Florida State League Report

Brevard County Manatees (Milwaukee Brewers)
Last Week: 4-1; Second Half: 12-4
Brevard County's drastic improvement from the first half continued as the Manatees concluded the week in first place in the East Division. After going 26-42 in the first half, the Manatees have already have three winning streaks of more than three games. Tim Dillard was outstanding in his only start of the week, allowing Clearwater one run in seven innings in a 5-1 win.

Clearwater Threshers (Philadelphia Phillies)
Last Week: 0-5; Second Half: 3-13
Clearwater's massive struggles continued as the Threshers ended the week with the worst record in the Florida State League. They are on a five-game losing streak. Tim Moss was one of the few highlights, hitting .429 over his last five games. The Threshers did get a break when Hurricane Dennis postponed the weekend's games.

Daytona Cubs (Chicago Cubs)
Last Week: 1-3; Second Half: 4-12
Daytona continues to struggle, with Hurricane Dennis postponing the weekend's play. Juan Mateo provided a nice highlight when he allowed one run in six innings to beat Brevard County, 8-1. Tony Richie is five for his last 13.

Dunedin Blue Jays (Toronto Blue Jays)
Last Week: 4-2; Second Half: 12-5
Dunedin continued to surge in the second half and ended the weather-interrupted week only a half game behind first-place Lakeland in the West Division. The week began when Robert Janssen and two relievers combined to two-hit Clearwater in a 5-0, July 4 win. The following night, Carlo Cota's RBI single in the bottom of the 12th provided the winning run in a 3-2 decision.

Fort Myers Miracle (Minnesota Twins)
Last Week: 1-4; Second Half: 9-6
After a red-hot start to the second half, Fort Myers cooled off a bit to fall two games behind first-place Lakeland. The Miracle's only win came in Thursday's 10-6 decision over St. Lucie. Trent Oeltjan went 4-for-5 and Kyle Geiger drove in three runs. Geiger is seven for his last 14 and has driven in seven in his last four games.

Jupiter Hammerheads (Florida Marlins)
Last Week: 2-2; Second Half: 6-9
Hurricane Dennis truncated Jupiter's week and limited the Hammerheads to only four games. They started the week with a July 4 bang, routing Palm Beach, 11-1. Reggie Abercrombie hit a home run shortly before being promoted to Double-A Carolina. Jose Campusano is five for his last 11.

Lakeland Tigers (Detroit Tigers)
Last Week: 4-0; Second Half: 10-4
After starting the second half in a 1-4 slump, the Lakeland Tigers have ripped off nine straight wins to reclaim the West Division lead. In the last three wins, Lakeland pitching has been dominant, allowing a total of only three runs. Jordan Tata and four relievers capped off the streak by two-hitting Daytona, 6-0, before Hurricane Dennis put a stop to play.

Palm Beach Cardinals (St. Louis Cardinals)
Last Week: 3-3; Second Half: 10-8
Palm Beach stayed within striking distance of first-place Brevard County with a .500 week. The Cardinals bounced back from an 11-1 spanking by Jupiter on Monday to pull out a 10-inning, 6-5 win on Tuesday with Andy Schutzenhofer's walk-off single. They also got in a game Saturday, beating Dunedin, 12-3. John Santor drove in four runs in the win.

St. Lucie Mets (New York Mets)
Last Week: 3-2; Second Half: 9-7
St. Lucie kept Brevard County in its sights in the East Division by winning three of five last week. Vincent Cordova was at his best in Wednesday's 4-0 shutout of Fort Myers. He went seven scoreless frames and allowed only three hits. Jonathan Slack is hitting .462 in his last four games.

Sarasota Reds (Cincinnati Reds)
Last Week: 4-1; Second Half: 8-8
After breaking a four-game losing streak on July 4, the Sarasota Reds went on to win four of five games last week and pull themselves back to .500 for the second half. The most important win came in the streak-snapping 8-5 victory over Fort Myers on Monday. Joey Votto homered and drove in five runs in the game.

Tampa Yankees (New York Yankees)
Last Week: 1-3; Second Half: 4-11
The Tampa Yankees continued to struggle and finished the week one game out of last place in the West Division. Their only win came on Thursday in a 7-5 decision over Jupiter. A four-run eighth gave them the triumph. Tommy Rojas went 7-for-14 on the week.

Vero Beach Dodgers (Los Angeles Dodgers)
Last Week: 2-3; Second Half: 8-8
The Vero Beach Dodgers fell back to .500 with a losing week. That wasn't because of Danny Muegge, though. Muegge struck out seven in six shutout innings to beat Sarasota, 8-0. Matthew Kemp also hit .471 for the week.