on three hits in 4.0 innings with two strikeouts and four walks.

TIRED BULLPEN ... All of these extra inning games may have an effect on the Flying Tigers relief pitchers who have tossed 34.1 innings over the last five contests. The staff has performed well, allowing just three earned runs with 26 strikeouts and 10 walks in that span.

RAPPIN’ RHYMES ... Raph Rhymes has reached base safely in 22 consecutive games dating back to June 14. It is the longest active streak in the Florida State League. He is 25x88 (.295) during that stretch with seven doubles and two homers while walking 13 times. He now ranks fourth in the league with 39 walks. Rhymes tops all FSL outfielders with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.

HANGING AROUND ... Dominic Ficociello is seventh in the FSL with a .296 batting average and is fourth with 93 base hits. His .995 fielding percentage continues to lead all league first baseman. Ficociello has been charged with four errors in 733 total chances.

FRANKLY FRANCISCO ... Francisco Martinez homered in back-to-back games in the first two battles of the Clearwater series and now leads the Flying Tigers with eight round trippers. His 133 total bases is second most in the league while his 31 extra-base hits is third most. He now has 699 hits for his eight-year career.

LAND OF THE VER ... Ben Verlander has six hits in the last four games (6x17) and has collected at least one base hit in seven of his last eight games for a .314 clip (11x35) with five runs scored.

BATTERING BETANCOURT ... Javier Betancourt is fourth in the FSL with 323 at bats. In the field, he tops all league second baseman with a .995 fielding percentage with six errors in 402 chances.

MILESTONES ... JIWAN JAMES has 331 at bats this season—second most in the league. He needs four more runs scored to reach 300 in his eight-year career and one more stolen base to reach 100 steals.

GOOD START ... Ryan Castellanos made his Lakeland debut last night and picked up the save, tossing a 1-2-3 ninth. The brother of former Flying Tiger and current Detroit Tiger Nick Castellanos got the first batter to ground out and the second to fly out before securing his first Lakeland save by ending the game with a called strikeout.

KEEPING IT REAL ... Tyler Ford worked three more shutout innings last night to run his streak to 9.2 innings as a member of the Flying Tigers. He racked up a career-high six strikeouts in last night’s game and now has 12 strikeouts while issuing just one free pass. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS ... Lakeland is 25-0 with leading after eight innings and 1-32 when trailing after eight. The Flying Tigers have been involved in 26 games decided by one-run and are 13-13 in those outings. The last three games, each going into extra frames, give Lakeland a total of 13 extra inning games in which the club is 6-7. The Flying Tigers pitching staff has a 2.32 ERA so far in the month of July after posting a 3.80 mark in June. The two homers in the first two games of the Clearwater series by Francisco Martinez gives Lakeland 39 on the season, a mark that is second most in the FSL. Of Lakeland’s 39 dingers, 21 have come on the road.

THE SKIPPER (thru 7/09) ... Dave Huppert ranks 17th among minor league manager in terms of wins a 1,893-1,742 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 285-281 record at Lakeland, including a FSL championship in 2012. 

UP NEXT ... The Flying Tigers will have Tuesday, July 14 off for the Major League All-Star Game and return to action Wednesday, July 15 in the first of a four-game series at Bradenton. The next home series for Lakeland will be July 19-21 against Clearwater.

Mission Notes vs. Clearwater (July 7-9)

THE SCHEDULE ... Lakeland hits the road west for a three-game set at Clearwater playing Tuesday at 7 pm, Wednesday at noon, and back to 7 pm for the finale on Thursday. All games can be heard via the Threshers website (www.milb.com/index.jsp?sid=t566).

THE SERIES ... Each club has defended their home turf with Clearwater taking two of three to capture the first series at Bright House Field and Lakeland returning the favor, winning two of the trio of contests played at Joker Marchant Stadium. Overall, the series is 3-3 with the Flying Tigers winning three of the last four meetings.

THE FLYING TIGERS (5-6, T-3rd, 3.5 GB; 38-42-1 overall) ... Lakeland is coming off a three-game sweep of Dunedin, including a 2-1 decision in 21 innings in the middle game (more below). The three-game win streak comes on the heels of a six-game losing streak which followed an eight-game win steak which followed a nine-game win streak. Can you say, “when you’re hot, you’re hot, and when you’re not, you’re not?”

THE THRESHERS (9-3, 1st, 2.5 game lead; 46-36 overall) ... Clearwater sits atop the North Division with a 9-3 start to the second half. The Threshers are 14-3 dating back to June 17 when then rallied to win the first half race by sweeping Daytona in the first-half finale. Williams Astudillo is third in the Florida State League with a .311 batting average while Angelo Mora is eighth with a .294 mark and first with five triples. Angelo Pullin is tied for second in the league with 49 runs batted in and fifth with 124 total bases. 

LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS

TUE., 7/07 - LHP Kevin Ziomek (5-6, 4.27 ERA) ... Ziomek, who is fourth in the FSL with 85 strikeouts, is 1-1 his last three starts with a 2.25 ERA, allowing just a combined four runs over 16.0 innings with 16 strikeouts and two walks. Ten of those punchouts came in his last start on July 2 at Daytona and despite holding the Tortugas to two runs, Ziomek was tagged with the loss. He is 2-0 with a 2.19 ERA in two previous starts vs. the Threshers with 14 strikeouts and two walks in a combined 12.1 innings.

WED., 7/08 - LHP Locke St. John (2-7, 4.72 ERA) ... St. John is looking for his first win since May 17. In his last outing on July 3 at Daytona, he held the Tortugas to three runs on six hits and five strikeouts and one walk in 6.1 innings, but took the loss. His 4.72 ERA is a bit misleading as he had one bad outing. Discounting the seven runs he allowed in 0.2 innings to Dunedin on June 14, his earned run average dips to 3.90 on the season. St. John has made two previous starts against Clearwater and is 0-1 with a 5.56 ERA.

THU., 7/09 - RHP Jonathan Maciel (3-0, 2.00 ERA) ... Maciel got back on the winning side of the ledger with a two-run, six hit performance in 5.2 innings against Dunedin at home on Independence Day. He now has given up five runs in his last 17.1 innings over three starts for a 2.59 ERA. He has recorded three or more strikeouts in six of his last seven starts. Maciel has not faced Clearwater this season.

LONGEST GAME ... Dominic Ficociello hit a 3-1 pitch over the left field wall for a walk-off win as Lakeland outlasted Dunedin 2-1 in a marathon 21-innings in a game suspended after 16 innings on Sunday and resumed Monday. The Blue Jays tallied a run in the first inning on Sunday while Lakeland evened the score in the sixth. The game remained 1-1 before rains forced suspension in the top of the 17th inning. The 21 innings, taking five hours and eight minutes to play, marked the longest game in the minor leagues this season and is believed to be the longest ever for Lakeland.. Each club had 13 hits and 71 at bats and the two pitching staffs combined for 35 strikeouts with Lakeland recording 15 punch outs. 

BATS ALIVE ... After reaching double digits in just three of the final 16 games of the first half, Lakeland has had ten or more hits in six games already this half, including the last three games. 

STILL THERE ... A 2x9 effort in the 21-inning marathon did not change Dominic Ficociello’s status as one of the top hitters in the FSL. The Flying Tigers’ first baseman has hits in five straight games and 10 of his last 11 and is now fifth in the league with a .302 average while his 91 hits and .365 on-base percentage are both fourth-best. He is 17x48 during the last 11 contests with nine runs scored, three doubles, a triple, and two homers, for eight RBI. He is also getting it done defensively, leading all FSL first baseman with a .994 fielding percentage. He has been charged with just four errors this season.

HAPPY JAVIER ... Javier Betancourt has hits in seven straight games (12x31, .387) and hits in 11 of his last 12 contests (21x54, .389). The Flying Tigers second baseman has seven multi-hit games during the last dozen games, including in each of the last three outings. He has also fielded his position superbly, leading all FSL second baseman with a .987 fielding mark with only five errors on the year.

WHERE DID THAT COME FROM? ... As one of five outfielders on the Lakeland roster, Ismael Salgado has played in only 26 games, but may get more playing time if he can turn in more games like Monday. Batting in the nine-hole, Salgado went 2x4 to drive in four runs, matching his career-high set last season while a member of the Gulf Coast League Tigers. He had not driven in more than one run in any game this season and the four ribbies doubled his season output.

VERY VERASTEGUI-LIKE ... Adenson Verastegui remained stingy in his last outing on July 4, holding Dunedin to two hits over 2.1 scoreless innings. He struck out four and walked just one. He has whiffed four batters in back-to-back appearances and has surrendered just one run in 22.2 innings with Lakeland this season.

SOLID DEBUT ... Gabe Hemmer made the most of his Flying Tigers debut on July 5, working 4.0 shutout innings of four-hit ball at home against Dunedin. He struck out three and issued one intentional walk.

THROWING BLANKS ... Tyler Ford has not been scored upon in his three outings since joining Lakeland and has held opponents to six hits over 6.2 innings. Whit Mayberry has allowed just one unearned run in 7.2 innings over his three relief appearances since becoming a member of the Flying Tigers.

THE SKIPPER (thru 7/06) ... Dave Huppert ranks 17th among minor league manager in terms of wins a 1,892-1,740 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 284-279 record at Lakeland, including a FSL championship in 2012. 

ROSTER MOVES ... Righthanded pitcher Montreal Robertson was promoted to AA Erie on Monday while righty Scott Sitz was added from West Michigan. On Tuesday, INF Jared Reaves and OF Austin Schotts were placed on the Disabled List with INF Keaton Jones being added from Connecticut and RHP Ryan Castellanos, younger brother of former Flying Tiger and current Detroit Tiger, Nick Castellanos, joining Lakeland from the GCL club.
    Both Jones and Castellanos are members of Detroit 2015 draft class. Jones was a 15th round pick out Texas Christian while Castellanos was a 25th round pick out of Nova Southeastern University. They are the first members of this year's draft class to play for Lakeland.

UP NEXT ... Lakeland returns home on Friday to open a four-game homestand with St. Lucie.

Former Flying Tigers Named All-Stars ... SS Dixon Machado (2012-14) has been selected to represent Toledo on the Triple-A International League All-Star squad. 1B/DH Dean Green (2012-13) and LHP Josh Turley (2014) were named Eastern League All-Stars for AA Erie. Both games are July 15. 

Mision Notes vs. Dunedin (July 4-6)

THE SCHEDULE ... Lakeland entertains Dunedin for a three-game set July 4-6. The opener is Saturday at 5 pm as the Flying Tigers stage their annual Independence Day fireworks. Sunday’s game is slated for a 1 pm start while the finale is Monday at 6:30 pm. This is the third time in the last six years Lakeland and Dunedin have faced each other on July 4.

INDEPENDENCE DAY ... The Flying Tigers are at home on July 4th for an 11th consecutive year. The last time the team did not play at home on Independence Day was in 2003 when the club traveled to Clearwater. Lakeland lost 1-0 to Tampa in 12 innings last year in a game witnessed by 5,052 fans. The largest group to watch the club in the last 10 years came in 2011 when 5,249 saw the club fall to Dunedin 5-2. In 2010, Lakeland shut out Dunedin 14-0 on the nation’s birthday. 

THE SERIES ... Lakeland won the first two series meetings between these two clubs, taking two of the three games in each while the Blue Jays swept the Flying Tigers in three games in mid-June. Francisco Martinez is 12x30 (.400) in the series with four doubles and two homers while Javier Betancourt and Dominic Ficociello each have ten hits and a combined 11 RBI in the nine games. 

THE FLYING TIGERS (35-42-1, 2-6 2nd Half, 6th, 4.5 GB) ... Lakeland is taking a flashback to the Seventies as the Flying Tigers have gone streaking. Losing nine straight from June 6-16, the club ran off eight straight wins from June 16-27, and is now back on the down slope, dropping six straight games from June 28-July 3. Lakeland was swept in three games at Daytona, scoring one run in the final two contests. The Flying Tigers have been outscored 32-12 during their recent losing streak. 

THE BLUE JAYS (36-43, 4-5 2nd Half, 3rd, 3.0 GB) ... Dunedin is coming off a home series win vs. Brevard County, winning back to back games by scores of 6-1 and 12-4 after dropping the series opener, 12-3. Luis Santos is fifth in the FSL with 77 strikeouts, but has allowed a league-high 11 home runs. The Blue Jays pitching staff has the highest staff ERA in the FSL at 4.12 on the season. Emilio Guerrero has hits in each of his nine games since rejoining the club on June 24, going 12x28 (.429) during the stretch with five doubles and a pair of triples. Matt Dean is 8x15 in the last four games 

LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS

SAT., 7/04 - RHP Jonathan Maciel (2-7, 5.84 ERA) ... Maciel took the loss in his last start on June 29 against Jupiter at home, allowing five runs—three earned—on nine hits in 4.2 innings. Opponents have scored five earned runs against him in his last 16.2 innings over three starts. Maciel lost his only start against Dunedin on May 8 at Dunedin, giving up four runs on 10 hits in 6.0 innings. He is looking for his first win since beating Jupiter on May 14.

SUN., 7/05 - LHP Trent Szkutnik (0-2, 7.80 ERA) ... Szkutnik gave up four runs on six hits in 4.1 and took the loss in his last start on June 30 vs. Jupiter. Szkutnik was tagged for seven runs—six earned— on seven hits in just 1.2 innings and got the lost in his only start at the Blue Jays in his Lakeland debut on June 13.

MON., 7/06 - RHP Brennan Smith (3-0, 2.00 ERA) ... (This was Matt Crouse’s spot in the rotation, but he was promoted to AA Erie on Friday). Smith has been used as a starter for three games June 11, 16 and 22 and is 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA in those three starts. He has struck out 15 and walked four in 16.0 frames as the first Flying Tiger on the mound. Smith worked 3.0 innings in his only previous start against Dunedin on May 9 surrendering one runs on five hits.

NUMBER NINE, NUMBER NINE ... Javier Betancourt brings a nine-game hit streak into this series having gone 14x37 during the streak for a .378 clip. He remains the second toughest player in the FSL to strikeout with one whiff every 12.31 plate appearances.

FICO-SCORE ... Dominic Ficociello has hits in seven of his last eight games going 12x31 with five runs scored, two doubles, a triple and a homer for seven runs batted in. He is tied with St. Lucie’s Dominic Smith for fourth in the league with a .303 batting average and is also tied for fourth with 86 hits. His .367 on-base percentage is fourth-best in the Florida State League.

BLAZING A MON-TRAIL ... Montreal Robertson has allowed just one opponent to cross home plate in his last 14.2 innings over eight appearances and has 11 strikeouts his last four outings.

NOT ADEN UP ... Adenson Verastegui has surrendered just one score in his 20.1 innings as a Flying Tiger for a 0.44 ERA in six appearances.

FIELDING THE POSITION ... Dominic Ficociello remains the best fielding first baseman in the league with a .994 fielding percentage while Javier Betancourt tops all second baseman with a .986 mark. Raph Rhymes is perfect with a 1.000 fielding percentage which is the best amongst FSL outfielders. Grayson Greiner has thrown out 33.8 percent of would-be base stealers, a mark that is fifth best in the league. However, opponents have been successful in 11 of 12 attempts vs. Greiner since he came off the disabled list on June 22.

THE SKIPPER (thru 7/03) ... Dave Huppert ranks 17th among minor league manager in terms of wins a 1,889-1,740 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 281-279 record at Lakeland, including a FSL championship in 2012. 

ROSTER MOVES ... Lakeland made a flurry of moves on Friday as two players earned promotions to Double-A, one was released, and three players added to the roster. LHP Matt Crouse (4-2, 2.55 ERA) and RHP Slade Smith (1-0, 0.53 ERA, 1 SV) earned a ticket up the organizational ladder to Erie. Righthander Gabe Hemmer and outfielder Austin Schotts join the Flying Tigers from West Michigan while RHP Will Clinard was welcomed back from the Gulf Coast League Tigers. Finally, infielder Bobby Borchering (.203, 3 HR, 16 RBI) was released. Hemmer was 1-2 with a 1.29 ERA and three saves for West Michigan with 37 strikeouts and 11 walks in 35.0 innings. Clinard, who had pitched in eight innings in two previous outings for Lakeland earlier this season, was 1-0 with one save in 4.0 innings with the GCL Club. Schotts, who played two games for Lakeland in 2012, was batting .237 for the Whitecaps with a pair of homers and 26 runs batted in. 

UP NEXT ... The Flying Tigers hit the road for three games at Clearwater July 7-9 before returning home to face St. Lucie for four games on July 10-13.

ORGANIZATIONAL NOTES ... The Detroit minor league clubs have combined for a 191-220 record for a .465 winning percentage which ranks 25th among all organizations. Toronto is 13th with a 196-188 mark and a .510 winning percentage. The Houston Astros have the top mark at 23-4176 (.571) while Milwaukee brings up the rear at 159-207 (.434) ... Lakeland pitcher Kevin s leads all Detroit minor leaguers with 85 strikeouts.

TIME AT THE BALLPARK ... An average minor league baseball game last 2:44 for nine innings while the Florida State League is a little quicker with an average time of 2:40 this season. Lakeland home games average 2:32 in 2015.

Mission Notes vs. Daytona (July 1-3)

THE SCHEDULE ... Lakeland opens the month of July with a three-game series at Daytona. The first two games get underway at 7:05 pm with the Friday finale set for 6:35 pm with fireworks to follow.

UP NEXT ... The next home game for the Flying Tigers is Saturday, July 4 as Lakeland hosts an Independence Day game at 5 pm.

THE SERIES ... The Flying Tigers have won two of the three series with the Tortugas taking the one series played at Radiology Associates Field at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. Dominic Ficociello is 13x34 in the series while Francisco Martinez is 11x30 for Lakeland which is hitting .270 as a team in the nine games so far. 

THE FLYING TIGERS (35-39-1, 2-3 2nd Half, T-2nd, 2.5 GB) ... After opening the second half with a pair of wins, Lakeland has lost three straight, dropping the final three games of the Jupiter series. The Flying Tigers won the opening game against the Hammerheads by a 10-4 score and then were outscored 7-21 the final three outings.

THE TORTUGAS (39-36, 2-3 2nd Half, T-2nd, 2.5 GB) ... Daytona snapped a nine-game losing streak by winning the middle two games of its four-game series at Palm Beach. Phillip Ervin has slugged a FSL-high 11 homers while also topping the league with 50 runs scored. He is fourth with 42 RBI while Sebastian Elizalde has driven in a league-best 47 runs and is fourth with 19 doubles. Alex Blandido has posted a .367 on-base percentage, which is fifth best in the league. Carlton Daal brings an eight-game hit streak into this series and is 11x30 (.367) during that stretch. On the hill, Amir Garrett is third in the league with 80 strikeouts. 

LAKELAND PROBABLE STARTERS

WED., 7/01 - LHP Matt Crouse (4-1, 2.03) ... Crouse has gotten wins in his last two outings. In a start at Tampa on June 26, he held the Yankees to five hits over 5.0 scoreless innings with two strikeouts and no walks. On June 18 at Charlotte, Crouse came out of the bullpen and allowed two runs in 3.0 innings with five strikeouts to get the victory. He has now struck out 20 and walked four in his last 23.2 innings. Crouse is 4-1 with three saves in nine road appearances and is 0-1 with a 2.57 ERA in two games vs. Daytona.

THU., 7/02 - LHP Kevin  Ziomek (5-5, 4.37 ERA) ... Ziomek picked up the win in his last start on June 27 at home vs. Jupiter by holding the Hammerheads to a pair of runs on six hits and four strikeouts in 6.0 innings. Those two runs are all he has allowed in his last 10.0 innings over two starts. Ziomek, who is fourth in the FSL with 75 strikeouts, has made one previous start against the Tortugas on May 18, allowing four runs on four hits with eight strikeouts over 7.1 innings.

FRI., 7/03 - LHP Locke St. John (2-5, 4.52 ERA) ... St. John has not tasted victory since beating Dunedin on May 17. In his last start on June 28 at home against Jupiter, he gave up four runs on four hits in 5.1 innings with two walks and two strikeouts. Over his last four starts, St. John has surrendered 17 runs and issued 10 walks in 16.0 innings for an 8.47 ERA. He is 1-2 with a 5.91 ERA in five road starts and has made one previous start against Daytona on May 6, working 5.0 shutout innings without a decision.

HOME RUN DERBY? ... The Tortugas lead the FSL with 48 homers as a team with almost a fourth hit by Phillip Ervin who has a league-best 11 round-trippers. The Flying Tigers are second with 35 dingers with Raph Rhymes leading the way with six homers.

DOM-DOM-DOM ... Dominic Ficociello has hits in the last five games and has two or more hits in four of the last five contest for a 10x20 stretch with five runs scored and seven runs batted in. His .500 pace has lifted him into fourth in the Florida State League with a .308 average. He is also third in the league with 84 hits and a .372 on-base percentage while his 114 total bases is tied for fourth.

MARVELOUS MARTINEZ ... Francisco Martinez had a 12-game hit streak from June 11-24 and now has hits in 16 of his last 18 games, going 23x69 (.333) during that time with 12 runs batted in. Martinez collected three singles in the Flying Tigers’ game yesterday.

EARLY LOG JAM ... In the early going of the second half, Clearwater is off to a 5-1 start after winning the first half. Next is Lakeland, Daytona, Brevard County and Tampa, all at 2-3 and all 2.5 games behind the Threshers. Dunedin is close with a 2-4 mark and is 3.0 games out.

BATTLING BETANCOURT ... Javier Betancourt has hits in five of his last six games, going 10x26 during that stretch for a .385 streak. He is the second toughest hitter in the Florida State League to strike out with one whiff every 13.39 plate appearances.

ONE DAY AT A TIME ... Bobby Borchering has at least one hit in 14 of his last 16 games, amassing a 16x55 stretch for a .291 mark.

HE’S BACK ... Jared Reaves began the 2015 season in Lakeland and had hits in 12 straight games before being promoted to AA Erie. He was added back to the roster on June 29, and though he was held hitless that evening, he bounced back with three hits in Tuesday’s game.

TAKING THE FREE PASS ... With six walks in his last five games, Raph Rhymes is tied with Daytona’s Phillip Erwin for fourth in the FSL with 33 walks.

THE BULLISH PEN ... Adenson Verastegui has been used a middle reliever and has given up just one run in 20.1 innings and nothing in his last 11.0 frames. Montreal Robertson has allowed just run in his last 14.2 innings while Slade Smith gave up his first run as a Flying Tiger in his last outing and has a 0.53 ERA over 17.0 innings. 

FLASHING THE LEATHER ... Lakeland first baseman Dominic Ficociello leads his fellow position players in the league with a .994 fielding percentage. He has been charged with just four errors in 632 total chances. Javier Betancourt leads all FSC second baseman with a .986 fielding mark with five errors in 352 chances while Raph Rhymes leads FSL outfielders with a 1.000 fielding percentage.

HARD TO RUN AGAINST ... Grayson Greiner has thrown out 38.1 percent of would-be base stealers this season, a mark that is third best in the league. He has gunned down 24 runners in 63 attempts. Back-up catcher Tim Remes has thrown out eight of 22 runners for a 36.4 mark. Lakeland catchers have nailed 39 base stealers.

THE SKIPPER (thru 6/30) ... Dave Huppert ranks 17th among minor league manager in terms of wins a 1,889-1,737 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 281-276 record at Lakeland, including a FSL championship in 2012. 

ROSTER MOVES ... RHP Paul Voelker was promoted to Double-A Erie on Monday while INF Jared Reaves and RHP Whit Mayberry were added to the team from the SeaWolves’ roster. In addition, INF David Gonzalez was sent to A West Michigan. Voelker was 3-0 with seven saves and a 1.64 ERA in 14 games for the Flying Tigers while Reaves began the season in Lakeland before going on the DL and then earned a brief stint with Erie where he hit .269 in nine games. Mayberry, who had pitched in 10 games for Lakeland in 2014, was 2-3 with a 3.06 earned run average and one save in 17 appearances for the Whitecaps. Gonzalez was batting .178 in 27 games for Lakeland.