Miami Palms Blog

 It was through no fault of Nick Markakis that the Palms were unable to overcome Cleveland. Markakis hit two home runs and had 4 hits for the Palms, but Cleveland collected 2 homers in the 3rd inning alone, adding a third homer in the 4th. Markakis' 2nd homer came in the top of the 9th, giving a false sense of hope, as the next batter struck out to finish the game.   Cleveland Indians 6, Miami Palms 5  Thursday, June 6, 2019      Miami Palms (27-35)                                      Cleveland Indians (2-1)                                   Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave      Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Av...

 The Palms took an early lead on an RBI single from Yasmani Grandal, but the Indians put together one of the biggest innings the Palms have confronted in a while. Cleveland scored 5 times, capped by a three run Jason Kipnis blast. Pat Grant broke Miami's homerless streak with a solo shot in the 6th, but Cleveland put things out of reach with a couple more runs in the 8th. It was another story of Miami being incapable of executing with runners in scoring position, but the 5 run deficit would have been difficult to overcome even with better execution.  Cleveland Indians 7, Miami Palms 2  Wednesday, June 5, 2019      Miami Palms (27-34)                                      Cleveland Indians (1-1)                                   Player          AB R...

 Chris Martin's first outing as the new closer for the Palms started with a lead off walk. Fortunately, Martin settled in and retired the next three batters in order, eliciting a sigh of relief from his teammates. Miami connected against Shane Bieber and his bullpen, scoring 14 hits, but in typical fashion, managing only to bring 4 across the plate. Yairo Munoz had a two run single in the 2nd, which was the biggest hit of the evening.   Miami Palms 4, Cleveland Indians 2  Tuesday, June 4, 2019      Miami Palms (27-33)                                      Cleveland Indians (0-1)                                   Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave      Player        ...

 Erick Fedde looked like the better pitcher, striking out 6 and scattered 6 hits through 7 innings, but for a rough 6th inning. Jonathan Villar led off with a solo home run, and a few batters later, DJ Stewart hit a two run homer. The Palms were able to scratch one run across the plate, but they also hit into three double plays, and were generally incapable of hitting when they had runners on base, or with 0 or 1 outs. After a strong middle of May, the Palms need to turn things around pretty quickly in June if they want this season to be successful.  Baltimore Orioles 3, Miami Palms 1  Sunday, June 2, 2019      Baltimore Orioles (5-3)                                  Miami Palms (26-33)                                       Player          AB R  ...

  After two months have elapsed, the Palms have decided to tinker with their lineup in an effort to get more run production, which has been severely lacking so far in 2019. After a white hot start, Frank Sohn has cratered, and he has been moved much further down in the order, while Yairo Munoz has moved up after a strong May. There isn’t much power production, but Edwin Encarnacion and Chris Korb have added a little bit, and now sit in the three and 4 spots, right after Munoz and Yasmani Grandal, who has been Miami’s best hitter today. Already the Palms scored 4 runs in their first game with a modified lineup, and they hope to be even more successful in future series.

  Now two months into the season, it seems as though Brian Matusz is not going to settle back into his role at the back of the bullpen. After a catastrophic appearance against the Orioles on Saturday afternoon, his ERA climbed to 8.35 on the year. He’s only blown 4 saves on the year, but relative to his save total, that is an unacceptable total. The question then becomes one of who will be the closer going forward. The process of elimination whittles it down to two likely names. While Braden Shipley has been good lately, his erratic past is too fresh in the minds of the coaching staff. Mike Morin is battling his own issues right now, and Jeremy Jeffress hasn’t been as dominant as hoped when he signed. Wandy Peralta has been very good, but as a lefty, he may be better used in other spots. That leaves new reliever Chris Martin and long time reliever Cody Allen as options. Allen has experience in the closer role in his time with Cleveland and Los Angeles, and is having one of his bett...

 In a game that might go down as one of the most devastating of the season, Miami dropped the third game of a 4 game set with the Orioles, despite having a 3 run lead in the 9th. It was 1-1 heading into the 8th, and Frank Sohn hit a bases loaded double to put two runs across the plate, and help him shake out of the slump he battled throughout May. After Miami scored one more, the Orioles were able to come back against a pitcher that has been slumping all season in Brian Matusz. After scoring one on a single, the Orioles had the bases loaded for Trey Mancini, who launched a grand slam over the left field fence, a blow from which Miami could not rebound. The Palms will have a lot of introspection with one more game in the series, and an off day on Monday.  Baltimore Orioles 6, Miami Palms 4  Saturday, June 1, 2019      Baltimore Orioles (4-3)                                  ...

 The Palms finally snapped their losing streak in dramatic fashion. Nick Markakis drove in Miami's first two runs with a bases loaded double in the 2nd inning, but the Orioles clawed a couple back in the 6th, thanks to a bases loaded walk and a timely single. In the bottom of the 10th, it was Markakis again, up to bat with one on and one out, and he took a Mychal Givens pitch over the right field fence, giving Miami the walk off victory. Markakis had 3 of Miami's 5 hits, and all were for extra bases.  Miami Palms 4, Baltimore Orioles 2  Friday, May 31, 2019      Baltimore Orioles (3-3)                                  Miami Palms (26-31)                                       Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB  ...

 The Palms slide has reached 6 games, as the curious reliance on starting pitching and absolute dearth of offense continue to plague Miami. The Palms and O's were locked at 1 until the 8th inning, when Jarod Lantz was once again left on the hill one more inning, and this time, Baltimore proceeded to get hits or walks from the first 5 batters of the inning, on their way to a 4 run frame. Miami was able to load the bases more than once, and left them full on every occasion. It will certainly feel like a game that the Palms felt like they let slip away.  Baltimore Orioles 5, Miami Palms 1  Thursday, May 30, 2019      Baltimore Orioles (2-2)                                  Miami Palms (25-31)                                       Player          AB R...

 Miami is going to be frustrated to be unable to hit home runs in two out of their three games in Colorado, especially when they were able to fill the bases and couldn't put runs across the plate. In the top of the 8th, the Palms had the bases loaded with no outs, and were unable to score, but the Rockies succeeded when loading them up in the bottom of the frame. Brendan Rodgers had a 2 run single to put Colorado in front and victorious.  Colorado Rockies 4, Miami Palms 2  Wednesday, May 29, 2019      Miami Palms (25-30)                                      Colorado Rockies (3-0)                                    Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave      Player      ...

It was a chilly day in Denver, and Miami's bats went cold as well, dropping their 4th in a row after reaching .500. The Palms had 6 hits to Colorado's 5, but David Dahl hit his third home run of the series, and that happened to be a two run homer, enough to secure victory for the home town Rockies.    Colorado Rockies 2, Miami Palms 1  Tuesday, May 28, 2019      Miami Palms (25-29)                                      Colorado Rockies (2-0)                                    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 will likely have at least one pitcher reach 200 innings again this season, which is a remarkable counter to the running philosophy of most teams these days. Miami is perfectly content with rubber armed starters, even if they don’t always strike out all of their opponents. What is more important is that they get deep into games. “I’ve always thought innings pitched was the most important stat for a starter. It shows how effective you have been, and that you just get outs.” Said the pitching coach when asked about it. That Manny Parra is again looking for a Cy Young helps, but another thing it does is keep the bullpen fresh. “That’s where the live arms are, and it’s hard on elbows to throw that hard all the time. We only want them out there in spurts so they stay healthy.” It's worked well so far for Miami. Early on, their bullpen was shelled, and it cost the team games, but the ability to harness their pitching skills has led to it becoming a more potent unit. The pen has re...