Lakeland Tigers Win in 9th

Three-run homer continues amazing run for winningest team in baseball.

By DAVID YATES
Ledger Correspondent

DAYTONA -- The superlative adjectives just keep piling up for the Lakeland Tigers.

Lakeland outfielder Garth McKinney had his third game-winning hit of the week, a dramatic three-run shot in the ninth, as the L-Tigers pulled out a Florida State League thriller with Daytona, 3-1, on Saturday night.

Manager Mike Rojas' amazing Tigers improved to 27-8 by winning for the 14th time in their last 16 games, this time on a gutsy move by the first-year skipper.

McKinney came up with no outs and runners on first and second, and everyone in the Jackie Robinson Ballpark crowd of 3,301, let alone the players on both benches, expected the 23year-old Tennessee outfielder to lay down a sacrifice bunt.

But Rojas changed the sign from bunt to swing away after a pitching mound conference Daytona manager Richie Zisk had with his infield.

"I just had a gut feeling, what can I say?" said Rojas, who has been right in such intuitive moments repeatedly in the first half of the season.

"I was surprised by the sign Rojas gave me also and even more surprised when I saw a fastball coming down the middle of the plate," said McKinney, whose last game-winning homer came on his birthday in St. Lucie on May 7.

Saturday's battle was billed as a pitching duel and more than lived up to expectations with Cubs starter Sean Marshall striking out nine in seven plus innings and Tiger ace Justin Verlander striking out 12 over eight innings.

Marshall lowered his ERA to 1.85, but McKinney's first-pitch, no doubt about it blast over the wall in left center made Verlander a winner for the fifth time in six decisions. Detroit's first pick in the 2004 draft also lowered his FSL-leading ERA to 1.43.

The four close games, all decided in the winning team's last at-bat, drew 11, 564 fans to the oldest stadium in the Florida State League.

Tiger pitchers struck out 38 Cubs and walked only six, although all four games could have still gone either way.

After their 7-1 road trip, he Tigers will now return to Joker Marchant Stadium for four games with the Vero Beach Dodgers beginning today at 1.

Thanks to Lakeland's three wins against the Cubs, Vero now leads the East Division with a 2016 record.