Tigers Minor League Baseball Blog

Thad Weber improved to 2-2 on the season with an exceptional start in the Flying Tigers 5-0 win.  He gave up two hits and three walks with six strikeouts in six shutout innings.  Lester Oliveros didn’t allow a hit in the final two frames to complete the shutout.

Audy Ciriaco went two for three with two RBIs and a run.  Kyle Peter went two for three with an RBI and two runs while Andy Dirks singled, drew two walks and scored twice.

When you have almost as many errors (2) as you do hits (3), you know you’re in trouble.  Three singles were all the White Caps hitters could manage and the lone hitter to reach base twice was Bryan Pounds, who singled and drew a walk in the 3-0 loss.

Victor Larez took the loss and he fell to 0-1.  He gave up two runs (one earned) on three hits and a walk with two strikeouts in three innings.

Erie hitters were held in check as they lost to Bowie 6-1.  The SeaWolves managed just six hits and Al Avila had two of those.  The lone run came on a solo homer by Scott Sizemore.

Jay Sborz took the loss and he fell to 0-1.  He gave up four runs (two earned) on four hits and four walks with three strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings.

Hello again, I am back to give everyone a look at this past week’s activities. For starters, well actually this starter, I took my first loss of the season yesterday at the hands of the Tampa Yankees (more like the Damn Yankees at the time). So much for that unbeaten streak again, guess I will have to wait once more until next year. It was just one of those days where the ball bounces and just doesn’t seem to take a bounce your way. Hey, it’s baseball, these things happen. I was pleased with how I was able to keep my composure and manage a decent outing, which was never really my strong suit in the past (if I was going down, I was going to take as many of the opposing hitters down with me). Now, prior to this current series, we made the trip over to Daytona Beach for the first time for a series with the Daytona Cubs. I must admit that was a pretty good trip, I felt like it was more vacation for me than baseball. I knew I wasn’t going to throw and our hotel was right on the beach; to many ballplayers, this is know as a lethal combination. For the record, I was able to stay in control and enjoy myself while making sure I wasn’t letting the work I had to do on the field get lost in translation. Ahh the life of a starting pitcher. And yes I have already received much grief and, well what I call envy, from some of my fellow teammates. It’s ok, I love them and they love me back. Back to the present, my dad came down for the last few days to see me throw and just hang out a bit which was good because it isn’t too often that I get visitors down here, as opposed to last year when I was playing right in my backyard. Spending time with those closest to me is one of the things I make sure never to take for granted because you never know when a time will come where you might need them the most. I am planning on mid-July this season for that help, to get me through the mid-season hump, and most of all the heat. I never thought I would look forward to cold until I just thought about that.

Andrew Hess took his first loss of the season in Lakeland’s 6-0 loss to Tampa.  He gave up four runs but just one was earned on five hits with two strikeouts in five innings.   The four errors didn’t help things and in total, they led to five unearned runs.

Jordan Newton was the hitting star.  He finished with two singles and all six Lakeland hits were for just one base.

Clete Thomas had a big day at the plate in the Hens 9-6 win over the Clippers.  He went three for four and all three hits were for extra bases.  He had two doubles, a home run, two RBIs and two runs.  Don Kelly also had a nice game and he went three for four with a double and a run.

Eddie Bonine pitched three innings and he gave up two runs on five hits.  Ron Chiavacci improved to 1-0 and he gave up two runs on four hits with six strikeouts in five innings.

As I have talked about before, baseball and life can go hand in hand. And just as in life, baseball has more than its fair share of bad days. However, every now and then the game rewards you with a good day (you try to make as many good days happen as possible, but I take whatever I get). For me, yesterday can be considered one of those days. After two outings in relief due to the rehab appearances by Joel Zumaya, I finally got start my own game, which seemed like it took a lifetime to come around. Although I didn’t fair so well against Clearwater in the first go round, I took what happened in that game and tried to flip it on itself and hope for the best. Well, it worked and I managed five scoreless innings. Not only that but my teammates picked up the other end as we pounded out seven runs. I don’t like to brag, or sound conceded, but when you have a good outing, it makes the next four days between starts a little better. I still have a long way to go and there was plenty from last night that I still need to improve on but it was a good stepping stone in the right direction. Anyone who plays golf knows the feeling I am talking about. You can play 17 holes without hitting a good shot and then, whack! One good shot and putt for a birdie makes the whole day worth it. You leave with a smile on your face and a positive attitude towards the driving range, instead of four broken clubs and a crushed moral. What also made yesterday a good day was that my fiancee, Amanda, just found out she got a job in the greater Detroit area as a nurse and now we know where we will be living when I get back. Now I just have to play catch up and follow suit by getting a job in Detroit of my own…someday.

Jared Gayhart gave up a run in the bottom of the ninth that cost the White Caps in a 4-3 loss to Lansing.  This came after a mediocre start by Brandon Hamilton, who gave up three runs on five hits with three strikeouts in six innings.

Jordan Newton went two for four with a homerun and two runs in the 4-3 loss.  Ron Bourquin doubled and he drove in a pair of runs.

The Flying Tigers put together a nice win today as they bested Daytona 4-2.  Lauren Gagnier picked up the win and he improved to 1-0.  He gave up two runs on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.  Scott Green pitched a shutout ninth and he picked up his second save of the season.

Chris Carlson belted a two run homer in the fourth inning that broke a 2-2 tie.  Michael Bertram doubled and drove in two.

Chris Lambert fell to 1-1 on the season with a rough start in the Hens 7-5 loss to Columbus.  He gave up five runs on nine hits and one walk with two strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings. 

Don Kelly went one for two with a solo homer, two walks and two runs.  Will Rhymes tripled, drove in a pair and scored once.

The SeaWolves lost to the Curve today and it was Jonah Nickerson who was knocked around.  He fell to 0-2 and he gave up four runs on eight hits and three walks with three strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.  Josh Rainwater also had a tough time and he gave up two runs in 1 1/3 innings.

Jeff Frazier went three for four with a double in the 6-4 loss.  Maxwell Leon went two for four with a double and an RBI.

The Mud Hens picked up a win at the first every game at Huntington Park in Columbus this afternoon.  Ruddy Lugo had a nice start and he improved to 2-0.  He gave up one run on four hits and three walks with one strikeout in five innings.  Joel Zumaya continued his rehab with two shutout innings and Casey Fien pitched two shutout innings to close things out for his second save of the season.

Mike Hessman doubled and drove in two runs in the 3-1 win.  Danny Worth was a perfect four for four with a walk, an RBI and a run.

The SeaWolves lost to the Curve and it was Luis Marte who took some lumps.  He fell to 0-2 and he gave up six runs (four earned) on five hits and two walks with six strikeouts in five innings.  Josh Kite gave up a run in three innings out of the pen.

The bulk of Erie’s offense came from Jeff Frazier.  He went two for four with a homerun, three RBIs and two runs.  Ryan Strieby went two for four with a double, a walk and two runs.

The Flying Tigers got it done and they did it behind the arm of Charles Furbush.  The lefthander, who missed all of last year, gave up just three hits and a walk with four strikeouts in five shutout innings.  Furbush has now pitched nine innings split between two starts and he has yet to give up a run.   He also has a 10-1 strikeout to walk ratio so it looks like the rust is gone already.  Scott Green pitched a shutout ninth to pick up save number one while Robbie Weinhardt struck out four in two shutout innings in an impressive outing out of the pen.

Michael Bertram was the hitting star in the 5-3 win.  He went two for four with a double and three RBIs.  Kody Kaiser didn’t get a hit, but he picked up three walks in four plate appearances and he scored a run.

Just about everyone was a hitting star in this one as the White Caps picked up nineteen hits in a 9-6 win over Lansing.  Seven White Caps had multi-hit games and Brandon Douglas reached base four times with three singles, a walk, two runs and an RBI.  Gustavo Nunez went three for six with two runs and an RBI.

Mauricio Robles had a mixed start. He lasted just four innings and he gave up five runs but he struck out ten.  Tyler Stohr pitched two shutout frames to close out the game and he improved to 1-0 on the season.

Billy Nowlin’s sac. fly in the top of the tenth inning proved to be the game winner in the White Caps 4-3 win over Lansing.  It capped of a three for three with three RBI night for the designated hitter.  Ron Borquin also had a nice game and he went three for five with a run.

Luke Putkonen pitched six shutout innings to start things off for West Michigan.  He gave up just two hits and two walks with seven strikeouts.  Jared Gayhart held the Lugnuts scoreless in the ninth and tenth and he struck out four to improve to 1-0 on the season.

Lakeland got nothing done at the plate tonight as they lost to Daytona 3-1.  No hitter got more then one, all three hits were singles and no hitter reached base more then once.  Shann Roof drew a walk and he scored the lone run of the game for the Flying Tigers.

Thad Weber fell to 0-2 on the season.  he gave up two runs on seven hits and two walks with four strikeouts in five frames.

Lucas French looked solid on the mound as he picked up the win in the Hens 5-3 win over the Clippers.  He gave up just three hits and he struck out eight in six shutout innings.  Freddy Dolsi got the final four batters out in order and he picked up his first save of the season.

Ryan Raburn was the hitting star in the game.  He went three for three with a walk, a double, a homerun and two RBIs.  Brent Clevlen went two for four with a double, a run and an RBI.

Brooks Brown improved to 1-0 on the season with an exceptional outing in the SeaWolves 3-1 win over Altoona.  He gave up just three hits and a walk with one strikeout in seven shutout innings.  Cody Satterwhite got the final batter of the game out and he picked up his second save of the season.

Brennan Boesch went two for four with a double, a run and an RBI.  Alex Avila doubled and drew a walk.

Greetings all and hope the young baseball season has brought fun and excitement to everyone. Down here in Lakeland, we have had our share of excitement thus far, thanks to my spring roommate, Chris Carlson, who launched a two run walk off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat the Tampa Yankees in a come from behind win. I love when that happens; tension is high, everyone is on their toes anticipating something great happening and then the crack. As soon as it leaves the bat everyone runs on the field to mob him at home plate. What fans see on TV when this happens is far from what actually happens in that massive mosh pit slash celebration. I won’t go into details (because we have to keep some secrets of how we do things to ourselves) but lets just say that Chris came back to the locker room with one button remaining on his jersey. Was it fun for him? Yes and then no. But is it a necessary price to pay for greatness? Absolutely. I would expect no less if I were to throw a no hitter (knock on wood). Aside from that moment, we have been a little up and down so far as we try to find our groove and get settled into the day to day. It’s especially important here in the Florida State League because we play lots of games where we commute to the parks the day of the game due to the close proximity of teams. I think once everyone gets used to the everyday grind, the Lakeland Tigers could put up a very good showing this year.