Medeiros Shines, Manatees Salvage Series Finale

Kodi Medeiros
Kodi Medeiros
Brevard County Manatees pitcher Kodi Medeiros had his best outing of the season on Sunday, helping his team salvage the final game of a three-game set at Clearwater, winning by the score of 3-0. It was a much needed solid outing for the 20-year-old Medeiros, who has struggled for much of this season, his first at the Advanced-A level.

Medeiros (4-7) got into a bit of trouble in the bottom of the third, giving up a single to Chace Numata and a wild pitch. He got the next two outs before walking Drew Stankiewicz. He got out of the inning by getting Scott Kingery to ground out.
The Manatees (2-8, 25-53) got on the board first in the top of the fourth, against Clearwater starter John Richy. Elvis Rubio hit a one out double and scored on a Clint Coulter single, despite getting a stop sign from Manatees manager Joe Ayrault. Rubio caught a break, as the throw home was offline and the Manatees were up 1-0. Coulter went to second on the throw home, but was eventually stranded at third.

Clearwater (6-5, 45-34) threatened again in the bottom of the frame against Medeiros, with two down. Mitch Walding walked and went to third on Jiandido Tromp’s single. Numata came up and lined a ball to Allemand at third. He made a diving stop and got the throw to first in time, saving at least a run.

The 9,012 fans at Bright House Field were expecting fireworks after the game, but they got an early show in the top of the fifth inning. Malik Collymore drew a one out walk against Richy. After Omar Garcia flew out, Collymore stole second. Dustin DeMuth followed with a single to left fielder Herlis Rodriguez. He came up throwing and nailed Collymore at the plate, by 15 feet, according to the Threshers broadcast team, or at least it seemed that way. After originally calling Collymore out, home plate umpire Jose Navas reversed course. Interference was called on third baseman Mitch Walding, while Collymore was rounding the bases. The call was not made immediately, but it was 2-0 Manatees.

Clearwater Manager Greg Legg was not happy with the call and he let Navas know it, arguing vehemently which resulted in his dismissal. Legg threw his Fourth of July themed hat into the stands, as he left.

George Iskenderian, who homered in Saturday night’s loss, went deep again Sunday with one out in the sixth, making it a three run game. It was the fourth homer of the season for Iskenderian. Dustin Houle and Jose Cuas followed the long ball with singles and after Collymore struck out, Garcia singled to left. Rodriguez came up firing again and this time, he got Houle at home, giving him the outfield assist he had taken away in the fifth.

Medeiros came out for the bottom of the sixth, but gave up a double to Kingery who went to third on a ground out by Kyle Martin. That was the end of the night for Medeiros, who gave way to Kender Villegas, after 5.1 innings of four hit baseball. Medeiros walked four and struck out two, throwing 90 pitches, 46 for strikes.

Villegas got out of the jam, getting a ground out from Zach Green and striking out Walding, keeping the Threshers off the board. Clearwater made a pitching change to start the seventh, bringing in Joey DeNato. He retired the Manatees in order.
Clearwater finally broke through in the eighth. Scott Kingery singled and stole second to start the frame and went to third on Martin’s single. That was all for Villegas, who gave way to Jon Olczak. Green greeted him with a sac fly RBI, making it 3-1. The run was charged to Villegas, but Olczak limited the damage by striking out Walding and getting Tromp to ground out.

The Manatees got some insurance in the top of the ninth, against reliever Austin Davis. Jose Cuas reached on a wild pitch third strike and went to second on an infield hit by Collymore. Garcia’s sac bunt moved both runners up and a wild pitch allowed Cuas to score, giving the Manatee a 4-1 lead. They would tack on two more later in the inning on a two-run single by Rubio, giving the Manatees a 6-1 lead.

Numata tripled to start the bottom of the ninth and Rodriguez was hit by an Olczak offering, putting the Threshers in good position. Olczak came back to strike out both Carlos Tocci and Stankiewicz, before getting Kingery to pop out, ending the game. With that, Olczak earned his seventh save of the season.

For more info: Brevard County @ Clearwater boxscore
Rubio and Coulter got two hits each for the Manatees, while Numata was a home run short of the cycle for the Threshers. He went 3-for-4, while Kingery went 2-for-5.

The Manatees return to Space Coast Stadium for their Fourth of July game on Monday. A 6:35 p.m. first pitch. The Threshers will spend the day in Lakeland, with a noon first pitch.

 This article originally appeared on 27OutsBaseball.com on 7/3/16

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