Miami Palms Blog

Troy Munoz missed a start with an illness Tuesday, allowing Javier Vazquez to take over. It was still full rest given Monday's off day, but he pitched as it wasn't. The first 4 innings went well enough, as the Twins only scored once, but two in the 5th and 2 more in the 6th on a Delmon Young home run put the Palms in a hole they couldn't get out of. Nick Blackburn managed to hold the Palms to 6 hits. LF Sadan 1-4 R SS Janish 1-4 1b Dupont 1-4 K C Black 1-4 K RF Sohn 1-4 DH Winn 0-3 BB 2b Henning 1-4 K CF Crisp 0-3 3b Fields 0-3 K 2b Janish (8) Dupont (15) RBI Janish (9) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Vazquez L 8-4 8 11 6 6 1 6 2 Gonsales 1 2 2 2 0 0 1 Player of the Game: Nick Blackburn 37-39 10 GB

Things didn't look good going into the 9th. The Palms weren't hitting, and they were down 5-2, scoring their only two runs on Ryan Henning singles. Adam Kennedy had hit two home runs for the Nats, helping them have the lead through 8 1/2. With one out and 2 on, Frank Sohn hit a double to bring it to within 1. Two batters later, Randy Winn drove in Sohn. Then, with two outs and two runners on, the Palms only needed a run to win and salvage the series. Instead, Henning hit a walk off winner, completing the 6 run 9th and finishing a dramatic comeback. LF Sadan 1-4 BB R SS Gonzalez 1-5 R RF Sohn 2-5 2R K C Black 2-5 2R K DH Winn 1-4 BB R 2K 1b Drysdale 3-5 2b Henning 3-5 R CF Crisp 0-4 K GIDP 3b Fields 2-3 BB 3b Fields (2) HR Henning (11) RBI Sohn 2 (51) Winn (24) Henning 5 (36) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Balierough 8 10 5 5 2 6 2 Gonsales W 7-3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 P...

Dallas Chastanet struggled against the Nationals in the middle game of this set. The first 4 Washington batters reached, and the Nationals ended up scoring 4, which was more than enough. The Palms never strung any hits together, and scored their runs on solo homers from Coco Crisp and Martin Prado.They will try to salvage the series tomorrow afternoon. 3b Prado 1-4 R SS Gonzalez 1-4 1b Dupont 1-4 DH Black 0-4 K RF Sohn 0-3 BB K LF Winn 2-4 GIDP 2b Henning 1-4 CF Crisp 2-4 R C Santos 0-3 HR Prado (7) Crisp (8) RBI Prado (41) Crisp (31) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Chastanet L 7-4 5 8 4 4 1 2 0 McLoughlin 1 3 3 3 0 0 1 Sarfate 1 2 1 1 0 0 1 Johnston 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 Player of the game: Nyjer Morgan 36-38 10GB

The Palms did everything right in this game, except in the 6th inning, when the Nationals scored their 4 of their 5 runs. Manny Parra pitched 5 excellent innings before the Nationals started hitting. The big stroke was a three run homer from Mike Morse. The Palms hit two home runs, off the bats of Billy Dupont and Frank Sohn, though both came with nobody on base, and the Palms never really threatened. 3b Prado 2-4 SS Gonzalez 0-4 1b Dupont 1-4 R C Black 1-4 RF Sohn 1-4 R LF Sadan 0-4 K DH Winn 0-4 2K 2b Henning 1-4 K CF Crisp 2-3 R K 2b Prado 2 (24) Black (20) 3b Crisp (7) HR Dupont (12) Sohn (12) RBI Prado (35) Dupont (41) Sohn (48) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Parra L 2-5 5 2/3 8 5 5 3 5 1 Johnston 1 1/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 McLoughlin 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 Player of the Game: Mike Morse 36-37 10GB

The Palms took the series against the NL Champs of the past two seasons by spraying 14 hits to all fields against Phillies pitcher Joe Blanton. Javier Vazquez wasn't great, but he did an excellent job pitching out of most jams. He struggled in the 2nd, allowing two runs, but the Palms batted around in the 4th, scoring 4, including a 2 run double from Frank Sohn. The Palms will conclude their Interleague schedule starting tonight with a series against Washington. 3b Prado 2-4 SAC R K SS Gonzalez 4-5 R 1b Dupont 1-4 SAC 2R K C Black 0-5 RF Sohn 2-4 BB LF Sadan 1-4 R BB DH Winn 2-3 BB 2R K 2b Janish 1-4 R CF Crisp 1-3 BB 2b Prado (22) Sohn (14) RBI Prado 2 (34) Dupont 2 (40) Sohn 3 (48) Crisp (30) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Vazquez W 8-3 8 1/3 8 3 3 5 8 0 Schoppe 2/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 Player of the Game: Frank Sohn 36-36 9GB

Kyle Kendrick wasn't exactly masterful against the Palms Wednesday night. He allowed 10 hits and walked a man, but the Palms weren't able to string anything together. Troy Munoz pitched well, but a rough 6 inning saw three Phillies cross the plate. 3b Prado 0-5 SS Gonzalez 2-5 1b Dupont 1-4 K C Black 1-4 RF Sohn 2-4 LF Sadan 1-3 BB DH Winn 1-4 2b Henning 1-4 K CF Crisp 1-4 2b Gonzalez (16) Sadan (12) Winn (18) 3b Black (2) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Munoz L 3-7 7 7 3 3 3 4 0 Sarfate 2 5 1 1 0 1 0 Player of the Game: Kyle Kendrick 35-36 9.5GB

The Palms completed an epic road trip Sunday before arriving home to face the Phillies. They went 14-11 on the trip, despite losing the finale to the Reds. On the trip, they won 4 series, including a sweep of the Braves in Atlanta. Interleague play has been good to the Palms as well, with the team 9-4 including tonight's game against Philadelphia. This 8 game home set includes games against the Phillies, Nationals and Twins.

The Palms finally returned from their extensive road trip and won their return to Palms Park. The team managed 5 doubles, including three in the 5th, while Dave Balierough pitched a complete game, though he allowed a 9th inning home run to Ryan Howard. Frank Sohn hit #11 on the season and drove in two for the game. 3b Prado 1-4 R K SS Gonzalez 1-4 R 1b Dupont 1-4 DH Black 0-3 BB RF Sohn 2-4 R K LF Sadan 2-4 R 2b Henning 0-4 CF Crisp 2-3 C Santos 0-3 K 2b Prado (21) Gonzalez (15) Dupont (14) Sohn (13) Sadan (11) HR Sohn (11) RBI Gonzalez (33) Sohn 2 (45) Crisp (29) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Balierough W 4-7 9 7 2 2 1 6 1 Player of the Game Frank Sohn 35-35 8.5GB

The Palms were unable to close out their sweep in Cincinnati as the Reds jumped on Dallas Chastanet early. Jay Bruce hit a three run homer in the first, and they added three more in the 4th to knock him out of the game. Curiously, Chastanet supplied half of his teams runs, with an RBI single in the third. It was a decent effort at the plate, if not on the mound, for the last opportunity the team will have to send a pitcher to the plate for the season. 3b Prado 0-5 3K SS Gonzalez 1-5 RF Sohn 2-4 R C Black 1-4 LF Sadan 3-4 R 2b Henning 1-4 CF Crisp 1-4 K 1b Fields 0-3 BB 2K P Chastanet 1-2 PH Santos 0-1 PH Winn 0-1 2b Sadan (10) Crisp (14) RBI Sadan (41) Chastanet (1) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Chastanet L 7-3 4 8 6 6 2 2 1 Schoppe 2 2 0 0 1 0 0 Gonsales 2 4 1 1 0 0 0 Player of the Game: Jay Bruce 34-35 9GB

The second game of the set in the Queen City was a see saw battle if ever there was one. Billy Dupont's 2 run homer in the first gave the Palms an early lead. At three to one in the 6th, Art McLaughlin came in and promptly allowed the Reds to score three, including a lead off homer from Drew Stubbs. The next half inning, Eddie Black hit his second homer in two games, driving in two to put the Palms on top for good. McLaughlin was the lucky winner, despite his dreadful inning of work. 3b Prado 1-5 R 2K SS Gonzalez 1-4 BB R 1b Dupont 2-5 R C Black 2-5 R L Sadan 0-3 BB K RF Winn 1-4 R 2b Henning 1-4 CF Crisp 3-4 K P Parra 0-2 K PH Tiropes 0-1 P Johnston 0-1 2b Winn (17) Crisp (13) HR Dupont (11) Black (13) RBI Dupont 2 (38) Black 2 (48) Crisp (28) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Parra 5 7 1 1 3 3 1 McLoughlin W 2-2 1 4 3 3 1 0 1 Johnston 2 3 0 ...

With the Yankees and Rays struggling in interleague play, and the Palms playing well of late, especially giv en their sweep in Atlanta, they have cut the division lead from 12 to 8 games and are now fluttering about .500. After their series with Cincinnati this weekend, they will finally get a chance to come home for 8 games to close out interleague play and resume play with league opponents. Hopefully they can use the momentum picked up on the extensive road trip to close the gap even further.

The Palms made their first ever trip to Cincinnati on Friday to begin a weekend series with the Reds. They were happy the trip was a short one from Milwaukee after finishing that series with a 14 game loss at the hands of the Brewers. This game looked as though it might go into extra frames as well as the Reds scored two in the 8th to bring the game even at 5. In the top of the 9th, however, the first five batters reached, including a three run homer from Eddie Black, followed by a triple from Frank Sohn and an RBI single off the bat of Randy Winn. Continuing his win poaching ways, Felix Gonsales earned the victory for Miami, his 6th on the year. 3b Prado 2-5 2K SS Gonzalez 2-5 2R 1b Dupont 1-4 SAC R C Black 3-5 2R RF Sohn 4-5 2R LF Winn 4-5 R K 2b Henning 1-5 K CF Crisp 0-5 GIDP P Vazquez 1-4 R 2b Prado (20) Gonzalez (14) Sohn (12) Winn (16) 3b Gonzalez (1) Sohn (4) HR Black (12) Winn (6) RBI Dupont (36) Black 4 (46) Winn 4 (23) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB ...

After finally reaching .500, the Palms have now dropped their last two. This game was a struggle, as could be determined by the fact that it went to 14 innings. The Palms went ahead in the top of the 9th with a pinch hit single from Josh Fields, however the Brewers countered with a lead off triple from Alcides Escobar who would score the tying run. Things went back and forth with no score until the 14th, when, with one out, Prince Fielder hit a walk off home run to send the Milwaukee fans home happy and leave Miami foiled. 3b Prado 3-7 2K GIDP SS Gonzalez 1-7 K GIDP 1b Dupont 2-7 K RF Sohn 3-6 LF Sadan 1-6 K 2b Henning 0-6 K GIDP CF Crisp 1-5 BB R C Santos 3-6 R P Munoz 1-3 K PH Fields 1-1 PH Drysdale 0-1 C Black 1-1 2b Prado (19) Santos (5) RBI Prado (32) Fields (11) Munoz 7 8 1 1 1 6 0 McLoughlin 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Carlyle BS 4 1 2 1 1 1 0 0 Schoppe 1 ...

The Palms have two players that are taking completely different approaches at the plate, but are meeting with similar success. Jaspero Gonzalez has struck out fewer times than any other regular player on the team. Billy Dupont, on the other hand, has only walked 3 times. The more aggressive Dupont and the patient Gonzalez have managed to hit .311 and .323 respectively, each with 13 doubles. Dupont has 10 homers to Gonzalez' 8. Gonzalez, as one might imagine, is on base a bit more frequently thanks to his plate patience, but they certainly do create a formidable pair at the top of the order.

While the offenses were held in check compared to yesterday, there were still 24 hits between the two teams. The Brewers got two homers in the third which really spelled the difference. Rickey Weeks had a 2 run blast, and Ryan Braun followed two batters later with a solo homer. The lineup was rather piecemeal, with several players getting a day off, though both Eddie Black and Martin Prado were reinserted later in the game. LF Winn 3-5 K R SS Janish 0-5 1b Dupont 2-5 R CF Sohn 0-4 K 2b Henning 1-4 RF Tiropes 1-4 R 3b Fields 3-4 C Santos 1-3 PH Prado 1-1 P Balierough 0-2 PH - C Black 0-2 2b Winn (15) Dupont (13) Tiropes (2) Fields (5) 3b Fields (1) HR Dupont (10) RBI Dupont 2 (35) Santos (9) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Balierough L 3-7 5 9 6 6 1 2 2 Sarfate 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 McLoughlin 1 2 1 1 0 2 0 Player of the Game: Rickey Week...

After a slow start, the bats have come around, and the pitching has become less disastrous over the past couple of weeks, and the team has gone 6-1 in their last 7. If they can continue this stretch, particularly with the pitching staff becoming effective, they may be able to make a race of the AL East, or at least become a factor in the Wild Card hunt.

Everything seemed to bleed through the infield for these two teams on Tuesday night. Each team managed 19 hits, including 11 strung together by the Palms in the 5th inning when they scored 10 of their runs. The Brewers managed three home runs,while the Palms only had one, a three run blast in the 5th from Ayoz Sadan, but the Palms were more efficient with their hits. Blake Johnston became the first pitcher with an RBI this season, with a 5th inning single. With this win, their 4th in a row, they managed to reach the .500 mark. 3b Prado 3-6 R SS Gonzalez 2-5 R SAC K 1b Dupont 2-5 2R SAC K C Black 3-5 2R K CF Sohn 1-4 2BB R K LF Sadan 3-6 R BB RF Drysdale 1-4 2R BB K 2b Henning 4-5 R P Chastanet 0-1 PH Santos 0-1 K P Johnston 1-1 R PH Tiropes 1-1 P Schoppe 0-1 2b Prado (18) Dupont (12) Black 2 (19) HR Sadan (9) RBI Prado (33) Gonzalez 2 (32) Dupont 2 (33) Black (42) Sohn 2 (43) Sadan 3 (40) Henning (31) Johnston (1) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR ...

One player who will be disappointed to head north to Milwaukee will be Coco Crisp. After a slow start to the season, Crisp came alive in Atlanta. He managed to go 6 of 12 in the series, including 4 homers, more than half his season total. On top of those already gaudy statistics, he added 7 RBI and was certainly the most valuable player of the sweep, especially with Eddie Black sitting for 2 of the three games.

The Palms edged closer to .500 after completing the sweep of the Atlanta Braves in Atlanta, their first sweep of the season. Coco Crisp will be disappointed to leave, as he added 2 more home runs and 4 RBI in this one as the team came back late again, this time in the 8th, to secure the victory for Miami as they get ready to head off to Milwaukee to face today's starter, Manny Parra's old team. LF Sadan 2-5 K SS Gonzalez 2-4 R SAC K 1b Dupont 2-5 K C Black 2-5 R RF Sohn 0-4 K GIDP 2b Henning 0-4 R CF Crisp 3-4 2R K 3b Fields 1-4 P Parra 0-2 PH Prado 1-1 PH Tiropez 1-1 R HR Crisp 2 (7) RBI Gonzalez (30) Black (41) Crisp 4 (27) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Parra 5 1/3 7 2 2 0 1 0 Schoppe 2/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 Gonsales W 5-2 2 1 0 0 0 2 0 Johnston 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 Player of the Game: Coco Crisp 31-32...

The Palms jumped on the Braves early Saturday night. Really, early, as Martin Prado hit the 4th pitch of the game over the left field fence at his old stomping grounds in Atlanta. The Palms scored 2 more in the first after stringing together a few hits, and got a pair of solo homers from Ayoz Sadan and Coco Crisp. It was a good thing too, as in the 8th inning, Yunel Escobar hit a three run blast that brought the Braves to within 1, and the Palms failed to get a baserunner after the 4th inning. In addition to getting the win, Javier Vazquez got the first hit for a pitcher this season. 3b Prado 2-4 BB R SS Gonzalez 1-5 R 1b Dupont 1-4 R RF Sohn 0-3 BB 2K LF Sadan 2-4 R K 2b Henning 1-4 CF Crisp 1-4 R L C Santos 0-4 P Vazquez 1-3 PH Winn 0-1 K 3b Prado (1) HR Prado (6) Sadan (8) Crisp (5) RBI Prado (30) Sadan 2 (37) Henning (30) Crisp(23) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Vazquez W 7-3 8 7 4 4 3 4 1 Carlyle ...

The Palms got the second round of interleague play going on Friday night in Atlanta. Frank Sohn and Eddie Black were not in the lineup for this one, but the power was not lost. Billy Dupont was still there for the Palms, and he hit a solo blast in the first, and Coco Crisp and Randy Winn each had 2 run homers to provide the team with all the runs they needed. 3b Prado 2-4 BB SS Gonzalez 0-5 1b Dupont 2-5 2R LF Sadan 0-5 K RF Winn 2-3 BB R K 2b Henning 1-3 BB 2R CF Crisp 2-4 R 2K C Santos 0-3 SAC P Munoz 0-2 BB K PH Sohn 0-1 2b Prado (17) HR Dupont (9) Winn (5) Crisp (4) RBI Dupont (31) Winn 2 (19) Crisp 2 (22) Santos (8) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Munoz W 3-6 7 7 2 2 1 8 0 Gonsales 1 2 2 2 2 0 0 Carlyle S 14 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 Player of the Game: Randy Winn 29-32 10 GB

The Palms were dominant on the mound for the last two games of this series. Dave Balierough went 7 scoreless innings but left with the score tied at 0-0. Frank Sohn put him in position for the win with a solo homer. Justin Morneau scuttled that dream with a homer of his own in the bottom of the inning off of Felix Gonsales. The Palms came back in the top of the 9th, however, getting a double from Randy Winn and a triple from the typically slow footed Ryan Henning to drive in the go ahead run. 3b Prado 0-3 2BB K SS Gonzalez 1-4 BB K 1b Dupont 0-4 C Black 1-4 K RF Sohn 2-4 R LF Sadan 1-4 K DH Winn 1-4 R K 2b Henning 1-4 CF Crisp 1-4 2b Black (17) Winn (14) 3b Henning (2) HR Sohn (10) RBI Sohn (41) Henning (29) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Balierough 7 8 0 0 2 1 0 Gonsales W 4-2 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 Carlyle S 13 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 Player of the...

Dallas Chastanet put together a dominant outing, throwing together 9 strikeouts and scattering 9 hits. After the Palms had scored their three runs, the Twins finally broke through with a two out run. Chastanet gave up 6 hits in the final 2 innings, allowing only 3 in the first 7. Martin Prado drove in two, and Coco Crisp reached every time up. 3b Prado 3-5 2K SS Gonzalez 0-4 SAC 1b Dupont 0-5 2K C Black 1-4 K BB RF Sohn 0-4 2K LF Sadan 1-4 K DH Winn 2-4 K 2b Henning 1-4 R CF Crisp 3-3 HBP 2K 2b Prado 2 (16) Winn (13) 3b Crisp (6) RBI Prado 2 (29) Gonzalez (29) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Chastanet W 7-2 9 9 1 1 0 9 0 Player of the Game: Dallas Chastanet 27-32 12GB

With the extended road trip for the Palms, the Palms had to take to the cage for the first time while in Minnesota this afternoon. The first pitcher that will have the chance to wield a bat is going to be Troy Munoz in Atlanta. He has had three seasons to hit, and he has never really done well at the plate. Manny Parra and Javier Vazquez have played in the National League, and may be the best bets to be successful at the plate. There are 9 games coming in which the pitchers will need to take there swings, and Munoz, Parra and Vazquez will have two chances. The rad games will be against Atlanta, Milwaukee and Cincinnati, while they are looking forward to home sets against the Phillies and Nationals.

The Palms began their last American League series before Interleague Play starts on Friday by dropping the opener in Minnesota. The Twins got homers from unlikely sources in Danny Valencia and Matt Tolbert, and batted around in the 4th, which chased Manny Parra. Ryan Henning became the second Palm in double figures in homers, hitting his 10th, a solo blast in the 6th 3b Prado 2-4 BB R SS Janish 1-4 K RF Sohn 2-4 1b Black 1-4 K DH Winn 0-4 2b Henning 1-4 R LF Tiropes 0-4 2K CF Crisp 1-4 R C Santos 1-4 K 2b Prado 2 (14) Janish (7) Santos (3) HR Henning (10) RBI Black (40) Henning (28) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Parra L 2-4 3 1/3 10 6 6 4 3 1 Johnston 1 2/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 Schoppe 2 5 2 2 0 0 1 Sarfate 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 Player of the Game: Matt Tolbert 26-32 12GB

Javier Vazquez was a decidedly hard luck loser Sunday afternoon. On a team that has routinely scored 5-8 runs, he held his opponents to only 2 runs with Josh Wilson’s 7th inning homer accounting for the only two runs the Mariners scored. He scattered 5 hits and struck out 7. Unfortunately, Jason Vargas dominated the Palms. He scattered 7 hits, with the Palms mounting only one threat in the 7th when the bases were loaded but remained unemptied. 3b Prado 1-4 SS Gonzalez 1-4 RF Sohn 1-4 K C Black 0-3 BB LF Sadan 2-4 K DH Winn 0-4 K 2b Henning 0-4 1b Fields 1-4 CF Crisp 1-3 2b Sadan (9) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Vazquez L 6-3 8 5 2 2 1 7 1 Player of the Game: Jason Vargas 26-31 11GB

The game started well for each pitcher, mostly as a pitchers duel. The Palms didn't have a hit until the 5th inning when they sent 7 to the plate and scored 2 to tie the game. In the bottom of the inning, the Mariners hit back to back to back home runs with two outs. Even more impressively, the Mariners managed two more 2 out rallies in the 6th and 7th, scoring 5 more runs to give them their 10 runs. Ayoz Sadan hit a two run blast in the 9th to make the score more respectable. After this outing, Troy Munoz now leads the league in home runs allowed. 3b Prado 1-4 BB SS Gonzalez 0-5 K 1b Dupont 0-4 K C Black 2-4 R K RF Sohn 3-4 2R LF Sadan 1-4 R DH Winn 1-4 2b Henning 2-4 CF Crisp 0-4 2b Winn (12) Henning (9) 3b Sohn (3) HR Sadan (7) RBI Sohn (40) Sadan 2 (35) Winn (17) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Munoz L 2-6 5 7 5 5 0 5 4 Gonsales 1 2 2 2 2 2 0 Sarfate ...

The Mariners managed 5 home runs, including 2 from Ryan Langerhans, however most were of the solo variety. The Palms only got 1 homer but batted around in the 4th, including a two run double from Coco Crisp. Every reliever allowed at least 1 run, and Dennis Sarfate was the only one not to allow a homer. Despite the lack of pitching, at least the bats were alive, and the Palms edged the Mariners for the first time this season. 3b Prado 0-6 3K SS Janish 3-4 BB 2R 1b Dupont 1-4 BB 2R C Black 3-5 RF Sohn 2-5 K LF Sadan 2-4 BB R DH Winn 1-5 R 2K 2b Henning 2-5 R 2K CF Crisp 2-5 R 2b Janish (6) Black 2 (16) Crisp (12) HR Dupont (8) RBI Janish (8) Dupont 2 (30) Black (39) Sadan (33) Henning (27) Crisp 2 (20) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Balierough W 3-6 5 9 3 3 1 2 2 Johnston 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 Sarfate 1 3 1 1 1 0 0 McLoughlin ...