Lakeland Flies to Victory on the Fourth

Top prospect Matt Manning tossed 5 innings of one-hit baseball in his Flying Tigers debut to anchor a 6-0 victory following a 3-hour, 15-minute rain delay on a soggy Independence Day in Lakeland.

Manning, the Detroit Tigers 2^nd-best prospect (according to MLB Pipeline), opened his Class A-Advanced debut with three strikeouts in the first inning, quickly asserting his dominance and setting the tone for the rest of the game. He did not allow a hit until the fifth inning and finished with nine strikeouts.
Lakeland's offense followed Manning's example early, scoring in each of the first four innings. Luke Burch led off the bottom of the first with a double and scored on a throwing error during an attempted sacrifice bunt. In the second, another Jupiter error allowed the Flying Tigers to plate two on a sac fly by Burch. An Isaac Paredes solo homer stretched the lead to four at the end of the third. After Zac Shepherd doubled with one out in the fourth, yet another Jupiter miscue on a sacrifice widened the gap to five.
Zac Shepherd added an insurance run in the eighth with a sacrifice fly and Eudis Idrogo fired four scoreless innings in relief of Manning to cement the win and earn his second save of the season. The 6-0 victory marked the fifth shutout of the season for the Flying Tigers and moved them into sole possession of first place for the second half.
Up Next: The Flying Tigers look to sweep the short two-game series against Jupiter when they return to Publix Field at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday night. Anthony Castro (4-2, 2.95 ERA) will pitch for Lakeland against Ryan Lillie (0-1, 8.10 ERA), who will be making his second start for Jupiter after a midseason promotion from Class A Greensboro.
Gates open at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow evening. Adults 21 and older can enjoy 1/2 price select draft beer, wine & frozen cocktails. Get your tickets at http://bit.ly/2u8amms or by calling the BayCare Box Office at (863) 413-4140.