Huge Game Tonight versus Blue Jays

Game Time: 7:00pm      Gates Open: 4:30pm

Tonight's Lineup
TBA

Tonight's starting pitcher is Andrew Cruse.

Dollar Dogs
Got a buck? Get a hot dog.

Happy Hour
Drop by Frenchy's Tiki Pavilion tonight and take advantage of some great drink specials. Ladies drink free from 5:00pm-6:00pm.

Road Trip Recap
The Threshers made a quick trip over the bridge to Tampa on Wednesday, August 22 and lost to the Yankees 8-4. Brad Harman, Jeremy Slayden, Matt Thayer, and PJ Antoniato each had two hits. Scott Mathieson made a rehab start and struck out two in two innings.

The Threshers went down the street to Dunedin and swept a doubleheader on Thursday, August 23. Brad Harman had three hits and five RBIs to lead the Threshers to a 12-7 win in Game One. Freddy Garcia made a rehab start and gave up just two hits in three innings. Game Two was much closer, with the Threshers winning by a score of 3-2. Brad Harman was two for two, while Jason Donald had two RBIs. John Suomi provided the rest of the offense with a solo home run (2).

The Threshers traveled back to Dunedin on Friday, August 24 and were beat 6-5 despite two home runs from Brian Burgamy (5) and a blast from Jason Donald (8). Lou Marson and Jake Blalock each also had two hits on the night.

Rain was an issue on the Threshers trip to Ft. Myers. The Threshers ended up playing one game on Sunday and two on Monday. The Threshers lost on Sunday, August 26 by a score of 3-1 despite Zac Stott's four strikeouts in five innings and Jeremy Slayden's RBI double.

The Threshers swept the Miracle in a doubleheader on Monday, August 27. Matt Thayer and Brian Burgamy provided the offense to lead the Threshers to a 9-2 win. Thayer was three for four with two runs scored while Burgamy was two for four and hit his sixth home run of the year. He also had three RBIs in the game. Andrew Carpenter picked up his record-breaking 16th win in Game Two by throwing a seven-inning perfect game. He struck out seven. Brad Harman provided all the offense with an RBI double and his 12th HR of the year.

Quench your Thirst
Tomorrow is our last Thirsty Thursday of 2007. Thirsty Thursday, where all drinks are 2 for 1.

Silver Sharks Club Meets Tomorrow
Tomorrow is the last Silver Sharks Night of the 2007 season. Seniors 55 and over receive 2 for 1 Senior Field Box tickets on Thursdays. That's 2 tickets for just $4.


Special Thursday Giveaway
Bright House Networks is sponsoring the Threshers replica jersey giveaway on Thursday, August 30. The first 1,500 fans through the gates will get this great item!


Bonus Baseball
Due to heavy rains in our region throughout the month of July and August, we are playing a doubleheader here against the Lakeland Flying Tigers on Friday, August 31 and Saturday, September 1. They are seven-inning games. Game 1 on both nights will now start at 5:00pm with Game 2 scheduled to start approximately 30 minutes after the completion of Game 1.

Playoff Picture
The Threshers are still chasing that elusive playoff berth and have it in sight.

Current Standings
The Dunedin Blue Jays (41-24) stand atop the West Division. The Threshers (38-25) are two games back, while the Tampa Yankees (38-26) are just a half game behind the Threshers.

Remaining Schedule (number of games left in parentheses)
Clearwater (7) - The Threshers face Dunedin on Wednesday and Thursday. Lakeland comes in on Friday for five games in three days to close the regular season.

Dunedin (5) - See above. They close with three home games against Ft. Myers.

Tampa (6) - They travel to Lakeland on Wednesday and Thursday. They close their season with four games in three days at Sarasota.

Playoff Schedule
The first round of the playoffs will pit the winner of the first half (Sarasota) with the winner of the second half. The second half winner will host Game One which is scheduled for Tuesday, September 4. Sarasota will host Game Two on Wednesday, September 5 and Game Three on Thursday, September 6 (if necessary).

Bonus Baseball Tonight

Game Time: 5:00pm (Game 1)      Gates Open: 4:30pm

Tonight's Lineup
Game 2 - Burgamy, CF; Harman, 2B; Thayer, LF; Slayden, RF; Blalock, DH; Donald, SS, Suomi, C; Harris, 1B; Made, 3B

Villarreal is the starting pitcher

Dollar Dogs
Got a buck? Get a hot dog.

Happy Hour
Drop by Frenchy's Tiki Pavilion tonight and take advantage of some great drink specials. Ladies drink free from 5:00pm-6:00pm.

Road Trip Recap
The Threshers and Flying Tigers finally were able to get a game in at Lakeland and it just happened to be a doubleheader.

Zac Stott threw five shutout innings on the way to a 5-0 Threshers victory in Game 1. Six Threshers batters had two hits in the game, and Clay Harris hit his ninth home run of the season.

J.J. Trujillo pitched three innings in relief and was credited with the victory. Jake Blalock had two hits in Game 1, but was the lone Threshers batter who didn't get a hit in Game 2. John Suomi (1) and John Urick (10) both had sixth inning home runs en route to the 6-2 win.

Quench your Thirst
Tomorrow is a Thirsty Thursday where all drinks are 2 for 1.

Silver Sharks Club Meets Tomorrow
Tomorrow is a Silver Sharks Night. Seniors 55 and over receive 2 for 1 Senior Field Box tickets on Thursdays. That's 2 tickets for just $4.

Bonus Baseball
Due to heavy rains in our region throughout the month, we are playing a doubleheader here against the Flying Tigers on Wednesday, August 15 and Friday, August 31. The third game is TBD. They are seven-inning games. Game 1 on August 15 and August 31 will now start at 5:00pm with Game 2 scheduled to start approximately 30 minutes after the completion of Game 1.

Let the Dogs Out

Game Time: 6:30pm      Gates Open: 5:00pm

Tonight's Lineup
Burgamy, CF; Harman, 2B; Thayer, LF; Slayden, RF; Marson, C; Blalock, DH; Harris, 1B; Made, 3B; Antoniato, SS

Tonight's starting pitcher is Carpenter. He is 2-0 against the Yankees this season.

Woof Woof
Bark at the Ballpark returns to Bright House Networks Field.

Vendor Tables
Be sure to stop by the Pedigree table located by the West Gate where they will be giving away Doggie Ice Cream Sandwiches. Several other companies like PetSmart and Animal Planet will also be participating in the evening’s activities. Plus there will be a Pet Adoption table.

Contests
Beyond Pampered is sponsoring a Dog/Owner look-a-like Contest (sign-up from 5:00-7:00 pm). Also, take part in the Ruffable Raffle throughout the evening. Tickets will be sold up until the sixth inning.

Demo
At 5:30pm there will be a dog frisbee demonstration by Central Florida Dog and Disc Club.

Post-Game Treat
Dogs run the bases

Dog Free Zones
Section(s) 114, 115, and 116 are set aside for guests who may not enjoy the company of your favorite furry friend.

Plug in your Toaster
Sara Lee Bread Giveaways continue tonight. Be sure to get your Sara Lee coupon and free loaf on your way out of the ballpark. Sara Lee Bread Giveaways wrap up on August 11.

Road Trip Recap
Clearwater dropped both games of a doubleheader in Tampa on Friday, August 3. Brian Burgamy, Jeremy Slayden, and Jason Donald all had two hits in Game 1 and Brad Harman hit his ninth home run of the year. Slayden and Matt Thayer both had two hits in Game 2 and Zac Stott gave up only one earned run but was still tagged for the loss.

Bonus Baseball
Due to heavy rains in our region throughout the month, we are playing a doubleheader here against the Flying Tigers on Wednesday, August 15 and Friday, August 31. The third game is TBD. They are seven-inning games. Game 1 on August 15 and August 31 will now start at 5:00pm with Game 2 scheduled to start approximately 30 minutes after the completion of Game 1.

Golson Honored
Former Thresher Greg Golson was named Phillies Minor League Player of the Week for July 23-29. His statistics for the week combine his last two games with Clearwater as well as his first four at Reading.

Stott named Phillies Pitcher of the Month

The awards keep rolling in for Threshers players this year. Pitcher Zac Stott has just been named Phillies Pitcher of the Month for May. You might recall that Patrick Overholt was honored with the same award for the month of April.

Look for a story on the Official Site soon.

Updated 5:00pm: The Player of the Month for May was Jason Donald (Lakewood). He was also honored today with a promotion to our roster. I'll have more information on Jason Donald and other recent roster moves over the next couple of days.

Zac Stott named Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Week

Zac Stott was just named the Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Week for May 21-27. He joins Daniel Brauer and Patrick Overholt as current Threshers who have been honored with that award this season.

Check the Official Site later for a full release.

Day Game Today....

Good news to start the day. I walked out my house and it was bright and sunny. Much of the staff arrived before 9am today in order to pull the tarp off the field so the grounds crew can get it prepared for today's doubleheader against the Tampa Yankees. No FSL Western Division teams got their games in yesterday.

Another positive is that even with the doubleheader today, we still are starting everything at our previously scheduled times. Gates still open at 12:30pm and the first game starts at 1:30pm. Remember, both games will be seven innings long.

$1 tickets, $1 hot dogs, and $1 sodas for Seniors (55+) and FREE PARKING for each car today.

Updated at 10:20am: Patrick Overholt is scheduled to start Game 1 for the Threshers, with Zac Stott scheduled to start Game 2 for the Threshers.

Updated at 10:35am: Today's starting lineups have been posted.

The Yankees lineup for Game 1 is:

1. # 6 Reegie Corona SS
2. # 21 Tim Battle CF
3. # 56 Jose Tabata RF
4. # 46 Juan Miranda 1B
5. # 26 Marcos Vechionacci 3B
6. # 24 Colin Curtis LF
7. # 2 Kevin Russo 2B
8. # 25 Jared Greenwood C
9. # 12 James Cooper DH

The starting pitcher for Game 1 for Tampa is Guillermo Villalona. Apparently MiLB and the official Yankees roster has different names for Villalona.

The Threshers lineup for Game 1 is:

1. # 3 Victor Hall DH
2. # 2 Greg Golson CF
3. # 12 Brad Harman 2B
4. # 21 Jeremy Slayden LF
5. # 25 Clay Harris 3B
6. # 9 John Urick 1B
7. # 6 Lou Marson C
8. # 23 Matt Thayer RF
9. # 13 Fidel Hernandez SS

As stated earlier, Patrick Overholt is the scheduled starter for Game 1 for the Threshers.

Updated at 3:35pm - Game 1 is in the books. Yankees win it 4-1.

Updated at 5:45pm - Game 2 is in the books. Threshers win 1-0.

Zac Stott to join Threshers

It turns out that the Ryan Franklin trade with the Reds is going to have an effect on the Threshers roster. Right-handed reliever Zac Stott is the "player to be named later" who completes the trade. Stott was pitching for the Sarasota Reds and is going to be assigned to the Clearwater Threshers shortly.

He is 23 years old, and stands 6'5" and weighs 200 lbs.

Stott had a 1-2 record with a 2.53 ERA and one save in 17 appearances with Sarasota. He allowed 23 hits and struck out 22 batters in his 32 innings of work. He started the 2006 season with the Dayton Dragons.