Miami Palms Blog

Things fell apart for the Palms in the 8th, when Dennis Sarfate came into the game and the Rangers teed off. Texas quickly loaded the bases, and former Miami Palm Jon Bogaard cleared them with a triple. Troy Munoz and Ryan Dempster had strong starts, but Munoz didn't get the support that Dempster did.  Texas Rangers 5, Miami Palms 2  Friday, August 31, 2012  Miami Palms (67-65)                                      Texas Rangers (2-3)                                      Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave  ...

Miami has played the Rangers well over the past several seasons, and Thursday was no different. Javier Vazquez held the two time defending AL Champs down long enough for Frank Sohn to turn on a pitch in the 8th inning to take the lead and give the game to the bullpen. Manny Parra struck out two to get the save.  Miami Palms 4, Texas Rangers 3  Thursday, August 30, 2012  Miami Palms (67-64)                                      Texas Rangers (1-3)                                      Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave...

A thrilling 9th inning comeback went for naught as the Palms saw the Orioles hit their 4th home run of the night, a walk off blast from Omar Quintanilla. Even former Oriole Nick Markakis got in on the act, hitting two solo blasts of his own. Unfortunately, it appears the Palms will not have enough gas to make the rest of the trek to the post season, falling to 5 games out of the final playoff spot.  Baltimore Orioles 8, Miami Palms 7  Wednesday, August 29, 2012  Miami Palms (66-64)                                      Baltimore Orioles (7-8)                                  Player       ...

The Palms couldn't undo a combination of Chris Tillman and Lew Ford. Tillman pitched a complete game 4 hitter, despite striking out only 2. Ford was 3/4, short a triple of the cycle and driving in a run every time he got a hit.  Baltimore Orioles 5, Miami Palms 1  Tuesday, August 28, 2012  Miami Palms (66-63)                                      Baltimore Orioles (6-8)                                  Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave      Player          AB R  H...

Miami hasn't played particularly bad baseball over the last several weeks, but they haven't maintained an especially inspiring pace either. Over the course of August, Miami is 14-11 which is slightly above .500, but certainly not enough to put a dent in the lead for the final spot in the postseason, held by the Baltimore Orioles. Baltimore, in fact, has stretched their lead by a game and a half from what it was at the beginning of the month. The MLB season is a little more than a month away from it's finale, and the Palms are still in it. They have two teams between them and the final postseason spot in Baltimore and Tampa, and remain tied at 4.5 out with the Angels. If they want to pass these excellent teams with so few games remaining, they need to make to real off several wins in a row. Unfortunately, their schedule provides a lot of challenges to that strategy, with 8 games against teams either in the playoffs or ahead of the Palms, all on the road, next on the docket.

The Palms, down 4-2 were able tome back with a solo blast from Omir Santos, followed by 4 runs scoring in two at bats in the 7th, with a two run, bases loaded single from Jaspero Gonzalez, followed by a bases clearing double from Santos. There was a solid outing from the Palms bullpen, and the Palms took care of an important victory in game one of the series.  Miami Palms 7, Baltimore Orioles 4  Monday, August 27, 2012  Miami Palms (66-62)                                      Baltimore Orioles (5-8)                                  Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  ...

The Palms took a one run lead in the top of the 8th on a night that saw the Red Sox completely overhaul their roster. Unfortunately, things didn't hold for the Palms, as in the bottom half of the inning, with two outs Scott Podsednik dumped a flyball over the short fence in right field to take a one run lead that held up through the 8th inning. The Palms no head into a rare off day on a Sunday.  Boston Red Sox 7, Miami Palms 6  Friday, August 24, 2012  Miami Palms (65-62)                                      Boston Red Sox (7-7)                                     Player       ...

The Palms were efficient with their run scoring in Boston on Friday night, scoring 9 runs on 10 hits. Eduardo Nunez was the surprise source of offense, hitting two home runs, his 7th and 8th home runs of the season. He drove in 5 of the Palms' runs, two coming in the 5th when the Palms scored 4, and three more in the 8th to salt the game away.  Miami Palms 9, Boston Red Sox 4  Friday, August 24, 2012  Miami Palms (65-61)                                      Boston Red Sox (6-7)                                     Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A...

Over the last 4 games, Martin Prado has been a monster at the plate. He ended the series in Baltimore with 15 home runs and a batting average of .306. It's generally Prado as expected, but maybe a little off from where he wants to be. He proved to the world what he can do when he is on fire. After a series with the Blue Jays and a game with the Red Sox, his home run total jumped by 4 and his average is now up to .316. Base runners at the top of the order are vital to any teams success, and his hot streak is good news for the Palms.

Franklin Morales shut the Palms down on the scoreboard, but didn't really keep them off the basepaths. After the Red Sox were up 5-0, the Palms jumped on a tiring Morales, hitting two home runs, both two run blasts from Martin Prado and Omir Santos. The Red Sox put a few more runs between the teams, however, and the Sox took game one of the series in Beantown.  Boston Red Sox 7, Miami Palms 5  Thursday, August 23, 2012  Miami Palms (64-61)                                      Boston Red Sox (6-6)                                     Player          AB R  H BI BB SO...

Miami blasted 4 home runs, including two from catcher Omir Santos, one of which was a grand slam that completed a come back after Toronto had a 5 run first inning. Yorvit Torrealba lead the charge for Toronto, with a three run blast in that first inning. The two catchers in the game had 3 home runs and 8 runs batted in. Miami opted for a roster filled with several players that don't often see the lineup together. In fact, the outfield was entirely different from the one the team ran out on opening day.  Miami Palms 10, Toronto Blue Jays 6  Wednesday, August 22, 2012  Toronto Blue Jays (3-8)                                  Miami Palms (64-60)                            ...

The Palms and Blue Jays spent a lot of time on the bases, combining for 27 hits, but the Palms had Martin Prado on their roster. The third baseman hit two home runs, giving him three for the series already. His two blasts and three RBI were crucial elements to securing the Palms victory, even with Billy Dupont filling in for the suspended Coco Crisp in center.  Miami Palms 7, Toronto Blue Jays 5  Tuesday, August 21, 2012  Toronto Blue Jays (3-7)                                  Miami Palms (63-60)                                      Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P...

For as bad as the pitching was in this affair, it was surprising that the only major fireworks were in the 4th, when Coco Crisp was hit in the knee by Henderson Alvarez for the second time. Crisp, clearly perturbed, started yelling at Alvarez and shoved catcher Yan Gomes when Gomes cut Crisp off. Crisp will be suspended for Tuesday's game with the A's. The starters combined for only 8 innings pitched, but both sets of relievers were far more capable.  Toronto Blue Jays 3, Miami Palms 2  Monday, August 20, 2012  Toronto Blue Jays (3-6)                                  Miami Palms (62-60)                                      Pla...

Recently, there was a post about Felix Gonsales, and the need to get more quality starts from the 5th starter. Of course, it should be pointed out that Gonsales has the worst luck of any pitcher in the rotation. His BABiP is .338, which is higher than almost everyone on the staff , and more than 20 points higher than any member of the rotation. His FIP is lower than his ERA, suggesting his bad luck. Only Javier Vazquez can make the same claim

The Palms got exactly what they needed out of their series in Baltimore: A split. While the Palms were winning most of the game, it was only, at best, a 2 run lead through the 7th. The game was broken wide open in the 8th when Eduardo Nunez hit a home run, and was followed by some control issues by Luis Ayala and timely hitting. The Palms return to Miami for a three game set with the Blue Jays tonight.  Miami Palms 7, Baltimore Orioles 2  Sunday, August 19, 2012  Miami Palms (62-59)                                      Baltimore Orioles (5-7)                                  Player       ...