Link Report for Sunday 4/12 - Kodi is More Than Okey-Dokey

[Mass Haas]

http://www.brewerfan.net/images/store/dailylinkreport.jpg

[Mass Haas]

Sunday's Daily Menu:

 

All times are Central

 

Colorado Springs: RHP Drew Gagnon at home vs. Nashville (Athletics), 2:05 PM pre-game, 2:35 gametime

 

Free Live Audio Link

 

We welcome Dan Karcher, who is the longtime play-by-play voice of the Sky Sox; follow him on Twitter @SkySoxKarch

 

MiLB.TV -- for subscribers; all Colorado Springs games, home and away, will be available to watch via MiLB.TV's $49.99 season-long package ($12.99 to pay for a single month). The audio feed is from the home team. The video of each game is archived online, which is a nice feature. All MiLB.TV details available at the link.

 

NOTE: Notice that on MiLB.TV's page, you can click on "Filter", then "Milwaukee Brewers", and you'll see just the Crew's organizational TV lineup.

 

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Biloxi: RHP Jorge Lopez at Pensacola (Reds), 3:45 PM pre-game, 4:00 gametime

 

Free Live Audio Link

 

We also welcome Chris Harris as the very first play-by-play voice of the Shuckers! Follow Chris on Twitter @CHarris731. We'll be looking off to his very promising "Shuck Dynasty" blog. All games, home and away, are scheduled to be radio broadcast.

 

MiLB.TV - Seven of the ten Southern League teams telecast their home games, and Biloxi staff indicates it is hopeful it will be eight when the new stadium opens.

 

NOTE: This opening series in Pensacola will be broadcast on MiLB.TV (with the Blue Wahoos audio feed).

 

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Brevard County: RHP Javier Salas at home vs. Daytona (Reds), 3:35 PM pre-game, 4:05 gametime

 

Free Live Audio Link

 

Dave Walkovic returns as the play-by-play voice of the 'Tees; follow the Brevard broadcast booth staff on Twitter @BCManateesRadio, as all games are scheduled to be broadcast in 2015.

 

No Florida State League games are available via MiLB.TV.

 

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Wisconsin: LHP Kodi Medeiros at home vs. Peoria (Cardinals), 3:45 PM pre-game, 4:05 gametime; RHP David Burkhalter will appear as part of the tandem

 

Free Live Audio Link - WNAM

 

Chris Mehring is back to do his customary fantastic work as the Voice of the Rattlers. Follow him on Twitter @CMehring; we'll link to Chris' infamous blog often -- Rattler Radio.

 

NOTE: Forty-two (!) of the Rattlers' 70 home games will be broadcast on TV this season. Time Warner Cable SportsChannel (9) and WACY-TV My NEW32 (34) will split duties. We'll let you know when and who, and remember to refer to the Rattlers' full TV schedule so you can coordinate your DVR activity.

 

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So, for the $49.95 season-long package, fans in Brewer Nation can watch all Sky Sox games, most Shuckers games, and all Timber Rattlers home games and some road games.

[Mass Haas]

NOTE: Forty-two (!) of the Rattlers' 70 home games will be broadcast on TV this season. Time Warner Cable SportsChannel (9) and WACY-TV My NEW32 (34) will split duties. We'll let you know when and who, and remember to refer to the Rattlers' full TV schedule so you can coordinate your DVR activity.

 

DVR ALERT!

 

Click that link above and you'll see that five Wisconsin games are on local TV this week, Monday through Friday, four night games on My NEW32 and the Tuesday matinee on TWC. Plan accordingly.

[Mass Haas]

Follow Sunday's action as it happens with box score / game log links:

 

Colorado Springs

 

Biloxi

 

Brevard County

 

Wisconsin

 

MiLB.com feature -- organizational scoreboard, Brewers

[Mass Haas]

Look for these just prior to the respective game times --

 

Colorado Springs Media Notes - It's a unique link each day, but look for it under the "Multimedia" banner on the Sky Sox' site.

 

Biloxi Media Notes - Linked on the Shuck Dynasty blog

 

Brevard County Media Notes - It's a unique link each day, but look for it under the "Multimedia" banner on the Manatees' site.

 

Wisconsin Media Notes - Linked on the Rattler Radio blog

 

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STANDINGS:

 

AAA - Pacific Coast League American Northern Division

 

AA - Southern League South Division

 

High-A - Florida State League North Division

 

A - Midwest League Western Division

 

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Sortable individual stat pages:

 

Colorado Springs

 

Biloxi

 

Brevard County

 

Wisconsin

 

***

 

Weather.com:

 

Colorado Springs, CO

 

Pensacola, FL

 

Viera, FL

 

Grand Chute, WI

[Mass Haas]

VIDEO: Young Timber Rattlers Team Set for Home Opener

[WV Brew]

Viera weather:

 

"Wind gusts of 45 to 55 mph will be possible with this storm."

 

Let's see Coulter hit one out into that wind. Supposed to be over by 5 so they still may get this one in.

[Mass Haas]

Posted from Saturday's action --

 

VIDEO: Colorado Springs' Luis Sardinas hits an RBI single as the Sky Sox fall, 5-3 to Nashville

 

***

 

VIDEO: Biloxi's Yadiel Rivera smacks an RBI triple as the Shuckers top Pensacola, 7-2.

 

A 2014 Brewer served up that triple --

 

Biloxi Top of the 8th

 

Pitching Change: Kevin Shackelford replaces Carlos Gonzalez, batting 9th.

Taylor Green grounds out, pitcher Kevin Shackelford to first baseman Marquez Smith.

Tyrone Taylor singles on a ground ball to center fielder Juan Silva.

Yadiel Rivera triples (1) on a line drive to center fielder Juan Silva. Tyrone Taylor scores.

Josh Fellhauer grounds out, shortstop Zach Vincej to first baseman Marquez Smith. Yadiel Rivera scores.

Parker Berberet grounds out, shortstop Zach Vincej to first baseman Marquez Smith.

[Mass Haas]

Heading to the 7th and folks may wish to listen in to the Rattlers (wink, wink...) --

 

Free Live Audio Link - WNAM

[packfan79]

Amazing debut for young Kodi Medeiros 6 ip, 0 hits, 1 walk and 7ks. 47 of 63 pitches were strikes.

[WV Brew]

Daytona 2, Manatees 0

 

Viera, Fla. - The Daytona Tortugas (2-1) continued its dominant pitching with a 2-0 win over the Brevard County Manatees (1-2) at Space Coast Stadium on Sunday.

 

Identical to their win on Thursday, the Tortugas used a first inning home run to get on the board. Robert Ramirez, who had changed positions in the batting order and field after a late scratch to Alex Blandino, uncorked a one-out home run to right field to give Daytona all the offense they would need.

 

The 'Tugas would be gifted its other run in the fourth inning, which started when Angel Ortega overthrew first base and allowed Phillip Ervin to reach. Ervin then stole second and advanced to third when Cameron Garfield's throw went into centerfield. He would come home on a sacrifice fly by Chad Wallach to provide the final result.

 

The Manatees had their opportunities early on to get on the board, but failed to capitalize. Taylor Brennan walked to start the second inning and moved to second on Victor Roache's single to left. Garrett Cooper then struck out. Cameron Garfield and Angel Ortega both flew out to left, and the threat was extinguished.

 

In the third, Omar Garcia led off with a walk. With one out, he stole second and third with Chris McFarland at the plate, who would walk as well. With two speedsters on base and Clint Coulter at the plate, the 'Tees attempted a double steal. Carlton Daal cut off Cam Maron's throw to second, and Garcia was tagged out at the plate. Shortly after, Coulter fouled out to third to end the inning. Over the next six innings, Brevard County would manage just three base runners, none of whom advanced past first.

 

Four different Daytona pitchers caused a lot of the woes at the plate. Nick Howard, the Reds' first round pick in the 2014 draft, threw five innings of two-hit shutout ball and struck out three. Barrett Astin, a former Brewers farmhand, followed with two perfect innings. El-Hajj Muhammad pitched a clean eighth inning and Evan Mitchell earned his second save of the series with a perfect ninth frame.

 

Javi Salas, in his first Manatees start, threw five innings, and gave up two runs (one earned) on two hits. He walked three and struck out four.

 

The Manatees begin a four-game series on Monday against the FSL South Division leading St. Lucie Mets. First pitch at Space Coast Stadium is at 6:35 p.m. RHP Jorge Ortega (0-0, 0.00) makes his season debut against RHP Rob Whalen (0-0, 0.00).

 

Box Score

 

Game Log

 

'Tees bats were silent in this one. The Daytona shortstop was scratched at the start so they had 2 players out of position. 2 of the 3 'Tees hits were ground balls off the glove of one of the players out of position. The other was a Texas League bloop by Brennan. Nick Howard, who was the Reds' first pick last year out of UVa, started the game. Barrett Astin pitched two perfect innings against the 'Tees to add insult to injury. Salas and Clint Terry pitched well for the 'Tees.

 

By the way, Walkovic admits to having jinxed the T-Rats by mentioning the situation in that game.

[Mass Haas]

Look for these just prior to the respective game times --

 

Biloxi Media Notes - Linked on the Shuck Dynasty blog

 

Chris Harris is now including audio highlights from the prior day's game on this same link. Look for it at these links.

 

Audio Highlights from Friday's 7-1 rain-shortened victory

 

Audio highlights from Saturday's 7-2 win

[fondybrewfan]

So far through 4 games my thoughts

 

- Arcia is a stud

- Medeiros with a spectacular start

- Biloxi is going to win a lot of games

- Wisconsin is going to lose a lot of games; the team is just so young

- Harrison struggling with hits thus far, but really knows how to take a walk

- Is time running out on Denson? man has he struggled to make contact

- Colorado Springs is an entirely boring team

[Mass Haas]

[sheetskout]

Anyone hear anything on Medeiros' stuff during this start?

[yfinn6]

Meideros has the easiest mid-90s. There wasn't a gun (from what I saw) in Appleton, but the ball was absolutely exploding out of his hand. From where I was sitting, it was impressive. He's smaller than I thought, but it looks like he can fill in a bit and his size won't hamper him. For such easy mechanics, it was surprising to see the ball come to the hitter so fast. He was really, really good today - a LOT of strikes.

 

Harrison is impressive as he's already a big kid, and he took a bunch of pitches. It looked - again, to an amateur - like he's got a good idea of the strike zone. After a while I wasn't paying much attention, so I didn't see him make a play in the OF. I think I read he's about 220 now, and he looks like he could pack on another 20 and still be very fit - just a really good frame on that kid.

 

Gatewood is another tall kid, but looks real lanky to me. He took a number of close pitches, so maybe he's trying to work counts more. He made an error at SS, but that doesn't really matter to me; it's probably a play he makes 8/10 times.

 

It's hard to see hitters and make a judgement as I'm just an amateur enthusiast; but watching Meideros throw, you couldn't help but be a bit giddy. He looked that good.

[nodakfan17]

Amazing debut for young Kodi Medeiros 6 ip, 0 hits, 1 walk and 7ks. 47 of 63 pitches were strikes.

I watched him in person tonight in Appleton. His performance was by far the most encouraging thing to come out of the 11-1 loss. I wish Erickson would have left him in to try to finish the game, but Wisconsin is committed to their pitching tandems. I was able to obtain Medeiros' autograph after the game as part of the team's Sunday autograph sessions. What an extremely polite young man - his line was by far the longest, but he stayed to accommodate everyone and even thanked me for coming out to the ballpark.

[bork]

Colorado Springs is giving me flashbacks to High Desert. Any pitcher who survives there should be pretty good.

[dacbrewers]

Watched a couple of sky sox games...the wind and elevation are ridiculous. Pitchers are going to need to pitch well on the road games to have a chance this year. Brewers screwed up big time by not locking in a AAA affiliate earlier.

[TheCrew07]

Chiefs spoil a gem by Medeiros and a record crowd

Rattlers starter tosses sox no-hit innings but Peoria wins 11-1

By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

 

http://www.milb.com/assets/images/0/0/0/117922000/cuts/Kodi_ArticlePhoto_frm2teb5_nkn1uwk9.jpg

Kodi Medeiros pitched six no-hit innings and struck out seven in a no decision on Sunday against the Peoria Chiefs at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. (Wisconsin Timber Rattlers/Ann Mollica)

 

GRAND CHUTE, WI - Kodi Medeiros showed a record crowd at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium why the Milwaukee Brewers selected him with the twelfth pick in the 2014 MLB Entry draft. The young left-hander out of Hawaii tossed six no-hit innings and struck out seven Peoria Chiefs hitters before leaving with a 1-0 lead. But, the Chiefs exploded for seven runs in the eighth and four more in the ninth for an 11-1 victory.

 

Medeiros used 63 pitches (47 strikes) to work his six innings and no Peoria runner went past first base. The only Chief batters to reach were Collin Radack on an error in the second and Danny Diekroger on a walk in the fourth. Medeiros matched his career high for strikeouts in a game as a professional with seven in his performance on Sunday.

 

Wisconsin (0-4) grabbed the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. Jose Pena walked and was sacrificed to second base by Luis Aviles. Monte Harrison was next and he doubled to send Pena home for a 1-0 lead. Harrison was 1-for-3 with a pair of walks to go with his RBI double.

 

The Rattlers had many chances to put more runs on the board. The would leave the bases loaded in the third and sixth innings without scoring. Wisconsin went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and stranded a total of eleven in the game.

 

That didn't look like it would matter as David Burkhalter entered the game in the top of the seventh and worked around a two out walk to pitch a scoreless, hitless inning to take the no-hit bid into the eighth.

 

Peoria (2-2) crushed the hopes of the largest Opening Day crowd in the history of Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium in the top of the eighth inning.

 

Radack started the inning with a triple against Burkhalter. Steve Bean reached on an infield single to put runners on the corners. Blake Drake followed with a double to drive in Radack with the tying run. Darren Seferina was next and he singled to drive in Bean with the go-ahead run and put runners on the corners with no out.

 

Seferina and Drake pulled of a double steal that saw Drake score and Seferina taking third on an errant throw home. Magnierus Sierra completed the streak of five straight Peoria hits with an RBI triple to make it 5-1 Peoria. Oscar Mercado hit a sacrifice fly to send Sierra home with the sixth run of the inning on the first out of the frame.

 

Harvey Martin relieved Burkhalter after a two out single by Nick Thompson. Martin allowed an RBI double to Alex DeLeon and an RBI single to Radack before getting the final out of the frame. But, the damage had been done. Peoria scored seven runs on eight hits as they sent eleven men to the plate in the eighth inning.

 

Peoria tacked on four more runs in the top of the ninth inning. The first three runs came against Martin as Drake scored on a wild pitch and Mercado hit a two-run homer to left. DeLeon knocked in the final run of the game with an RBI single off Tyler Linehan.

 

The new franchise attendance mark of 5,954 that was set on Sunday eclipsed the old record of 5,487. The previous record was set on April 9, 2009 in Wisconsin's first ever game as an affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers.

 

Dustin DeMuth led the Timber Rattlers offense with three of the team's six hits.

 

Game two of the series is set for Monday night. Lefty Luis Ortega makes his Timber Rattlers debut as the starting pitcher. Peoria counters with Matt Pearce as their starter. Game time is 6:35pm.

 

Monday is a Qdoba Q*Monday. Purchase a lunch entrée at any Qdoba location in Appleton, Neenah, or Oshkosh on Monday and receive a ticket to any Monday home game during the 2015 season courtesy of NASH-FM 99.5 & 104.9.

 

If you can't make it to the stadium, there are several ways to catch the action.

 

MyNEW 32's Sports Showdown will televise the game starting with their pregame show at 6:30pm. The radio broadcast is on AM1280, WNAM starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:15pm. The game is also available on the internet through TuneIn Radio or MiLB.TV.

 

HOME RUN:

PEO:

Oscar Mercado (1st, 1 on in 9th inning off Harvey Martin, 1 out)

 

WP: Fernando Baez (1-1)

LP: David Burkhalter (0-1)

 

TIME: 3:15

ATTN: 5,954

 

Wisconsin Boxscore

Kodi Medeiros' debut was everything we could have hoped for and then some. I'm really curious to see him pitch in person as I was left wondering what adjustments he made to elevate his game to this level. His best rookie league performance came in a 5 inning stint on 8/11/2014 where he went 5 innings, didn't walk anyone, and struck out 7 while allowing 2 hits and an un-earned run. To jump up 2 levels after a very uneven rookie campaign and have this kind of success, well I'm actually rather speechless for once.

 

Harvey Martin is an enigma, he's one of the few guys to come through WI who's stuff is so much better than his results, but the clock is ticking.

 

Wisconsin Recap

[TheCrew07]

I wish Erickson would have left him in to try to finish the game, but Wisconsin is committed to their pitching tandems.

 

He was on a pitch of limit of 65 regardless, that he got through 6 innings on that pitch count is tremendous.

[TheCrew07]

So far through 4 games my thoughts

 

- Arcia is a stud

- Medeiros with a spectacular start

- Biloxi is going to win a lot of games

- Wisconsin is going to lose a lot of games; the team is just so young

- Harrison struggling with hits thus far, but really knows how to take a walk

- Is time running out on Denson? man has he struggled to make contact

- Colorado Springs is an entirely boring team

 

WI is going struggle until these guys get their feet on the ground, if not it's going to be a long season. It would be nice for them to make a run at the playoffs in the 2nd half.

 

Denson hasn't even played a full season yet, so no time isn't running out. Harrison was 0 for the start of the season until today as well... it only takes 1 game to get a player on track.

[Mass Haas]

Via Brad Krause and Miller Park Prospects - Timber Rattler Photo Gallery (click on photo for slideshow)

 

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VIDEOS: Via Fox11 including game highlights

 

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VIDEO: Via WeAreGreenBay.com

 

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Link below includes VIDEO: Wisconsin Timber Rattlers pitcher Kodi Medeiros talks about his outstanding performance in the Rattlers home opener Sunday at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute.

 

Medeiros is magnificent in Rattlers pitching debut

Tim Froberg, Post-Crescent Media

 

http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/8451ea2452439142b63429aaa17461bb0d851038/c=664-0-4280-2712&r=x404&c=534x401/local/-/media/Appleton/2015/04/13/B9316951367Z.1_20150413001030_000_G23AFTSN7.1-0.jpg

 

Starting pitcher Kodi Medeiros works during the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers home opener against the Peoria Chiefs at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute. (Photo: Ron Page/Post-Crescent Media)

 

GRAND CHUTE – Number one draft picks usually have the physical tools to make baseball fans utter a flattering three-letter word.

 

Wow.

 

Kodi Medeiros was worthy of that superlative Sunday afternoon with a light-outs performance in his Wisconsin Timber Rattlers pitching debut.

 

The only problem was that shortly after Medeiros departed, the ballgame went from a no-no to an "oh no."

 

Wow, did this one get out of hand.

 

The 18-year-old left-hander was magnificent in the Timber Rattlers' home opener, only to see the game blow up on the Rattlers in the late innings. The end result was a lopsided 11-1 loss to the Peoria Chiefs and a winless opening week for the 0-4 Rattlers.

 

Still, a sell-out crowd of 5,954 at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium didn't really have a lot to grumble about. They watched the Milwaukee Brewers' prized pitching prospect turn in an extraordinary performance on a gorgeous sunny afternoon, which made for one of the warmest home openers in years.

 

Medeiros, the 12th overall selection in the 2014 first-year player draft, threw six scoreless and hitless innings and struck out seven, before departing.

 

"I didn't want to think about too many things out there," said Medeiros. "I just wanted to give it my best shot and pound the strike zone. I wanted to keep it simple, throw strikes and let my defense make plays behind me."

 

The Hawaiian native had excellent control and command, walking just one and allowing only two baserunners. He threw strikes on 47 of his 63 pitches. Medeiros throws a fastball, changeup and slider, and relied heavily on the slider Sunday.

 

"That was my strikeout pitch," said Medeiros. "The slider was really effective. My defense played well behind me and (catcher) Greg McCall and I were on the same page the whole time. It seemed like he called every pitch that I wanted to throw."

 

Wisconsin manager Matt Erickson was one of many who was extremely impressed with Medeiros.

 

"Kodi was obviously really good today," said Erickson. "He threw minimal pitches, got a bunch of ground balls and gave us a great chance to win the ballgame. "

 

Medeiros got Peoria to hit into 11 ground outs and not a single fly ball was hit off him.

 

"His ball moves so much," said Erickson. "He's got such a unique delivery and arm slot. He's got a lot of sink to his pitches. He got a lot of early-count outs and mixed in his slider to get some strikeouts. He was impressive, no doubt about it."

 

Despite the seven strikeouts, Medeiros didn't overpower hitters, consistently hitting the low 90s with his fastball.

 

"His tempo was really good," said Erickson. "If this is any reflection of what we're going to get out of Kodi, it's going to be fun to watch him and play defense behind him. I like his mound presence. That's something that impressed me in spring training. The first two times I saw him, he had a couple ground balls hit to him and he kicked them around a little bit, but his demeanor didn't change. He got right back on the mound, went about his business and threw strikes, and got more ground balls."

 

Medeiros had no complaints about being pulled with a no-hitter going.

 

"I knew about the fifth inning that they didn't have any hits, but I knew I was on a pitch count and the coaches were watching that," said Medeiros. "Everyone else has to get their work in, so it wasn't a big deal to me. I couldn't have pictured a better debut than this. I just had a mindset of throwing strikes and letting my defense back me up."

 

Peoria actually didn't have a hit until the eighth inning when the wheels fell off for the Rattlers. Right-hander David Burkhalter followed Medeiros' lead with a hitless seventh, but the Chiefs pounded Burkhalter and Harvey Martin for eight hits in a game-breaking seven-run eighth, which erased a 1-0 deficit.

 

Peoria finished with 13 hits, all in the final two innings.

 

"When we were up 1-0, we had a couple chances to add more runs and left the bases loaded twice," said Erickson. "When you let a team hang around, more often than not, stuff like this happens. We let it get out of hand those last two innings. We couldn't get anyone out."

 

The Rattlers were limited to six hits, three by third baseman Dustin DeMuth, who hit cleanup in the batting order. Center fielder Monte Harrison knocked in the Rattlers' only run with a fifth-inning double to left field.

 

"He (DeMuth) was really comfortable in spring training," said Erickson. "It looks like he's seeing the ball early. He hit some balls hard yesterday. Today, I threw him into the four-hole because we were looking for some consistent contact there, and he hit it hard three more times. He's going to get some more opportunities there for sure."

 

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PHOTO GALLERY via the Post-Crescent

[Mass Haas]

Rattler Radio Blog - Postgame Entry includes AUDIO interviews from the post conference (just a bit but not all duplicated from links above in this case), but also video highlights including Chris Mehring's calls

 

 

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MiLB.com jumped on the Medeiros bandwagon with their own feature article.

 

***

 

Just linked to another Josh Uhen feature in our Timber Rattlers' thread - fun roommates story included

[Mass Haas]

Tortugas pitchers overwhelm Manatees in Series finale

Donald Rieber Jr., Brevard County Manatees Examiner

 

The Brevard County Manatees and Daytona Tortugas squared off Sunday in the final game of their four-game series at Space Coast Stadium. The first two games of the series were split, while game three was suspended Saturday night, because of rain.

 

Offense was at a premium on Sunday, as each team managed just three hits. Unfortunately for the ‘Tees, the Tortugas hits were more productive, leading them to a 2-0 road victory.

 

“Other than the homerun, I thought our pitchers did real well,” said Manatees manager Joe Ayrault. “But you can’t win many ball games with just three hits.”

 

Daytona struck quickly in the top of the first when the second batter in the order, Robert Ramirez took Manatees pitcher Javi Salas deep, giving the visitors a 1-0 lead.

 

Brevard County would threaten in the second inning with Taylor Brennan drawing a walk to lead off the inning and Victor Roache getting the Manatees first hit with a sharp single to left. Tortugas starter Nick Howard worked out of it though, retiring the next three batters with a strikeout and two fly balls.

 

The third inning looked promising for Brevard County as well. Ninth place hitter Omar Garcia drew a walk to open the inning and after Johnny Davis flew out, Garcia stole second and then third. Chris McFarland drew a walk, putting runners at the corners with just one out.

 

An attempted double steal was unsuccessful. McFarland took for second, while catcher Cam Maron threw to second baseman, Ramirez took the throw, but quickly unloaded a strike to the plate to nail Garcia. McFarland was safe at second, but he would not advance, as Clint Coulter popped out to end the inning.

 

The Tortugas (2-1) got an insurance run in the top of the fourth when Phillip Ervin reached base on a throwing error by shortstop Angel Ortega. Ervin swiped second base and moved to third when catcher Cam Garfield’s throw to second to nab Ervin went into center field. Ervin scored on a Chad Wallach sac fly, to make it 2-0.

 

Salas, a 10th round pick in 2014 by Milwaukee, would make it through the fifth inning, giving up two runs, striking out four and walking three.

 

“I thought he pitched well,” said Ayrault of Salas. “He did a good job attacking the zone and going after hitters. Just the one mistake, other than that it was a solid debut in the Florida State League.”

 

The bullpens went to work from there and did a superb job on both sides. The Tortugas allowed only one more baserunner over the final four innings, thanks to a helping hand from third baseman Taylor Sparks. He threw out Coulter in the sixth inning from foul territory and then in the seventh, robbed Roache with a diving stop and accurate throw to first.

 

The Manatees got three solid innings from Clint Terry and he was backed up in the ninth by Scott Lieser, who retired the side in order.

 

“I was very impressed with Clint Terry’s three scoreless,” said Ayrault. “Lieser was very impressive as well, 11 pitches and a 1-2-3 inning. Salas just made the one mistake to start off the game, other than that I thought the guys threw the ball very well.”

 

The Manatees third hit came off the bat of Ortega in the eighth, but a fielders’ choice quickly erased him. The Tortugas brought on Evan Mitchell to save it in the ninth, and he got a 1-2-3 inning, to nail down his second save of the season.

 

Brevard County (1-2) will be home Mondaynight to face the St. Lucie Mets, as the two teams start a four-game home-at-home series.

 

St. Lucie (3-1) suffered their first loss Sunday at the hands of Bradenton, 7-5. All of the Mets runs came in the fifth inning.

 

“I looked down their roster and there’s not a lot of returners, so it’s gonna be a whole new ball game,” said Ayrault.

 

The Manatees will send Jorge Ortega (0-0) to the mound to face Rob Whalen (0-0) in a battle of right-handers. Game time is 6:35 PM (5:35 Central) at Space Coast Stadium.

 

http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_content_width_large/hash/ae/18/ae18153d45488b43dc6561932d44da03.jpg?itok=VnzArrEB

 

Omar Garcia waits on a pitch during Sunday's 2-0 loss to Daytona at Space Coast Stadium Photo by Cindy Rieber