Miami Palms Blog

The Palms had another dominant pitching outing against the Yankees, shutting the Bombers out for a second game in a row. This time, it was Dylan Bundy and Mike Morin, who both needed a pick me up. The Palms had a cacophony of hits, enjoyed walks and kept pushing players across the plate despite not having a bigger hit than a double.  Miami Palms 10, New York Yankees 0  Saturday, June 30, 2018  New York Yankees (4-9)                                   Miami Palms (46-36)                                      Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB ...

The Palms clobbered CC Sabathia in the 2nd inning, hitting two home runs, including a solo shot from Brett Hayes and a 3 run shot from Jaspero Gonzalez, but it was Manny Parra that really put on a show. He worked a complete game 1 hitter against the Yankees, leaving the Bronx Bombers out of ammunition.  Miami Palms 6, New York Yankees 0  Friday, June 29, 2018  New York Yankees (4-8)                                   Miami Palms (45-36)                                      Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave    ...

The Palms came off of a series sweep against the Royals only to see Gleyber Torres hit a 3 run homer in the first inning. The Yankees would score one more run before the Palms could get on the board. They scored 1 at a time between the 4th and 8th inning, including Brock Holt's first home run of the season. The bullpen was on point, working 7 scoreless innings, allowing the Palms to go ahead with a two out single from Frank Sohn, which brought Jaspero Gonzalez across the plate.  Miami Palms 5, New York Yankees 4  Thursday, June 28, 2018  New York Yankees (4-7)                                   Miami Palms (44-36)                                ...

Nearly halfway through the season, the Palms have announced that it is Pat Grant's #41 that is the team's top seller. Jaspero Gonzalez's #17 and Frank Sohns' #25 are 2 and 3, while Manny Parra's 43 and curiously Carlos Ruiz's #51 round out the top 5. The top 3 on the list all represent players that are home grown talent, suggesting that the long term familiarity with players is appreciated, but also an important factor is player achievement, with Parra and Ruiz both having good seasons to date.

If the Palms want to be a contender, getting swept by the Kansas City Royals for the season probably isn't a good way to signal that. The Royals jumped out early, with a lead off Whit Merrifield home run, followed by a two run blast from Salvador Perez. The Royals also got a homer from Alcides Escobar as they laid the wood to Blake Johnston. Wandy Peralta worked an effective three innings, but for the most part, the Royals had their way with the Palms on Tuesday afternoon. A well needed day off is on it's way for Wednesday.  Kansas City Royals 10, Miami Palms 0  Tuesday, June 26, 2018  Kansas City Royals (5-0)                                 Miami Palms (43-36)                          ...

For whatever reason, the Royals simply have the Palms' number this season, now holding a 4-0 record against the home side. After the Palms tied the game at 3 in the 7th, the Royals went ahead for good with a solo homer from Rosell Herrera off the tortured Braden Shipley. The Palms will certainly to see what they can salvage of this season during game 2, tomorrow.  Kansas City Royals 4, Miami Palms 3  Monday, June 25, 2018  Kansas City Royals (4-0)                                 Miami Palms (43-35)                                      Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A...

The Palms have had several rough finishes to games of late. Their starting rotation may be on the brink of being overworked, as the management seeks to avoid exposing a fragile bullpen to more abuse. Brian Matusz has blown 6 saves already this season, after a 2017 which saw him operate as a lockdown reliever. Other relievers, like Mike Morin and Braden Shipley have also had some nefarious outings that saw their ERAs sky rocket. The team will need to work on managing their workload to allay some of their disasters. Right now, Matusz is still the closer, but if a change comes in the season, expect that to be where it happens first.

The Palms and Angels combined for 34 hits on Sunday afternoon. The Palms held a 6-2 lead going into the bottom of the 7th, when Anaheim circled back for 6 runs off of reliver Braden Shipley, including a three run homer from Chris Young. The Palms scored twice the next inning when the unlikely duo of Nick Markakis and Travis Jankowski hit solo homers. In the 9th, Pat Grant sealed the deal with a 2 run double, his second RBI double of the game.  Miami Palms 10, Los Angeles Angels 8  Sunday, June 24, 2018  Miami Palms (43-34)                                      Los Angeles Angels (1-2)                                 Player ...

The Palms and Angels played bonus baseball again on Saturday afternoon. The Angels jumped to an early lead, with a 4 run first, capped by a three run blast from Luis Valbuena. The Palms would by stymied until they scored 5 times in the 5th inning, in turn buoyed by a 3 run shot from Chris Korb. The Angels would tie it back up, leaving the game to the bullpen, which bent but didn't break for Miami. The Palms back up catcher, Carlos Ruiz hit a mammoth homer in the top of the 10th, leading things off and giving Miami the margin of victory.  Miami Palms 6, Los Angeles Angels 5  Saturday, June 23, 2018  Miami Palms (42-34)                                      Los Angeles Angels (1-1)                  ...

Through the years, no team has seemed to deliver more heart breaking losses per capita than the Angels. Miami led most of the way, scoring 3 early runs, but going into the bottom of the 9th, the Angels had pulled to within 1.All world player Mike Trout hit a solo homer. The Palms scraped a run together in the 11th, but it was Trout again who drew the game level with an RBI triple. With one away Trout scored when Albert Pujols hit a ball too deep in the hole to be retired at the plate, allowing the Angels to walk off winners.  Los Angeles Angels 5, Miami Palms 4  Friday, June 22, 2018  Miami Palms (41-34)                                      Los Angeles Angels (1-0)                     ...

The Palms have an off day on Thursday, and they would do well to enjoy it. They have a tough grind ahead of them between now and the All Star Break. They have enjoyed more time off this season than most of the rest of the league, and will be paying for it for the rest of June and early July, without another off day. If anyone stands to benefit, it will be bench players in need of action and relievers who have not been particularly active recently. Fatigue will be a concern, but fortunately, they have some momentum which may buoy the team during this difficult stretch.

The Palms have a long awaited off day coming on Thursday, and the game against the Tigers seemed interminable. They blew a 2-0 lead when the Tigers, led by Jeimer Candelario's 3 run homer, had a 5 run 7th. They tacked another 5 runs on the Palms in the 8th and 9th, with another 3 run homer, this time from JaCoby Jones setting the pace. The Palms will save their energy and hope to come back strong in Los Angeles against the Angels on Friday.  Detroit Tigers 10, Miami Palms 3  Wednesday, June 20, 2018  Detroit Tigers (1-2)                                     Miami Palms (41-33)                                      ...

The Palms were resurgent early in June, but they became bogged down in Cleveland. The slow down started in a series with the Marlins, but it wasn’t apparent until they took on the Tribe. They dropped three of four, and in those 3 losses, they managed only 5 runs, though one of the games required 10 innings. The problem wasn’t getting on base or getting hits, but rather converting on opportunities. They collected 28 hits in those three games, which should be more than enough to scratch out a few runs. If the Palms are to be successful, they need to produce with runners in scoring position, and lean on the long ball when the chance arises.

The Tigers hit a pair of 3 run homers to give Detroit a commanding lead for a great deal of the game. The Palms slugged their way back into it though, scoring 5 runs on a pair of home runs by Frank Sohn and Edwin Encarnacion, tying the game up at 7. Detroit scratched out two runs in the 9th, though, and it looked like the Palms were resigned to defeat. With two outs, Encarnacion had a clutch single to bring the Palms to within 1, and Frank Sohn followed up with a walk off, three run blast to conclude the exciting Miami victory.  Miami Palms 11, Detroit Tigers 9  Tuesday, June 19, 2018  Detroit Tigers (0-2)                                     Miami Palms (41-32)                      ...

Miami returned home after a tough set with Cleveland and after a slow start, turned in a solid win against the visiting Tigers. The Palms scored three times in the 6th, including a two run homer from Edwin Encarnacion to take the lead for the first time. Dylan Bundy was effective, and Archie Bradley and Brian Matusz were solid in relief.  Miami Palms 6, Detroit Tigers 3  Monday, June 18, 2018  Detroit Tigers (0-1)                                     Miami Palms (40-32)                                      Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LO...

The Indians got a strong showing from Shane Bieber, who went 8 solid innings while scattering hits early and staying out of trouble late. Cleveland pulled into the lead when Brandon Guyer hit a 2 out, 2 run homer in the 6th, which turned out to be enough to secure victory for the home side.  Cleveland Indians 3, Miami Palms 1  Sunday, June 17, 2018  Miami Palms (39-32)                                      Cleveland Indians (3-1)                                  Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave      Player ...