Miami Palms Blog

The Palms went into Chicago to take on the defending World Series Champs and acquitted themselves rather well. Blake Johnston and Brett Anderson held their opponents off the scoreboard for 4 1/2 innings, but when the game hit the bullpen, things got a little crazy. The Cubs hit a pair of solo homers off of JP Howell, but the Palms circled back with back to back homers from Chris Korb and Carlos Ruiz, with Korb's accounting or a pair of runs. The Palms then battered Brian Duensing in the 9th, scoring 4 times and batting around to salt the game away.  Miami Palms 9, Chicago Cubs 5  Tuesday, April 18, 2017  Miami Palms (9-6)                                        Chicago Cubs (0-1)                 ...

Neither starter, Lucas Harrell nor Michael Fulmer, allowed a single run, with the first run scored coming when Pat Grant hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 8th. Francisco Rodriguez came in and blew the game in the bottom of the frame, however, when Nick Castellanos launched a 2 run home run in the top of the 9th, a blow the Palms couldn't come back from. The Palms go to Chicago to take on the Cubs tomorrow.  Detroit Tigers 2, Miami Palms 1  Monday, April 17, 2017  Detroit Tigers (4-4)                                     Miami Palms (8-6)                                        Player  ...

The Tigers and Palms played a lot of baseball this weekend, adding a 14 inning game on Sunday afternoon. After the starters each gave up big 3rd inning home runs - a 3 run blast for Justin Upton and a grand slam for Nick Markakis, it looked like the game was going to be high scoring, but from that moment, only 2 runs were scored for the next 10 innings, both by the Tigers on their way to tying things up. In the 14th inning, after a Tyler Collins double, Alex Avila poked one to the outfield to bring Collins home. As it had been most the game, the Palms were unable to execute in the bottom of the 14th, and the Tigers took their first game of the season.  Detroit Tigers 6, Miami Palms 5  Sunday, April 16, 2017  Detroit Tigers (3-4)                                     Miami Palms (8-5)  ...

Manny Parra started his Palms' career as a middling third starter, before being bumped back to the bullpen, where he closed for a few years. He has been a starter again for two seasons, and has been an effective middle of the rotation starter, thrust towards the top of the rotation thanks in large part to the lack of help behind him. He's off to a good start this year, and as the 2nd starter now, expectations for Parra remain high.

The Palms played their first extra inning game of the season on Saturday afternoon, and were able to send fans home happy. The game went until the 7th inning without a run until Justin Upton hit a solo home run, followed by a sacrifice ground out from Andrew Romine a few batters later. The Palms eventually climbed back into it, tying it in the bottom of the 9th when Brett Hayes tied it with a double. After loading the bases with 0 out, the Palms failed to score a run, sending it to extras. Romine hit a solo hoer in the 10th, but the Palms battered Anibal Sanchez as well. With 2 out, and the Palms down 1, it was Hayes again who stepped up, hitting a three run shot to earn the victory.  Miami Palms 5, Detroit Tigers 3  Saturday, April 15, 2017  Detroit Tigers (2-4)                                   ...

Miami hit two solo home runs in the first inning and seemed like they had full control over this game. In truth, they were aided by their 6 walks, which helped Detroit burn through pitchers, but didn't really lead to many runs, until Nick Markakis had a two run double in the 5th. Jarod Lantz was good, but he and Francisco Rodriguez made things more interesting, by allowing 3 runs in the final 3 innings, with the Tigers threatening more in every one of those innings. The Palms got out of it though, and claimed game one of their series.  Miami Palms 5, Detroit Tigers 4  Friday, April 14, 2017  Detroit Tigers (2-3)                                     Miami Palms (7-4)                      ...

The Palms worked to update their bullpen after a few departures and upgrades, adding, among their players, Mike Morin who is a young arm for the pen. He is a fly ball pitcher who can be effective when he maximizes his strike out rate. He was perhaps a little bit towards the lucky side last season on his HR/FB rate, but his K/BB clip is nothing to sneeze at. Morin will be used extensively as a middle reliever.

Miami had a rough outing to finish their first home series, played against the Baltimore Orioles. The O's collected 5 home runs off Miami pitching, which brought the Palms to their knees. Manny Machado had a three run shot in the 8tth, which was the biggest blow for the Palms' chances, as Baltimore blew the game open in the final few frames. Nick Markakis had a three run shot for the Palms to supply most of the offense.  Baltimore Orioles 13, Miami Palms 7  Thursday, April 13, 2017  Baltimore Orioles (2-4)                                  Miami Palms (6-4)                                        Player  ...

The Palms jumped out to a big early lead thanks to John Jaso's second home run of the season. It was a threre run blast, which proved enough for victory. Chris Korb later hit his first of the year to knock Ubaldo Jimenez out early. The Palms were just as good from the mound, where Lucas Harrell worked a complete game, striking out 5 and scattering just as many hits.  Miami Palms 5, Baltimore Orioles 1  Wednesday, April 12, 2017  Baltimore Orioles (1-4)                                  Miami Palms (6-3)                                        Player          AB R  H BI B...

Miami picked up Brian Matusz from Baltimore before last season, and he was a solid workhorse for the Palms, pitching to a 3.09 ERA while going 2-3 and even collecting a pair of saves. His was actually the best ERA among all members of Miami's bullpen. The Palms have attempted to bolster the pen, but Matusz will be a factor in any of Miami's successes this week.

The Palms pulled Nick Markakis over from the Baltimore Orioles, just as he was coming into his own as a star player, particularly on defense. He had two exceptional years on offense, before he started to tail off at the plate. Last year, with an increased focus on putting balls in play, rather than over the fence, his offensive numbers started to rebound. It's his defense that kept him in the field, for several years, but now his veteran presence at the plate is going to be vital.

Archie Bradley kicked off the home schedule with a solid outing for the Palms, his first start in Miami. He worked into the 7th inning allowing only 1 run on 5 hits while striking out 6. Jaspero Gonzalez treated his home fans to a two run homer in his return to Miami. It was the two runs the Palms manufactured in the 6th, however, that earned a win for Miami's home opener.  Miami Palms 4, Baltimore Orioles 2  Monday, April 10, 2017  Baltimore Orioles (1-3)                                  Miami Palms (5-3)                                        Player          AB R  H ...

The Palms took kindly to their first day game of the season. Manny Parra was clinical, striking out 7 on his way to a complete game. The Tigers didn't get a hit until the 8th inning, and only had 3 for the game, all in that inning. The Palms, on the other hand, batted around twice, in the 1st and 5th, aided greatly by free passes issued by Tigers pitching. The Palms walked 8 times on top of their 15 hits. The Palms also added a 3 run blast from Jaspero Gonzalez while Chris Korb drove in three with a pair of doubles.  Miami Palms 13, Detroit Tigers 2  Sunday, April 9, 2017  Miami Palms (4-3)                                        Detroit Tigers (2-2)                     ...

After several games of ragged offense, the Palms entered the weekend with a big offensive performance. The Palms collected 16 hits on their way to 8 runs. The big two frames were the 2nd and 3rd, when Miami scored 7 of their runs and put the game out of reach early. A Jaspero Gonzalez 2 run single in the 2nd and a 3 run homer by John Jaso were the big hits for the Palms. Gonzalez had 4 hits, and Jaso had 4 RBI.  Miami Palms 8, Detroit Tigers 4  Saturday, April 8, 2017  Miami Palms (3-3)                                        Detroit Tigers (2-1)                                     Player  ...

While Chris Korb was finally able to get a hit, the Palms didn't do much else on offense. He and Tony Abreu accounted for more than half of the teams' 7 hits, none of which were strung together for runs. Michael Fulmer struck out 5 in 8 shut out innings, and his defense did the rest of the work. The Palms got a good start from Blake Johnston, though a JaCoby Jones home run and an RBI single from Tyler Collins ruined his excellent outing.  Detroit Tigers 2, Miami Palms 0  Friday, April 7, 2017  Miami Palms (2-3)                                        Detroit Tigers (2-0)                                    ...

Chris Korb has emerged as a solid regular at third base after starting their for the full season for the first time in 2016. He was a utility reserve his first several years in the league, then platooned as a left handed option in 2015 before finally developing as a 20 home run hitter with a .280 average. He is re-signed with the Palms this year, but early returns aren't good: He's been held hitless in his first 4 games, though nobody thinks that pace will continue.

After the first two games saw Miami clobber Orioles pitching, things have turned around, and it is Miami pitching that is getting clobbered. Lucas Harrell did fine in his 6 inning start, allowing only two runs, but the bullpen allowed three more runs in only 2 innings. Meanwhile, Matt Boyd pinned the Palms down, scattering 4 hits and allowing only 1 run in 7 innings of work.  Detroit Tigers 5, Miami Palms 1  Thursday, April 6, 2017  Miami Palms (2-2)                                        Detroit Tigers (1-0)                                     Player        ...