Miami Palms Blog

The Palms got a dominant outing from Javier Vazquez at home against Miami, with 9 strikeouts and only 8 hits allowed. The Palms scored three of their five in the 6th, with a 2 run single from Frank Sohn contributing most of the damage. RF Winn 2-5 R 2K 2b Janish 0-4 BB R 2K 3b Sohn 1-3 BB DH Black 0-4 K SS Gonzalez 3-4 R CF Crisp 1-4 1b Dupont 2-4 R GIDP LF Sadan 1-3 BB C Santos 1-3 BB K 2b Winn (31) RBI Winn (48) Sohn 2 (86) Gonzalez (60) Santos (26) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Vazquez W 14-5 9 8 0 0 0 9 0 Player of the Game: Frank Sohn 69-63 13GB

The Palms batted around in the first, scoring 7 of their 8 runs in that inning. Troy Munoz went 8 innings for the win, but allowed all four of the Blue Jays' runs, including a home run to Jose Bautista. Eddie Black took the team lead in RBI with a sacrifice fly in the 6th, adding the finishing touches on the victory. SS Gonzalez 4-5 RBI CF Crisp 2-5 R 2K RF Sohn 0-4 BB 2K C Black 1-3 BB R SAC 3b Prado 1-3 BB R 1b Dupont 0-3 BB R LF Sadan 1-4 R 2b Henning 1-4 R DH Santos 1-3 BB R K 3b Crisp (10) RBI Winn (47) Crisp (59) Black (85) Prado (63) Sadan (68) Henning (52) Santos 2 (25) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Munoz W 7-10 8 9 4 4 1 2 1 Schoppe 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Player of the Game: Jaspero Gonzalez 68-63 13 GB

The rubber match in Cleveland was not a good one for fans of pitcher's duels. The Indians scored in every inning, save for the first to compile their 13 runs, while the Palms relied on big 2nd, 3rd and 9th to keep it close. Going into the 8th, the Indians were up by 6, with the Palms getting 5 hits to begin the inning, though the Indians finally shut down the visitors to win the game and series. DH Winn 2-4 BB R K SAC SS Janish 2=4 BB R K SAC RF Sohn 0-5 BB C Black 1-5 BB R K GIDP 3b Prado 2-4 BB R CF Crisp 2-5 3R K 1b Dupont 3-5 3R LF Sadan 2-4 BB 2R 2b Henning 3-5 2b Crisp (22) Henning 2 (13) 3b Winn (3) Dupont (3) RBI Winn 2 (47) Janish (19) Black (84) Dupont 3 (70) Sadan (67)Henning 3 (51) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Balierough 4 6 6 6 3 4 1 McLoughlin 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 Sarfate L 4-3 1 2 1 1 0 1 0 Schoppe 1 ...

The game was see-sawed back and forth for the first five innings, with each team scoring 4 early runs. Jayson Nix had a two run homer in the first for Cleveland, while Eddie Black had one in the third for Miami. The game was tied from the 5th to the 8th, when the Trevor Crowe had a bases loaded single to win the game for Cleveland. The Palms had two on in the top of the 9th, but couldn't put anyone across the plate. Billy Dupont had his third game in a row with a walk. DH Winn 1-5 R SS Gonzalez 1-5 R RF Sohn 3-5 R C Black 4-5 R K 3b Prado 0-4 BB CF Crisp 1-4 K 1b Dupont 1-3 BB LF Sadan 1-4 K 2b Henning 0-4 2K 2b Gonzalez (24) Sohn (25) HR Black (22) RBI Black 3 (83) Crisp (58) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Chastanet L 10-12 8 11 5 5 1 4 2 Player of the Game: Trevor Crowe 67-62 12 GB

The Palms headed off to Cleveland for a brief road trip, and gained a brilliant pitching performance from Manny Parra and Art McLoughlin who combined for a 5 hit shut out of the Indians. Billy Dupont was the offensive star, hitting a three run homer in the 5th and even more surprisingly, drawing a walk for the second game in a row. DH Winn 1-5 R RF Janish 2-5 R CF Sohn 3-5 R 1b Dupont 1-4 BB R K SS Gonzalez 3-5 LF Tiropes 0-4 K 2b Henning 0-4 3b Fields 1-4 R C Santos 1-3 BB 2b Sohn (24) Fields (8) 3b Gonzalez (4) HR Dupont (17) RBI Sohn (84) Dupont 3 (67) Fields (16) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Parra W 7-7 6 3 0 0 3 6 0 McLoughlin 3 2 0 0 0 1 0 Player of the Game: Manny Parra 67-61 11 GB

The Palms had a walkoff winner at home to take the team into an off day and into a series win. It was a pitchers duel until the late innings, with 4 hits between the two teams through 6 innings. The Palms scored 2 in the bottom of the 8th, but Marcus Thames came back and hit a two run home run. After Art McLoughlin held the Yankees scoreless in the 10th, The Palms didn't take long to win it, as Eddie Black hit an RBI triple to drive in Frank Sohn, who had led off with a single. DH Winn 1-4 BB R SS Gonzalez 2-5 R K RF Sohn 2-5 R K C Black 2-5 R K 3b Prado 1-4 CF Crisp 3-4 1b Dupont 0-3 SAC 2K LF Sadan 0-3 BB 2b Janish 0-4 K 2b Winn (30) Gonzalez (23) 3b Black (4) RBI Gonzalez (58) Black (80) Crisp (57) Dupont (64) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Vazquez 8 1/3 5 3 3 3 8 1 McLoughlin W 4-2 1 2/3 1 0 0 0 2 0 Player of the Game: Eddie Black 66-61 13GB

The Palms welcomed Martin Prado back to the lineup on Tuesday evening, and he responded in dynamic fashion. In his first at bat, he led off the second with a solo homer, then reached base each of his last 4 appearances, with a double, two singles and a walk. Felix Gonsalez earned his 13th win out of the bullpen, thanks in large part to 2 solid innings and a go ahead homer from Eddie Black. DH Winn 1-5 K SS Janish 3-5 R K RF Sohn 0-3 2BB R C Black 3-5 2 2R 3b Prado 4-4 BB 2R CF Crisp 0-5 2K GIDP 1b Dupont 1-4 BB R LF Tiropes 2-4 2b Henning 2-3 BB GIDP 2b Prado (38) HR Black (21) Prado (16) RBI Winn (45) Black (79) Prado 2 (62) Tiropes (11) Henning (48) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Munoz 4 8 4 4 2 3 1 Gonsales W 13-2 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 McLoughlin 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 Carlyle S 31 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Player of ...

The Palms have tried shuffling the roster in the past several days as they fall further and further out of contention, giving some players time at different positions. Monday, they tried bringing infielder Frank Sohn into third base. He played second in high school, but had never played the corners. With their eyes on the future, they also tried Eddie Black at 1st, hoping to save the catchers knees in the future. No worries about Billy Dupont who started his career as an outfielder. Josh Fields was shifted to second, to perhaps provide depth there down the road. Both Steve Drysdale and Orlando Tiropes have or will see action as well this week.

The Yankees and Palms played an unlikely pitchers duel between Ivan Nova and Dave Balierough. It was 1-1 until the top of the ninth, when Jorge Posada led off with the go ahead homer. Ramiro Pena added another one, while the Yankees great closer Mariano Rivera then shut the Palms down. DH Winn 2-5 SS Janish 2-5 3b Sohn 0-4 1b Black 0-4 RF Drysdale 1-4 K CF Crisp 2-5 R LF Sadan 2-3 BB K C Santos 0-4 L 2b Fields 1-4 2b Winn (29) RBI Fields (16) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Balierough L 7-13 9 9 3 3 0 5 2 Player of the Game: Ivan Nova 64-61 13GB

The Royals batted around in the first inning and knocked Dallas Chastanet out early. Zack Greinke in turn shut down the Palms, save for a solo homer from Ayoz Sadan in the third. The end result was a series split as the Palms look to welcome the Yankees to town to begin the week. 2b Janish 0-4 K SS Gonzalez 1-4 RF Sohn 0-4 DH Black 2-4 GIDP 1b Dupont 0-4 K CF Crisp 0-4 LF Sadan 2-3 R C Santos 0-3 3K 3b Fields 1-2 BB 2b Black (39) HR Sadan (18) RBI Sadan (66) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Chastanet L 10-11 2 6 5 5 3 1 1 Johnston 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 Sarfate 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 Gonsales 1 2 1 1 0 0 1 Schoppe 3 4 0 0 0 0 0 Player of the Game: Zack Greinke 64-59 13GB

Martin Prado has missed the series with the Kansas City and will miss the series finale this afternoon. He doesn't have a specific injury, but the team has been going non stop with few days off for the past few weeks, and it has caught up with the hard charging Martin Prado. He will be back some time this week.

Due to a rain out Friday, the Palms and Royals played a double header on Saturday in Miami. The game reports are as follows. GAME 1 Royals 6, Palms 4 Thanks to two home runs off the bat of former Palm Breck Smythe, Kansas City came back to defeat Miami in the first game of the twinbill DH Winn 2-5 R 2b Janish 2-5 R RF Sohn 1-4 2K C Black 1-3 BB SS Gonzalez 0-4 CF Crisp 1-4 1b Dupont 3-4 2R LF Sadan 1-4 3b Fields 0-4 GIDP 2b Crisp 21 3b Sohn 7 HR Winn 9 RBI Winn 3 (42) Sohn 1 (83) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Vazquez L 13-5 9 10 6 6 1 5 3 Player of the Game: Breck Smythe GAME 2 Palms 6, Royals 5 The Palms looked to be in rough shape after a third inning three run blast from Billy Butler, but they came back from two runs down and took the lead in the bottom of the 8th to earn the double header split DH Winn 3-5 SS Gonzalez 1-4 SAC R RF Sohn 1-3 BB R K C Black 0-3 BB 1b Dupont 2-4 R GIDP CF Crisp 0-2 BB SAC K LF ...

The Palms and Royals played a low scoring game in their first match up of a four game weekend set in Miami. It wasn't exactly a pitchers duel: there were a total of 18 men left on base between the two teams. The Royals jumped out to a 2-0 lead after a sloppy first inning of work from Troy Munoz. The Palms gained their lead after three mostly manufactured runs; a bases loaded walk in the 1st, a sacrifice fly in the 4th and a an RBI single immediately following that hit. The bullpen shut Kansas City down then, as Blake Johnston and Buddy Carlyle only allowed 1 hit over three innings. DH Winn 1-3 2BB R SS Gonzalez 0-5 K RF Sohn 0-4 K C Black 3-3 BB 3b Prado 1-3 BB CF Crisp 1-3 BB R 1b Dupont 1-4 R K LF Sadan 2-3 BB 2b Henning 0-3 SAC GIDP 2b Black 2 (38) RBI Winn (39) Crisp (55) Henning (47) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Munoz W 6-10 6 7 2 2 2 6 0 Johnston 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 ...

The Palms held a tenuous 4-3 lead through the first 6 innings of the game. Dave Balierough got off to a rocky start allowing the BoSox to score their three runs in the first, though his offense picked him up. The 7th went poorly again for Balierough, as he allowed back to back doubles and a home run from newly healed Dustin Pedroia. David Ortiz added another blast off of Don Schoppe the next inning. It turned out to be important, as Frank Sohn hit a two run blast in the top of the 9th over the monster in left. It was not enough as the Red Sox took the game and the series. RF Winn 0-4 BB R SS Gonzalez 1-5 RF Sohn 3-4 BB R DH Black 0-5 K 3b Prado 1-5 R K LF Sadan 3-4 R 2b Henning 2-4 R K C Santos 1-4 R K 1b Fields 1-4 2K 2b Prado (37) Sadan 2 (25) HR Sohn (17) RBI Gonzalez 2 (55) Sohn 3 (82) Sadan (65) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Balierough L 7-12 7 8 6 6 1 2 1 Schoppe 1 1 1 1 ...

Dallas Chastanet got a quality start against the division rival Red Sox on Tuesday night, but his offensive support was lacking. Felix Gonsales struggled in the 7th and the Red Sox doubled their run total. JD Drew hit his third home run off of Dallas Chastanet on the season, a solo shot in the 6th. DH Winn 0-4 3b Janish 0-3 BB RF Sohn 1-4 K C Black 1-4 R K SS Gonzalez 1-4 R CF Crisp 2-4 1b Dupont 1-3 SAC LF Sadan 1-4 K 2b Henning 0-3 3b Gonzalez (3) RBI Crisp (54) Dupont (62) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Chastanet L 10-10 6 8 3 3 1 1 1 Gonsales 1 5 3 3 0 0 0 Sarfate 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 Player of the Game: JD Drew 62-57

The Palms took advantage of struggling and injury ravaged Boston by hitting three home runs and earning a victory for Manny Parra in the process. The Palms were walked 7 times and took advantage of it, scoring 10 despite relatively low hit total which stood at thirteen. Ayoz Sadan is now second on the roster with 17 home runs and he and Coco Crisp drove in three runs. DH Winn 2-5 BB 2R K SS Gonzalez 2-4 BB 3R RF Sohn 1-4 BB 2K C Black 2-5 R 3b Prado 1-2 3BB K CF Crisp 3-5 R GIDP 1b Dupont 1-4 2R SAC LF Sadan 1-5 R K 2b Henning 0-4 K BB 2b Winn (28) Black (36) Crisp (20) HR Gonzalez (15) Dupont (16) Sadan (17) RBI Gonzalez (53) Black (78) Crisp 3 (53) Dupont 2 (61) Sadan 3 (64) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Parra W 6-7 6 8 6 6 0 6 2 Johnston 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 McLoughlin 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 Player of the Game: Coco Crisp 62-56 10.5 GB

Miami has done an excellent job in the last 5 games since their surprising sweep at the hands of the Baltimore Orioles. They came back and swept the Royals and took a 3 game set against the Yankees. They are now 5 games above .500, but are still 11 games out in the AL East. In their briefly successful spurt, they have received excellent pitching and some offense from surprising sources. While first baseman Billy Dupont doesn't have any home runs this month, backup catcher Omir Santos has three, including 2 game winning grand slams. Jaspero Gonzalez and Martin Prado have a pair of home runs, while team leaders Eddie Black and Frank Sohn only have 1 apiece. There is still a month and a half left on the season, and the Palms can certainly play spoiler with the rest of the race, if not make a bid for a spot in the postseason.

The Palms took the rubber match from the Yankees as they prepare to hit the road to take on the Red Sox in Boston. The Palms scored all their home runs, first a three run blast from Ryan Henning in the 2nd, then a two run blast from Jaspero Gonzalez in the third, with a solo homer from Coco Crisp in the 6th. Javier Vazquez pitched his way out of several jams, and despite allowing 11 hits, he was able to get his 13th win on the season. DH Winn 2-5 R 2K SS Gonzalez 1-4 R 2K RF Sohn 0-4 1b Dupont 1-4 K 3b Prado 0-4 CF Crisp 1-1 2BB HBP R LF Sadan 1-4 R 2b Henning 3-4 R C Santos 0-3 BB HR Gonzalez (14) Crisp (15) Henning (13) RBI Gonzalez 2 (52) Crisp (50) Henning 3 (46) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Vazquez W 13-4 6 2/3 11 2 2 4 5 0 Sarfate 1 1/3 3 1 1 0 0 0 Carlyle S 28 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 Player of the Game: Ryan Henning 61-56 12GB

The Yankees and Palms have some of the best offenses in the American League, but they certainly go about their business in a different manner. The Yankees continue to add aging veteransm having recently acquired Lance Berkman and Austin Kearns at the trade deadline. They rely almost exclusively on power. The Palms on the other hand are a much faster lineup. They also rely on getting a lot of runners on base, poised to have one of, if not THE highest batting average for a team in the modern era, thanks to 6 of the regular starters batting over .300. Both sides score a lot of runs because of it, but the Yankees, proving that pitching wins championships, are poised to enter the postseason while the Palms are 12 games out.

For the second time in a week, Omir Santos had the game winning grand slam late in the game. This time, the home run came in the bottom of the 8th with the score tied at 4. Up until that point, it had been a back and forth game, with Santos already contributing a home run from the bottom of the order that drove in two. Don Schoppe, the player with the best ERA in the bullpen, finally got his first win on the season. RF Winn 0-5 SS Gonzalez 1-3 BB R 2b Sohn 1-4 DH Black 1-3 R SAC 3b Prado 0-4 K CF Crisp 1-3 BB 1b Dupont 2-4 2R LF Sadan 1-3 BB R C Santos 3-4 2R 2b Gonzalez (22) Black (35) HR Santos 2 (6) RBI Black (77) Sadan (61) Santos 6 (22) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Munoz 7 8 4 4 1 4 2 Schoppe W 1-2 2 2 0 0 1 1 0 Player of the Game: Omir Santos 60-56, 12GB

Dustin Moseley did an exceptional job for the Yankees in his first career outing versus Miami. He scattered 5 hits, though 4 of them were doubles, and prevented the Palms from putting anyone across the plate. Dave Balierough was forced to a high pitch count early, but the Palms bullpen did a good job, not allowing any runs. It wasn't enough, however, as the Yankees were able to edge the Palms on their 3 runs, two of which scored on an BI double from Derek Jeter. DH Winn 1-4 K SS Gonzalez 0-4 RF Drysdale 1-4 K C Black 1-3 BB K CF Sohn 1-4 3b Prado 1-4 1b Dupont 0-3 K LF Sadan 0-3 2b Henning 0-3 K 2b Winn (27) Drysdale (3) Black (34) Prado (36) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Balierough L 7-11 4 7 3 3 2 4 0 Sarfate 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 Schoppe 2 3 0 0 1 1 0 Gonsales 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Player of the Gam...

Miami swept the series from the Royals to garner an unlikely split on their road trip by winning the last game of the set Wednesday afternoon. Mitch Maier hit a mammoth home run in the 1st off of Dallas Chastanet, but the Palms were already up 3-0 at that point thanks to a 2 run double from Martin Prado and a follow up single from Billy Dupont. Dupont drove in two more with a double in the 7th. Chastanet went 8 strong to get the win. DH Winn 2-5 K SS Gonzalez 0-5 LF Drysdale 3-5 2R C Black 1-4 BB R K RF Sohn 3-5 2R 3b Prado 2-4 BB K 1b Dupont 2-4 CF Crisp 0-4 3b Fields 0-4 K 2b Prado (35) Dupont (25) RBI Prado 2 (60) Dupont 3 (59) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Chastanet W 10-9 8 4 2 2 1 4 1 Carlyle S 27 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 Player of the Game: Billy Dupont 59-55 11 GB

The Palms won in less dramatic fashion Tuesday than they had on Monday. They jumped out early thanks in big three run second and another 2 scored in the 5th. The lineup was a hodgepodge, with Fields driving in two and Frank Sohn batting in the 5th spot adding two with a double. Manny Parra had one of his better outings of the year, and the bullpen was nearly flawless. DH Winn 3-5 SS Janish 2-5 R 1b Drysdale 0-5 C Black 2-5 R RF Sohn 3-5 R 3b Prado 2-5 R CF Crisp 0-4 BB LF Sadan 2-3 BB R K 2b Fields 1-4 GIDP 2b Janish (14) Black (33) Sohn (23) Sadan (23) 3b Prado (2) RBI Sohn 2 (79) Sadan (6) Fields 2 (15) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Parra W 5-7 6 10 1 1 1 6 0 Johnston 2 0 0 0 1 3 0 Gonsales 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 Player of the game: Frank Sohn 58-55 11GB

The Palms have been on the wrong end of a few painful losses this year, but they dealt one of their own tonight. Down 7-4 going into the 9th, there were two on with one out and Eddie Black at the plate. He hit a game tying home run to right field, and things looked like they were going to overtime. The Palms then managed to load the bases, and with two out, Omir Santos crushed one to center that cleared the fence for a Grand Slam and the win to snap a 4 game losing streak in dramatic fashion. 3b Prado 2-6 2R 3K SS Janish 1-5 R K RF Drysdale 2-4 BB 2R K DH Black 3-5 R 1b Dupont 2-5 R LF Sadan 1-5 CF Tiropes 2-4 BB 2R K 2b Henning 1-5 R C Santos 3-5 2R 2b Black (32) Sadan (21) Santos (7) 3b Janish (1) HR Prado (15) Black (20) Santos (4) RBI Prado (58) Janish (18) Drysdale (5) Black 3 (76) Tiropes (10) Santos 4 (16) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Vazquez 7 16 7 7 2 5 1 McLoughlin W 3-2 2 1 ...

The Orioles completed the sweep in a series that the Palms simply needed to win. Jeremy Guthrie, like Kevin Millwood Saturday night, shut the Palms down, allowing only 5 hits and one runner to third. For the Palms, Troy Munoz was also dealing, striking out 11 in his 8 1/3. Of course, it was in the 9th inning when things went awry. Adam Jones hit a single, the third Oriole hit of the inning, to drive in Corey Patterson for the second walk off win for the Orioles in a row. DH Winn 0-4 SS Janish 1-4 RF Sohn 1-4 C Black 0-4 1b Dupont 1-3 BB CF Crisp 1-4 LF Sadan 0-3 2b Henning 1-3 3b Fields 0-3 2K Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Munoz L 5-10 8 1/3 7 1 1 0 11 0 Player of the Game: Jeremy Guthrie 56-55 13GB

Kevin Millwood carried a no hitter into the 6th inning, when Ayoz Sadan led off with his 16th home run of the season. Dave Balierough allowed only 3 hits over 9 innings, but 2 of them, including an RBI single from Adam Jones came in the 7th. After both starters were pulled in the 10th, the Palms were again shut down in extra frames, while with one out, Felix Pie homered off of Felix Gonsales, giving him his third loss on the season. DH Winn 1-4 K SS Gonzalez 1-4 RF Sohn 0-4 C Black 0-4 K 3b Prado 0-4 K CF Crisp 0-3 BB 1b Dupont 0-4 K LF Sadan 1-3 R 2b Henning 0-3 HR Sadan (16) RBI (59) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Balierough 9 3 1 1 1 7 0 Gonsales L 12-3 1/3 1 1 1 0 0 0 Player of the Game: Felix Pie 56-54 12.5

Things looked easily in hand for Miami when they jumped out to an early 3-0 lead after two innings, and Dallas Chastanet was dealing through 2. Ty Wigginton broke through with a solo blast in the 4th, which was followed by a huge inning in the 5th, in which Felix Pie hit another solo blast and Wigginton hit a clutch three run homer to put the O's ahead for good. DH Winn 0-3 BB SAC SS Janish 1-5 RF Sohn 0-4 2K C Black 1-4 3b Prado 2-3 BB R CF Crisp 0-4 K 1b Dupont 2-4 R K LF Sadan 2-4 2b Henning 0-3 BB 2b Dupont (24) HR Prado (14) RBI Winn (38) Janish (17) Prado 2 (57) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Chastanet L 9-9 5 6 5 5 1 6 3 McLoughlin 1 3 1 1 1 2 0 Johnston 2 4 1 1 0 1 0 Player of the Game: Ty Wigginton 56-53 11.5GB