Matt Manning struck out seven over six strong innings to lead the Flying Tigers to a series sweep of the Dunedin Blue Jays. Luke Burch's 3rd four-hit game of the season paced the offense in the 8-2 win.
Matt Manning struck out seven over six strong innings to lead the Flying Tigers to a series sweep of the Dunedin Blue Jays. Luke Burch's 3rd four-hit game of the season paced the offense in the 8-2 win.
Dunedin jumped on the board first, scoring two runs against Manning in the second inning. In the bottom half of the frame, Danny Pinero scored on a grounder to short by Jose Azocar, cutting the lead to one. Dylan Burdeaux tied the game in the third with another RBI groundout, scoring Derek Hill.
With the game still tied 2-2 in the sixth inning, shortstop Cole Peterson singled and stole second to move into scoring position for Athmann, who hit a ground-rule double to give the Flying Tigers a 3-2 lead.
Lakeland broke the game open in the eighth inning. Azocar added two runs with a single that scored Burdeaux and Pinero, and eventually crossed home himself on a forceout by Andres Sthormes. Burch singled to center to score Sthormes and AJ Simcox knocked an RBI single to plate Derek Hill, stretching the lead to 8-2. All in all, the Flying Tigers scored five runs in the eighth on seven hits, all of which were singles.
Wladimir Pinto pitched a perfect seventh and Fernando Perez tossed two scoreless innings to close the game and earn his first save of the year. The Flying Tigers now sit just a game behind the Blue Jays for first place in the Florida State League North Division.
Up Next: The Flying Tigers will travel to Clearwater to face the Threshers at 7:00 p.m. Franklin Perez (0-1, 7.71 ERA) will start for Lakeland against Ramon Rosso (2-1, 1.99 ERA) as the Flying Tigers hope to extend their winning streak to five games.
The Flying Tigers will return to Publix Field on Friday to face the Threshers at 6:30 p.m. Spenser Watkins (7-3, 1.67 ERA) will put his league-leading ERA to the test against Adonis Medina (8-3, 4.48 ERA), the Phillies 2nd-best prospect according to MLB Pipeline. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. for our Christmas in July celebration, where fans will have the opportunity to meet Santa Claus! The first 500 paid fans to enter the gate will also receive a 2018 Lakeland Flying Tigers team card set, courtesy of MetroPCS.
Get your tickets at http://bit.ly/2NLv2sH or by calling the BayCare Box Office at (863) 413-4140.
