MiLB

Lakeland 13, at Tampa 6

Sunday, April 5, 2026 · Final · Florida State League (A-Adv)

Lakeland Flying Tigers at Tampa Tarpons

LAKELAND, Fla. (Interstat) — The Lakeland Flying Tigers will look to complete a season-opening series sweep when they visit the Tampa Tarpons in the finale of a three-game set Sunday afternoon at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

First pitch is scheduled for [TIME] under [WEATHER CONDITIONS, e.g., sunny skies]. The Flying Tigers (1-0) have dominated the early series, outscoring the Tarpons (0-1) 25-11 across the first two games, including a 13-4 victory on Saturday.

A key performer for Lakeland has been pitcher Ben Jacobs. In Friday’s 12-7 win, Jacobs delivered four strong innings of relief, allowing two hits and one earned run while striking out seven. His outing stabilized the game for the Flying Tigers.

Tampa will hope for a rebound from reliever Josh Tiedemann, who was a bright spot in the series opener. Despite the team’s loss, Tiedemann tossed two perfect innings with four strikeouts.

The series has showcased Lakeland’s potent offense. In the opener, first baseman Beau Ankeney went 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Tampa’s JoJo Jackson provided a spark with a 2-for-5, three-RBI performance in the same contest.

Statistical models favor the visiting Flying Tigers to continue their early success. Interstat’s game simulator projects an 8-6 Lakeland victory, while its ELO rating system gives the Flying Tigers a 59.5% probability to win.

Following Sunday’s contest, Lakeland will return home to begin a six-game series against the Daytona Tortugas on Tuesday. Tampa will hit the road for a six-game series against the Clearwater Threshers, also starting Tuesday.