Miami Palms Blog

 The Palms ended up returning the favor after losing 9-3 in the early set against the Twins. Martin Perez started the 4th inning with 4 walks, before Travis Jankowski and Yairo Munoz combined to bring in 4 more runs. Munoz would later add a two run home run, and an Edwin Encarnacion moonshot ultimate put a bow on this game. The Palms go for the series victory tomorrow.   Miami Palms 9, Minnesota Twins 3  Wednesday, May 1, 2019      Minnesota Twins (1-2)                                    Miami Palms (12-19)                                       Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave      Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB  ...

 The Twins never trailed in this game, striking first with a lead off home run from Max Kepler, and continuing to batter Blake Johnston, through the first frame. Ehire Adrianza had a three run shot later in the inning. With the double header and a short outing from Johnston, Mike Morin may eventually be seen as the hero, working 4 innings, allowing only one run.   Minnesota Twins 9, Miami Palms 4  Wednesday, May 1, 2019      Minnesota Twins (1-1)                                    Miami Palms (11-19)                                       Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave      Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Av...

 Miami has whatever the closest thing to momentum it has had all season, going 3-2 in the last 5 games, and even those two losses were brought to extra innings. They have even returned home and clinched a series opening win against the Twins as the month of april wraps up. Instead of continuing on this hot streak, they will get an off day on Tuesday, followed by a considerable shake up to their routine: A scheduled double header on Wednesday. They will take the field at 330 to start a true double header with the Twins. Blake Johnston will take the early game, while Jarod Lantz will take the nightcap. The weather looks to be in the upper 70s with mostly cloudy skies. A perfect night for baseball. 

 The Palms came back to Miami and took with it a big sigh of relief. After two devastating losses to the Yankees to conclude their series in the Bronx, they took leads late, rather than tying games, and their bullpen was able to hold on. The Twins got out to an early lead thanks to a lead off triple from Max Kepler, who scored on a fielders choice from Jorge Polanco. The score would remain 1-0 until the 6th, when Jaspero Gonzalez hit a two run home run to give Miami the lead. The next inning, Taylor Rogers walked the bases loaded to bring Gonzalez to the plate again. This time, Gonzalez took a ball on the elbow, bringing home the final run, and giving the battle weary bullpen a little bit of a cushion.  Miami Palms 3, Minnesota Twins 1  Monday, April 29, 2019      Minnesota Twins (0-1)                                    Miami Palms (11-18)        ...

 More pain for the Miami Palms in New York. This was a bit different, as they had been down 3-0 until Edwin Encarnacion and Chris Korb hit back to back home runs in the 8th inning. Both teams were scoreless until the bottom of the 12th, when Mike Morin allowed two walks to lead off the winning, and Mike Tauchman ended things with a three run shot. The Palms will hope fortunes turn as they return to Miami and a game with the Twins tomorrow.   New York Yankees 6, Miami Palms 3  Sunday, April 28, 2019      Miami Palms (10-18)                                      New York Yankees (4-2)                                    Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave      Player    ...

 The Palms bullpen walked a razors edge after Manny Parra departed, but they held the Yankees at 1 run. The Palms were finally able to go in front in the top of the 12th when Pat Grant hit a solo home run. Unfortunately, the Yankees did them even better, loading the bases against Brian Matusz, though he manages to work the Bombers down to one remaining out. Thairo Estrada was ready, however, hitting a walk off grand slam, to send home fans out happy.   New York Yankees 5, Miami Palms 2  Saturday, April 27, 2019      Miami Palms (10-17)                                      New York Yankees (3-2)                                    Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave      Player ...

 The Miami Palms remain on pace to lose 100 games or more, and it is starting to look as though this is what the team is. There are multiple weak spots in the rotation, with Manny Parra and Blake Johnston the only two to have put up consistent starts, and while the offense is coming around, batters like Jaspero Gonzalez are still foundering. The most problematic might be the shallow bullpen. While Brian Matusz came through with an uneventful save against the Yankees yesterday, his ERA still lingers in the 7's. Wandy Peralta and Mike Morin, two of the most reliable returnees, have been underutilized, contending with some ailments. Braden Shipley has been appalling, while new faces Chris Martin and Jeremy Jeffress simply haven't been as locked in as the team would hope by this stage in the season.  The Palms record now stands at 10-16, and their recent run of form is more promising than the opening homestand. With health to Morin and Peralta and better results all around, Miami ...

 The Palms had one of the best pitching outings that they will have all season, as Jarod Lantz worked 8 scoreless innings, striking out 7 and really only getting into trouble in the 8th inning, when Miami got out of a bases loaded jam. They scored twice in the 9th with a bases loaded situation of their own to put some distance between themselves and the Yankees, allowing for a comfortable Brian Matusz save.  Miami Palms 3, New York Yankees 0  Friday, April 26, 2019      Miami Palms (11-16)                                      New York Yankees (2-2)                                    Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave      Player          AB R  H BI BB SO...

 Shortly after getting chastised for their lack of offense, the Palms made their bats count on Wednesday afternoon. On what was surely the warmest day of the season so far for Miami, they collected a 1st inning inning Wellington Castillo grand slam, and then Jaspero Gonzalez finished the job, when his 2nd inning 3 run blast drove Ervin Santana out of the game. Somehow, to this point, Travis Jankowski hadn't had an extra base hit all season, and even he tripled and scored. Of course, Miami gets to build no momentum, with a day off followed by a quick trip to the Bronx over the weekend.  Miami Palms 9, Chicago White Sox 2  Wednesday, April 24, 2019      Chicago White Sox (5-1)                                  Miami Palms (9-16)                                        Player...

 Miami has consistently had a top slugging team, but after nearly a month of action in the 2019 season, it looks like they may end up with the lowest home run total they've had in at least 10 years. Surely, there is soon going to be a wave of high power that will put them merely below normal, rather than historically below average. Right now, the top two home run hitters are Yasmani Grandal and Chris Korb, who each have 4. They can certainly hit some dingers, but given the roster, nobody really thought they would be the top power hitters in the lineup. Korb finished in third in home runs for the Palms last season behind Edwin Encarnacion and Jaspero Gonzalez, but Gonzalez has scuffled severely, while Encarnacion has had more gap power this season, rather than homerun strength. More troubling is the simple lack of extra base hit juice. As a team, they are on pace for only 290 doubles, which is a full 40 less than they had last year.  With a lack of clutch hitting compiled with ...

The Palms have a problem with 3 run home runs. James McCann did the honors for the White Sox on Thursday putting the White Sox on top after a 4 run inning. Miami had been able to climb on top initially because of a 3 run 2nd, led by a 2 run Chris Korb shot. The Palms need to cut down on those three run blasts if they want to build any forward momentum.  Chicago White Sox 4, Miami Palms 3  Tuesday, April 23, 2019      Chicago White Sox (5-0)                                  Miami Palms (8-16)                                        Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave      Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave    ...

 Miami saw their good times come to an end, but despite a fully impotent offense, held to only three hits by Manny Banuelos, they also got a competent pitching performance. The only blemish was a three run home run from Yoan Moncada in the third inning, one that the Palms couldn't recuperate from. Miami allowed no more runs than that, which, while problematic, indicates that the pitching staff might be coming around. They will try again against the White Sox with Erick Fedde on the mound tomorrow.  Chicago White Sox 3, Miami Palms 0  Monday, April 22, 2019      Chicago White Sox (4-0)                                  Miami Palms (8-15)                                        Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB  ...