Tigers Minor League Baseball Blog

The Flying Tigers overcame a 2-0 deficit to beat the Yankees 4-2.  Michael Bertram brought the big stick and he drove in three of the four Lakeland runs with a homerun and a single.  Andy Dirks also had a nice game and he went two for five with a run and an RBI.

Charles Furbush improved to 2-1 with a decent start.  He gave up two runs on three hits and two walks with two strikeouts in five innings.  Scott Green gave up a single and he struck out one in the ninth to pick up his third save of the season.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The pitching just wasn’t there for the Flying Tigers today.  Joel Zumaya made another rehab start and he was roughed up by Clearwater in the 9-1 loss.  Zumaya gave up three runs (two earned) on two hits and three walks with three strikeouts in just 1 1/3 innings.  Andrew Hess also had a rough outing and he gave up three runs on seven hits and a walk with two strikeouts in four innings.

Shawn Roof was the hitting star in the loss.  He went two for three with a double.  Kody Kaiser went one for three with a double and an RBI.