Miami Palms Blog

Miami saw their losing streak continue, as they were bled for 14 hits by Boston at Fenway. Despite only 3 extra base hits, Boston was able to sneak across 4 runs on Lucas Harrell and another off the typically airtight Keith Harding. The Palms made a rally in the 9th, but Frank Sohn's 2 run blast didn't really get anything going.  Boston Red Sox 5, Miami Palms 3  Monday, May 14, 2018  Miami Palms (22-17)                                      Boston Red Sox (4-1)                                     Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB ...

Dylan Bundy and Keith Harding had held the Mets scoreless through 8 innings, with 4 hits, but the Mets turned it on when they needed it. With two out in the bottom of the 9th, Devin Mesoraco hit a two run homer off of Brian Matusz. The Palms left Matusz in to clean up his mess in the 10th, but Ahmed Rosario instead led off with a home run.The Mets added another run, and earned a sweep over the Palms, in Miami.  New York Mets 4, Miami Palms 2  Sunday, May 13, 2018  New York Mets (3-0)                                      Miami Palms (22-16)                                      Player    ...

Another 2 run loss to the Mets for Miami. This time, it was the pitching that did Miami in, as Jacob DeGrom worked 7 innings before the bullpen finished the job. The Mets scored twice on solo homers, as Yoenis Cespedes and Adrian Gonzalez provided everything New York needed.  New York Mets 2, Miami Palms 0  Saturday, May 12, 2018  New York Mets (2-0)                                      Miami Palms (22-15)                                      Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave      Player...

The Palms have jumped out to a fairly strong start, primarily on the back of their pitching staff. They have seen some slow starts on offense, and have been wildly inconsistent at the plate, but such is to be expected early in the season. All told, sitting 8 games above .500 should be a pretty satisfying place to be a third of the way through May. Alas, 2018 looks to be, at the very least, a three horse race in the AL East. Despite their record, the Palms presently find themselves a game behind not only the Red Sox, but the Yankees as well. While the Palms made strides on offense in years past, adding Edwin Encarnacion  to the mix, for example, their northern rivals have also sought bigger bats, plugging in JD Martinez and Giancarlo Stanton, respectively. The Palms don’t have high profile pitchers, having developed some castaways like Manny Parra and Lucas Harrell into stars, while developing Jarod Lantz into a top arm as well, but they lack the depth, as well as the high cali...

This was a brutal loss for Miami. Going into the 8th inning, the Palms were up by 4, thanks to a couple of homers, from Brett Hayes and Jaspero Gonzalez. The Mets hit two dingers in the 8th, including a three run Wilmer Flores game tying homer. The Palms would lose it in the 9th when Brandon Nimmo hit a 2 run shot to put New York ahead for good.  New York Mets 7, Miami Palms 5  Friday, May 11, 2018  New York Mets (1-0)                                      Miami Palms (22-14)                                      Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A...

Not many looked at this game an expected a pitcher's duel. Blake Johnston worked 7 scoreless innings, while Andrew Cashner only allowed 4 hits though his 8 innings of work. Unfortunately for Baltimore, one of those hits was a two run shot from Tony Abreu, which provided all the scoring for the game. The Palms bullpen was dominant as well, including Brian Matusz, who struck out the side for the save.  Miami Palms 2, Baltimoe Orioles 0  Wednesday, May 9, 2018  Baltimoe Orioles (1-1)                                   Miami Palms (22-13)                                      Player       ...

Lucas Harrell had his worst outing of the year, and the Orioles caught Miami flatfooted. Jonathan Schoop gave the O's an early lead with a home run, and then was aboard for a 3 run shot from Mark Trumbo, which was more than enough for Baltimore to surprise Miami in their first game back at Palms Park.  Baltimoe Orioles 7, Miami Palms 2  Tuesday, May 8, 2018  Baltimoe Orioles (1-0)                                   Miami Palms (21-13)                                      Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave    ...

Three players who had slow Aprils came to play in the rubber match in Philadelphia. Nick Markakis had the first big hit of the game, a three run homer in the 2nd. Miami batted around in the 4th inning to blow the game wide open. Among the batters who got aboard in the 4th was Tony Abreu, who went 4/4 with a home run, a Sac Fly and 2 RBI. Additionally, Dylan Bundy had his best outing as a Palm, throwing 8 innings of 2 hit ball, with 8 strikeouts. While he was at it, Bundy also had an RBI single in the 4th.  Miami Palms 10, Philadelphia Phillies 1  Sunday, May 6, 2018  Miami Palms (21-12)                                      Philadelphia Phillies (1-2)                       ...

It's unlikely that Manny Parra has had a game like this ever playing baseball, even since Little League. He worked a complete game, for one thing, striking out 9 and allowing only three runs on 7 hits, but then, because he was in the National League, he also got to wield the bat. He started with a sac fly in the 2nd, but then hit his first career home run in the third. Not only that, but the bases were loaded, giving him a grand slam, and 5 RBI on the afternoon. He would later have a walk and a single to complete the dominant day.  Miami Palms 12, Philadelphia Phillies 3  Saturday, May 5, 2018  Miami Palms (20-12)                                      Philadelphia Phillies (1-1)                   ...

Frank Sohn has switched sides of the outfield to take advantage of his still strong arm, but he still moves well enough to fill in at center when Travis Jannkowski needs a day off. Sohn came up to the majors as a young center fielder and is now the longest tenured Palm, and he shows no sign of slowing down. He lost some of his home run touch, but he has replaced the dingers with doubles, and has been on base more than in recent seasons to start 2018. His veteran leadership and familiarity within the organization make him the natural captain of the squad.

Miami's first trip to a National League park didn't go terribly well. The Phillies took it to Jarod Lantz, scoring 6 in the first 3 innings, with big hits coming from Aaron Altherr, who hit a two run homer, and Maikel Franco who cleared the bases with a double in the third. Franco would later hit a home run as well to seal the game.  Philadelphia Phillies 8, Miami Palms 3  Friday, May 4, 2018  Miami Palms (19-13)                                      Philadelphia Phillies (1-0)                              Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave   ...

Miami scored 10 times in the first inning, and then took the rest of the day off, at least on offense. The Miami staff had to negotiate a few jams, but they pitched a shut out, with Blake Johnston starting things off and Cody Allen and Mike Morrin completing the domination. The Braves pen worked 8 shut out innings as well, but the Palms, led by 4 RBI from Frank Sohn had already done significant damage.  Miami Palms 10, Atlanta Braves 0  Wednesday, May 2, 2018  Atlanta Braves (0-3)                                     Miami Palms (19-12)                                      Player     ...

The Palms have never really leaned on pitchers with a high strikeout total, which hasn’t been a major issue, given their strong fielding metrics. This day in age, however, a stronger K rate, especially in the bullpen, is desirable, but the Palms are committed to durability. Enter Braden Shipley, who comes over from the Diamondbacks to join his old teammate Archie Bradley in the pen. Shipley has a generally low K Rate, that the Palms hope they can capitalize on. He’s historically been prone to the long ball, but Miami hopes that can be sorted out as well.

The Palms stifled the Braves on offense, thanks to a trio of pitchers holding the Braves to 8 hits, and 1 run on a Preston Tucker solo homer. The Palms hit a pair of solo homers as well, which would have been enough to secure victory, but the two that hit the homers, Jaspero Gonzalez and Edwin Encarnacion would also ave RBI singles later in the game.  Miami Palms 4, Atlanta Braves 1  Tuesday, May 1, 2018  Atlanta Braves (0-1)                                     Miami Palms (18-12)                                      Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A...

The Palms were inefficient against Brandon McCarthy, and completely lost against Peter Moylan, but in the 9th inning, down 3-1, Miami got through against Sam Freeman, things turned around. After a pair of singles from Travis Jankowski and Greg Garcia singled, leading to a big, walk off three run homer from Pat Grant, who leads the team with 6 homers.  Miami Palms 4, Atlanta Braves 3  Monday, April 30, 2018  Atlanta Braves (0-1)                                     Miami Palms (17-12)                                      Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P...