Miami Palms Blog

So far, the Palms have positioned themselves as a contender. They are 10 games above .500, and their Pythagorean win-loss projects a win total of 95 wins, 5 more than their actual record. They've done it with several good performances, though none that are leading the league. The most pleasant surprise is the pitching staff. 4/5 starters have winning records, and Jarod Lantz, TJ McFarland and Manny Parra have either ERAs or FIPs below 3.00. On offense, John Jaso and Nick Markakis are batting above .300, while Jaso, Edwin Encarnacion, Frank Sohn and Tony Abreu are all in double digits for the offense. This isn't necessarily a team of superstars, but there are certainly plenty of players pulling their weight as the team attempts to try to earn a trip to the postseason.

TJ McFarland definitely earned a spot in the all star game, and he had a spectacular outing before the break, but he pitched too recently to be used in the game. One of the other pitchers in the game, Jarod Lantz or Lucas Harrell will also likely be left out, simply because of the gut of pitchers.

David Price and TJ McFarland were dealing as the first half their teams' season came to a close. It was 2-0 through 7 innings when the Palms' bats finally came alive. Nick Markakis had an RBI double to get Miami on the board, and the next batter, Tony Abreu, put Miami in front with a clutch three run home run. In the 9th, however, Boston battled back, loading the bases and scoring twice. The Palms weren't retired once in the 10th, though, as John Jaso and Markakis hit back to back doubles, and Miami walked off winners, with a 49-39 record before the break.  Miami Palms 5, Boston Red Sox 4  Sunday, July 10, 2016  Boston Red Sox (3-3)                                     Miami Palms (49-39)                  ...

The second to last game before the All Star Break was an exercise in frustration for Palms fans. There were 24 hits in total between the two teams but only the 7 runs. Neither starter was terribly effective, but neither were the offenses. The only home run was by David Ortiz to tie it in the 5th, but other situations with runners in scoring position went unresolved for both teams. Ultimately, the game was won when Jackie Bradley Jr. had an RBI single off of Oliver Perez to put the Sox ahead before Brad Ziegler shut the Palms down in the 9th.  Boston Red Sox 4, Miami Palms 3  Saturday, July 9, 2016  Boston Red Sox (3-2)                                     Miami Palms (48-39)                    ...

The Palms have been resurgent of late, but many have been keeping an eye on them all season. The Palms are sending five players to the All-Star Game, an impressive total for any team. The players are designated hitter John Jaso, who has been hitting around .320 with 16 home runs, short stop Tony Abreu, who is sporting an average above .300 along with 17 dingers of his own. Surprisingly, Edwin Encarnacion's 21 homers were left out, but three pitchers made the game. TJ McFarland is making his first All Star Appearance, as is reliever Lucas Harrell. Jarod Lantz, a rookie, has sported a sub 3.00 ERA and is being kicked around as a potential starter.

Miami scored 3 in the first inning when Edwin Encarnacion hit a home run into the left field bullpen, and scrabbled together another run in the 2nd to make it a 4-0 lead before the Red Sox could get going. They did get going, though, eventually tying the game in the 7th after Miami stopped scoring runs. Brock Holt put Boston in front with a home run in the top of the 9th, but the white hot Palms had no trouble getting to new closer Brad Ziegler, scoring twice, on a single from John Jaso and the game winner from Tony Abreu.  Miami Palms 6, Boston Red Sox 5  Friday, July 8, 2016  Boston Red Sox (2-2)                                     Miami Palms (48-38)                        ...

The Palms were able to use the long ball to complete the 4 game road sweep over the Texas Rangers. Their offense relied on 4 home runs, including a pair from Tony Abreu, which accounted for 4 runs. Frank Sohn and Brett Hayes each added home runs of their own. Jarod Lantz worked 6 innings and held Texas to only two runs, but suffered from serious control problems, allowing 5 walks.  Miami Palms 7, Texas Rangers 4  Thursday, July 7, 2016  Miami Palms (47-38)                                      Texas Rangers (0-4)                                      Player         ...

The Palms used three big home runs to claw their way back from an 8-3 deficit and win in dramatic fashion. Texas seemed to have their way with most of Miami's pitching staff, scoring 7 off of starter Odrisamer Despaigne, then adding additional runs against Lucas Harrell, Keith Harding and Cody Allen before the flow was stemmed, but the Palms kept charging. Starting with a three run blast from Chris Korb in the 5th, the Palms made their way back. Coco Crisp hit a three run shot in the 7th to make it 10-9, where it sat until Crisp came up again in the 9th with two out, and hit a two run shot to finally give the Palms the lead, which K-Rod held in the bottom of the inning.  Miami Palms 11, Texas Rangers 10  Wednesday, July 6, 2016  Miami Palms (46-38)                                      Texa...

Edwin Encarnacion clobbered 5 home runs in the first series of he season, and he has 20 for the season, which is just past it's halfway mark, but he has done a less than stellar job when it's all on the line. In fact, Encarnacion only has 4 hits with 2 outs and runners in scoring position. It's certainly due to situational hitting that Encarnacion is 4th on the team in RBI despite leadngthe squad in home runs.

The Palms jumped out to a very early lead, thanks to Pat Grant's first career RBIs and first career home run. Chris Korb followed with another homer later in the inning, and the 4-0 lead was to be insurmountable. TJ McFarland held the Rangers in check through 8 innings, holding Texas scoreless while allowing only three its and striking out 6.  Miami Palms 7, Texas Rangers 1  Tuesday, July 5, 2016  Miami Palms (45-38)                                      Texas Rangers (0-2)                                      Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A...

The Rangers are struggling with their bullpen, so Nick Martinez's short outing was a disaster for Texas. The 4th inning was capped by a pair of 3 run home runs by John Jaso and Frank Sohn to vault the Palms well in front. Jaso would add another three run blast in the 7th to secure victory after the Rangers had solo shots from Elvis Andrus and Ian Desmond to tighten it up. The Palms' pen was much more solid, allowing only one more run in 5 innings of work.  Miami Palms 12, Texas Rangers 7  Monday, July 4, 2016  Miami Palms (44-38)                                      Texas Rangers (0-1)                                  ...

The Palms split their 4 game home set with the Rockies in what was another well pitched game. Manny Parra worked 8 innings, allowing only one run, while the Palms cobbled together all three of their runs in the 5th. They loaded the bases, and followed that up with a sac fly and a 2 run John Jaso single.  Miami Palms 3, Colorado Rockies 1  Sunday, July 3, 2016  Colorado Rockies (2-2)                                   Miami Palms (43-38)                                      Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave    ...

The Palms seemed like they had a definite advantage, as they knocked Chad Bettis out in 4 innings after collecting 9 hits. That said, they only scored once, while the Rockies compiled 2 runs in the third inning. The Palms didn't score again until the bottom of the 9th when Frank Sohn had an RBI single before Edwin Encarnacion grounded into a sharp double play to end the threat. It took until the 13th inning when Christian Adames hit a two run home run off of Oliver Perez to win the game for the Rockies.  Colorado Rockies 4, Miami Palms 2  Saturday, July 2, 2016  Colorado Rockies (2-1)                                   Miami Palms (42-38)                            ...

The Palms put this game to bed early, when they loaded the bases on Jorge De La Rosa, setting up Johnny Giavotella for the surprising grand slam. The Palms kept adding runs through the middle innings, knocking De La Rosa out of the game. The Palms did get a solid start, for their part, from Odrisamer Despaigne, who worked into the 8th inning, striking out 4 and allowing only 1 run. It was undoubtedly his best start in a Miami uniform, and he had the run support to claim an easy victory.  Miami Palms 9, Colorado Rockies 1  Friday, July 1, 2016  Colorado Rockies (1-1)                                   Miami Palms (42-37)                               ...

The Palms were introduced to the Rockies and Charlie Blackmon as their 4 game series started on the Thursday. Blackmon went 5-5 on the day, and hit three home runs off of TJ McFarland, including one to lead off the game, followed by a 2 run shot in the 2nd and another solo shot in the first. The Palms tried to come back, cobbling together 4 runs, but Blackmon's hole was much to deep for Miami to recover.  Colorado Rockies 7, Miami Palms 4  Thursday, June 30, 2016  Colorado Rockies (1-0)                                   Miami Palms (41-37)                                      Player      ...

The Palms and Blue Jays had excellent outings from their respective starting pitchers, with each Blake Johnston and Aaron Sanchez working a full 9 innings while allowing only one run apiece. The Palms got their run on a laser of a homerun from Frank Sohn, which also happened to be the first hit of the game for Miami, and it came in the 5th inning. Toronto never scored after scoring in the first inning on a Troy Tulowitzki single. The Palms eventually won on a clutch two out single from Nick Markakis, which turned out to be his third hit of the game. The Palms really turned it around after their slow start.  Miami Palms 2, Toronto Blue Jays 1  Wednesday, June 29, 2016  Toronto Blue Jays (5-4)                                  Miami Palms (41-36)           ...