Miami Palms Blog

Frank Sohn started off slow for Miami, but in the past month, he has turned up his bat. He has gathered 7 homers and 21 RBI, while also moving his batting average to a more acceptable .259. There is more work to be done for Sohn, but his resurgence is important for the future success of the team. The middle of the lineup needs to produce their runs.

The Twins and Palms played a back and forth game in which runs were scored seemingly at will, and quality pitching was at a premium. The Twins took an early lead and never trailed when Joe Mauer hit a 3 run first inning homer. The lead was 4 when the Palms scored 4 with 3 extra base hits, including a Billy Dupont home run. Blake Johnston wasn't the effective pitcher he usually is, working only 4 innings and striking out nobody while also giving up 2 home runs, a rarity for him this season. The Twins relinquished two more leads, but ultimately scored twice on Tim Byrdak in the 8th to claim the lead for good.  Minnesota Twins 9, Miami Palms 7  Saturday, May 31, 2014  Minnesota Twins (1-1)                                    Miami Palms (28-29)         ...

The Palms took on the Twins in the first of a 3 game home series, and received a dominant start from Kyle Blume. He only struck out 2 and walked 4, but also allowed only 3 hits over 8 innings. He received run support in the way of a a Tony Abreu triple that scored a run, and then Abreu himself was driven in by Nick Markakis. Frank Sohn and Coco Crisp also supplied solo homers to expand the lead in the 7th.  Miami Palms 5, Minnesota Twins 0  Friday, May 30, 2014  Minnesota Twins (0-1)                                    Miami Palms (28-28)                                      Player      ...

For the third game in a row, there was a grand slam in the Astros-Palms series. This time, it was a 2nd inning shot off the bat of Carlos Ruiz. Perhaps this will take care of his pesky early season slump. Others had homers as well. Three others, in fact, as Steve Drysdale and Kelly Johnson had solo shots and Billy Dupont had a three run blast to put Miami into double digits. Unfortunately, the hot streak will have to take a break tomorrow, as the Palms will be off for the day.  Miami Palms 13, Houston Astros 1  Wednesday, May 28, 2014  Miami Palms (27-28)                                      Houston Astros (2-3)                              ...

Often times, you can figure out who is going to win a game pretty early. The Palms drove Colin McHugh out of the game fairly early, scoring 5 runs through 4 innings. With a 4 run lead so early in the game, it looked like the Palms were tuned in. Naturally, in the bottom of the inning, Houston loaded the bases and got a grand slam from Matt Dominguez to tie it. Jason Castro led off the 6th with a dinger to take the lead. The next half inning, Chris Johnson hit a moon shot with Steve Drysdale aboard to put the Palms back in front. Naturally, Keith Harding gave it back when George Springer led off with a solo blast. The Palms weren't done, however, taking the lead for good when Tony Abreu hit a one out, three run blast. Manny Parra didn't give the lead back, finally finishing this slugfest.  Miami Palms 10, Houston Astros 7  Tuesday, May 27, 2014  Miami Palms (26-28)                  ...

Houston fans were able to enjoy a Memorial day thriller on Monday. Scott Feldman had kept the Miami hitters at bay, allowing only 1 run through 7 innings. Things started to unravel for him in the 8th, however, when he loaded the bases with one out. Frank Sohn drove it over the left field fence for a grand slam and a 2 run lead. Unfortunately for Miami, the Astros came back and picked away at Keith Harding. Marc Krauss led off with a home run to bring it to within 1. Two hits and one out later, Jose Altuve regained the two run lead with a three run blast of his own.It was tough to see Frank Sohn's excellent game go to waste, but the two teams square off again Tuesday night.  Houston Astros 7, Miami Palms 5  Monday, May 26, 2014  Miami Palms (25-28)                                      Houst...

The entire series in Kansas City as taut, ending with a one run victory for one team or another, and the Sunday matinee was no different. Both starters, Blake Johnston and Jason Vargas allowed only 2 runs over 6 and 8 innings respectively. Johnston wasn't as sharp as he has been this season, walking 3 and allowing 6 hits. He had three good innings of relief from Felix Gonsales and Manny Parra, while Vargas' bullpen was less effective. Kelvin Herrara allowed a double to Frank Sohn, and Kelly Johnson eventually drove him in for the winning run and a series victory.  Miami Palms 3, Kansas City Royals 2  Sunday, May 25, 2014  Miami Palms (25-27)                                      Kansas City Royals (1-2)              ...

While the Palms offense has struggled to this point in the season, they can look at their pitching staff as a source of pride. On the whole, they are striking out almost 1 full extra batter/9 innings. Nobody has demonstrated more improvement than Blake Johnston and Troy Munoz, who rose from 4.77 K/9 to 6.35 and 4.2 K/9 to 5.91, respectively. The natural hope is that this rate will continue, but a third of the way into the season, this is a very good sign.

Kyle Blume mastered the Royals, striking out 10 over 8 2/3 innings. It was 3-0 going into the final frame, with the Palms getting all of their runs on solo homers off of James Shields. Blume hit the 100 pittch mark in the 9th, and started to lose his effectiveness, leading the manager to pull him for Manny Parra with 2 on and 2 out in the bottom of the 9th. Parra loaded the bases but got Billy Butler to fly out to end the contest.  Miami Palms 3, Kansas City Royals 2  Saturday, May 24, 2014  Miami Palms (24-27)                                      Kansas City Royals (1-1)                                 Player   ...

The Palms looked to be on the cusp of victory twice in Kansas City. Troy Munoz had been dominant through most of the game before finally beginning to break down in the 7th. The Palms had a 4-1 lead at that point, and the Royals managed to push 3 runs across the plate to draw level. The bullpen had three shut down innings to set up a dramatic 11th inning. With two outs and two on, Nick Markakis hit a go ahead 3 run homer, bringing Manny Parra, who has been dominant to this point of the season into the game. He had allowed only 3 hits to this point of the season, but this was not his night. The Royals had already scored once, but were down to 1 our when Alex Gordon came up with 2 men on. Parra gave up his first homer of the season, end ended up allowing 4 runs in the bottom of the 11th as the Royals walked off winners.  Kansas City Royals 8, Miami Palms 7  Friday, May 23, 2014  Miami Palms (23-27)            ...

Pittsburgh got to John Danks early and often. Over the first three innings, they scored 5 times, all on solo home runs. Danks continued for 3 more score less innings, but with the way Edinson Volquez was pitching, it seemed as though there was no coming back for the the Palms. Miami didn't get a hit until Abreu hit a high chopper in the 7th that he beat the throw to first. Kelly Johnson drove in Billy Dupont who had walked. The 8th inning things completely came unglued for the Pirates, as the Palms batted around. They tied the game with a 2 run triple from Abreu. The Palms won the game by scoring again in the 9th. Pinch hitter Joe Mather led off with a single and scored when Nick Markakis doubled with two outs. Manny Parra is now 10/10 in save opportunities.  Miami Palms 6, Pittsburgh Pirates 5  Thursday, May 22, 2014  Miami Palms (23-26)                      ...

Ike Davis owned Lucas Harrell, driving in 4 runs and getting a double and a home run off of the Palms starter. The Palms, after falling in a 7-2 hole made a valiant effort at coming from behind, scoring 3 while sending 8 to the plate in the 8th and getting a solo homer from Frank Sohn in the 9th. Still, it wasn't enough to overcome the deficit, and the Palms were dealt the defeat.   Pittsburgh Pirates 7, Miami Palms 6  Wednesday, May 21, 2014  Miami Palms (22-26)                                      Pittsburgh Pirates (1-1)                                 Player          AB R  H BI ...

The fortunes of Miami's series opener with the Pittsburgh Pirates was tied closely to that of Chris Korb and Neil Walker. Both middle infielders were batting second in their team's respective line up, and both hit two run home runs. From that point, however, both Francisco Lirano and Blake Johnston were masterful. Johnston allowed only 1 more hit, and struck Walker out every other time he faced him. Meanwhile, Korb doubled in the 8th and advanced to third on a Steve Drysdale single, and eventually scored when Frank Sohn hit the game winning sac fly.  Miami Palms 3, Pittsburgh Pirates 2  Tuesday, May 20, 2014  Miami Palms (22-25)                                      Pittsburgh Pirates (0-1)                ...

The White Sox slugged 4 homers in this game, and none of them were quite as impactful as Adam Dunn's 3 run game winner in he 8th. The Palms got a 3 run homer as well, from Brett Hayes, but failed to keep up with Chicago pitching otherwise. After an off day tomorrow, Miami will travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Pirates on Tuesday  Chicago White Sox 7, Miami Palms 4  Sunday, May 18, 2014  Chicago White Sox (2-2)                                  Miami Palms (21-25)                                      Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave...