Miami Palms Blog

The Royals struck first against the starting pitching once again, scoring 5 early runs, thanks in large part to a Mike Moustakas two run homer. The Palms tried to make a game of it late, with a two run blast from the white hot Jaspero Gonzalez drawing the Palms closer. The bullpens, each bullpen put on a fine show, however, to take care of the final innings, keeping the Palms at bay.  Kansas City Royals 6, Miami Palms 4  Saturday, June 30, 2012  Kansas City Royals (2-1)                                 Miami Palms (42-36)                                      Player          AB R  H BI...

It was over quickly for Troy Munoz, who allowed 8 runs over 2 innings. The bullpen shutdown the Royals from that point on, but it was of no matter. Luis Mendoza pitched a complete game shutout of the Palms to even the series, scattering 6 hits, but striking out only 3.  Kansas City Royals 9, Miami Palms 0  Friday, June 29, 2012  Kansas City Royals (1-1)                                 Miami Palms (42-35)                                      Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave      Player     ...

The Palms returned home in dynamic fashion. 4 of their 6 runs were scored via the long ball, including a two run shot from Frank Sohn and solo jobs Jaspero Gonzalez and Orlando Tiropes. The Royals only run, in fact, came on an 8th inning solo shot from former Palm Breck Smythe, playing second for the Royals. Javier Vazquez continued a stunningly well pitched season, this time scattering 7 hits and striking out 5.  Miami Palms 6, Kansas City Royals 1  Thursday, June 28, 2012  Kansas City Royals (0-1)                                 Miami Palms (42-34)                                      Player      ...

The Palms took a key series against a divisional rival and a team ahead of them in the standings by finishing off a sweep. Felix Gonsales had a complete game. He allowed a two run homer from Chris Davis in the first inning, but was dominant after that. They took on Jason Hammel, who was brought over from Colorado, and it must have felt like he was still pitching in Coors, as 4 Palms hit home runs and comfortably won this one. The Palms are now half a game out of the playoffs, were the season to end today.  Miami Palms 8, Baltimore Orioles 3  Wednesday, June 27, 2012  Miami Palms (41-34)                                      Baltimore Orioles (1-4)                        ...

The Palms seemed like they were going to run away with the game early when Orlando Tiropez and Steve Drysdale led off with singles, and were plated when Jaspero Gonzalez hit a three run blast, still with nobody out. But that was it. Dave Balierough allowed no runs, and the Palms scraped together only one more run. With the victory, they moved into a tie for the the final post season spot.  Miami Palms 4, Baltimore Orioles 0  Tuesday, June 26, 2012  Miami Palms (40-34)                                      Baltimore Orioles (1-3)                                  Player          AB R...

The real guts of the schedule has now set upon the Palms. They have just finished their interleague schedule and suddenly find themselves in the throes of the playoff hunt. They may have interleague play to thank for that, however. The Palms went 11-7 versus the National League, including sweeps versus the Cubs and Pirates. After their win against the Orioles tonight, they are just 1 game above .500 against the American League, the same league the will spend the rest of their season playing.

After a pitching battle that took the game into the 12th inning, still knotted at 3, the Orioles Pedro Strop completely imploded. With a runner on 2nd, and one out, he walked Billy Dupont, retired Eduardo Nunez, then allowed 5 straight hits, punctuated by another walk at the end of the streak. In the middle of the Palms' run, Coco Crisp cleared the bases with a double and was followed by a Martin Prado home run as the Palms offense rewarded a strong outing form the bullpen.  Miami Palms 8, Baltimore Orioles 3  Monday, June 25, 2012  Miami Palms (39-34)                                      Baltimore Orioles (1-2)                              ...

The real drama didn't come in the top of the 8th when Jaspero Gonzalez put the Palms ahead with a solo homer. IT came in the bottom of the 9th with closer Manny Parra on the mound. Andre Ethier led off with a double, his 4th hit of the game, and was moved to third on a Juan Rivera single. The bases were loaded when Darren Jones was hit by a pitch with one out, but Tony Gwynn  grounded to Gonzalez, who turned the double play to end the game and send the Palms home with a victory in the final game of Interleague play.  Miami Palms 3, Los Angeles Dodgers 2  Sunday, June 24, 2012  Miami Palms (38-34)                                      Los Angeles Dodgers (2-1)                     ...

Javier Vazquez and Chris Capuano had an incredible tight pitchers duel going through most of the game. A Martin Prado home run was the only run on the board through 8 2/3 innings. With Javier Vazquez going for the complete game, he loaded the bases. Juan Uribe hit a bloop single, but with 2 outs, the runners were moving and Juan Rivera beat the throw home to get the game winning run.  Los Angeles Dodgers 2, Miami Palms 1  Saturday, June 23, 2012  Miami Palms (37-34)                                      Los Angeles Dodgers (2-0)                                Player          AB R  H BI BB...

The season is moving towards the end of June, and the Palms remain in the hunt for a Wild Card spot. After last season, in which the pitching was an awful mess, the Palms have turned in a much better effort. Going into their game Thursday night with the Los Angeles Dodgers, they are a half game out of the final Wild Card spot, behind the Tampa Bay Rays.

Los Angeles is the top team in the NL West, and they showed why on Friday night. Chad Billingsly managed to shut the Palms down during his 6 innings of work. Meanwhile, on offense the Dodgers managed to run Felix Gonsales out of the game early. They clubbed three homers, one three run blast from James Loney and two against the bullpen. The Palms managed to make the scoreline look a little better when Nick Markakis blasted a three run shot in the 9th inning to force the Dodgers to bring out their closer.  Los Angeles Dodgers 8, Miami Palms 5  Friday, June 22, 2012  Miami Palms (37-32)                                      Los Angeles Dodgers (1-0)                        ...

It's tough to do, but the Palms managed to be shut out at Coors Field. The Rockies got a shut out from Jeff Francis and Josh Roenicke, while Art McLoughlin was the best pitcher for the Palms, which goes a long way to explain why the Palms weren't successful on Thursday evening. The Rockies struck early, scoring 3 off of Dave Balierough, including a solo homer from Chris Nelson.  Colorado Rockies 5, Miami Palms 0  Thursday, June 21, 2012  Miami Palms (37-32)                                      Colorado Rockies (3-3)                                   Player          AB R  H...

The common thought about Coors Field is that the stadium allows for more homeruns, and the Rockies did manage three. It also has a lot of space in the alley, which the Palms took advantage of, hitting 5 doubles. Alex White had some control issues, which meant plenty of walks and baserunners, but the 6th inning was the big one for Miami, as they scored 7 runs to go ahead and take the victory in Colorado. The rubber match is tomorrow.  Miami Palms 10, Colorado Rockies 6  Wednesday, June 20, 2012  Miami Palms (37-31)                                      Colorado Rockies (2-3)                                   Player ...

Josh Outman scuffled through the first few innings, but then turned it around after the 5th inning. The Rockies starter and the bullpen managed to hold Miami in check, allowing only 1 hit through the last 4 innings. Meanwhile, the Rockies took the lead on a home run from Eric Young in the bottom of the 5th.  Colorado Rockies 5, Miami Palms 3  Tuesday, June 19, 2012  Miami Palms (36-31)                                      Colorado Rockies (2-2)                                   Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave   ...