Sports Lowdown

Dustin Houle The Tampa Yankees had a big offensive day on Sunday, knocking around Brevard County Manatees pitching for 15 hits in an 8-2 victory. It was the 15 th  consecutive victory for Tampa this season over the Manatees and they finished the season series with a 16-2 record. The day got off to a tough start for Manatees manager Joe Ayrault in the bottom of the first and was likely a sign of things to come.  With one out,  Thairo Estrada  and  Gleyber Torres  hit back-to-back singles against starter  Kodi Medeiros .  Trey Amburgey  was next to the plate and he checked his swing early in the at bat on a ball in the dirt. Manatees catcher  Mitch Ghelfi  caught it, but both Yankees runners moved up without a throw. Ayrault came out to argue, likely saying that the ball was foul-tipped, which is why there was no throw. He stated his case first to home plate umpire Jose Navas and then to base umpire Reid Joyner. He then ...

Corey Ray The Brevard County Manatees managed just two hits in a 4-1 loss to the Tampa Yankees, at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Both hits came off the bat of leadoff man  Corey Ray , who singled in the fourth and hit a home run in the seventh, breaking up the shutout. The Yankees started the scoring in the third inning, against Manatees starter  Cody Ponce .  Devyn Bolasky  tripled with one out and came home on a single off the bat of  Wes Wilson . After Ponce got the second out,  Jeff Hendrix  doubled, putting runners at the corners.  Gleyber Torres  followed with a walk to load the bases and  Trey Amburgey ’s single made it 2-0. When all was said and done, the Yankees sent eight to the plate, had four hits and a walk. They added some insurance, with two more in the fifth. Wilson singled and  Jorge Mateo  walked. A fly out by Jeff Hendrix got Wilson to third and Mateo later stole second. Torres plated them both ...

Rashad Crawford The Tampa Yankees put a five-spot up in the top of the first inning and went on to beat the Brevard County Manatees 8-3 on Sunday, completing the weekend sweep. Cody Ponce started for Brevard County and things did not go well right from the get go. He hit Jorge Mateo leading off the game. Mateo stole second and took third after catcher Mitch Ghelfi threw the ball into center field. Ponce then committed an error on a ball hit by Thairo Estrada. Mateo came home and Estrada went to second. Gleyber Torres followed with an RBI single, making it 2-0. Zack Zehner walked one out later and Rashad Crawford, who had  two hits on Saturday , muscled up and hit one over the right field wall, giving the Yankees a 5-0 lead. Kevin Cornelius and Jeff Hendrix hit back-to-back singles, before Ponce got the final two outs. Ponce threw 36 pitches in that first inning and did come out for the second inning, but after one pitch to Estrada, he was pulled from the game. Clin...

Jon Perrin The Brevard County Manatees managed just four hits Saturday night in a 2-1 loss to the Tampa Yankees, at Space Coast Stadium. Tampa scored just one run against Manatees starter Jon Perrin, who had another sparkling outing for the Manatees, but the offense couldn’t get him a much deserved win. “He threw the ball really well, we just didn’t get any run support behind him,” said Manatees manager Joe Ayrault.  “We got guys throwing really good games, especially Perrin. He’s probably in the top 10 in ERA in the league in pitching, doing a heck of a job, having a real good season.” Brevard County (14-42, 37-87) did get on the board first in the bottom of the first inning. Corey Ray led off with a double and Mitch Ghelfi singled one out later, moving Ray to third. Elvis Rubio hit into a fielder’s choice at second, but the throw to first pulled Kevin Cornelius off the bag and Ray scored. That was the only run that spot starter Sean Carley gave up in four inn...

Mitch Ghelfi Nestor Cortes threw 7.1 perfect innings and the Tampa Yankees pounded out 19 hits, in an 11-0 win over the Brevard County Manatees in the opener of a three-game series at Space Coast Stadium. Every Yankee had a hit Friday night, with six of the nine getting multiple hits. Devyn Bolasky led the hit parade with a 4-for-5 night, while Jorge Mateo (3-for-6) and Gleyber Torres (3-for-5) had big nights as well. “Tip your hat to the guy on the mound and they got a good squad over there,” said Manatees skipper Joe Ayrault. “They got some guys over there that can really swing the bat. Some of their top dogs on that squad and they had a good night tonight.” Tampa (29-26, 71-53) got on the board in the top of the first, starting with a single and two walks against Manatees hurler Marcos Diplan. Trey Amburgey’s sacrifice fly scored the first run of the night. They got three more in the second inning, highlighted by a two-run single off the bat of Torres. Diplan had a ...

Kender Villegas The Tampa Yankees completed a three-game sweep of the Brevard County Manatees on Thursday, winning the series finale 5-1 in front of 1,568 fans on a Thirsty Thursday. The Manatees did score their first run since the third inning of Tuesday’s series opener , when Jose Cuas drew a bases loaded walk in the bottom of the ninth. Bubba Derby (6-9) started for the Manatees and had a very un-Derby like performance. The Yankees were teeing off on him early in counts to open the game and it cost him four runs in the second inning. He gave up back-to-back singles to Trey Amburgey and Austin Aune, before retiring a batter on a fielder’s choice. A ground-rule double by Connor Spencer and an RBI ground out by Wes Wilson made it 2-0. Jorge Mateo followed with an RBI double and Rashad Crawford finished the inning with an RBI single. Derby did get the next two outs, but the Yankees were comfortably ahead, 4-0. “They jumped on him early in counts, especially in that second...

Freddy Peralta The Brevard County Manatees had their chances on Wednesday, but couldn’t push across a run, falling 2-0 to the visiting Tampa Yankees, at Space Coast Stadium. Tampa starter Domingo Acevedo pitched six scoreless innings, en route to the victory. He struck out five and walked two. The Manatees (10-22, 33-67) definitely had their chances, but the big hit eluded them all night. They had at least one baserunner in every inning but the ninth and left nine men on base. “We just couldn’t get the hits with runners in scoring position,” said Manatees manager Joe Ayrault. “We were 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and that was the difference maker in the ballgame for us.” Freddy Peralta (0-1) started the game for the Manatees and pitched well, giving up two runs in five innings. “He threw the ball well and kept us in the ballgame,” said Ayrault. “Had some good defensive plays, a couple double plays. Other than the error by Iskenderian, guys played solid de...

Mitch Ghelfi The Tampa Yankees took game one of their three-game series at Space Coast Stadium, beating the Brevard County Manatees 9-1 on Tuesday. Yankees starter James Reeves held Brevard County to two hits over his six innings of work, improving his record to 4-1 and lowering his ERA to 1.56. Cody Ponce started for the Manatees and while he’s been very good in his last handful of starts, it was not his night on Tuesday. Couple that with the poor night the Manatees defense had, committing four errors and your left with a forgettable night at the ballpark. Ponce (2-3) got the first two outs in the top of the first, but a misplayed ball by Clint Coulter in right field, led to a three-base error for Tampa newcomer Gleyber Torres, who was the main piece NY got for Aroldis Chapman, earlier this week. Torres later scored on a single by Austin Aune. The tough luck continued for the Manatees in the second inning. First baseman Mitch Ghelfi, who was called up to Brevard Cou...

Jon Perrin The Brevard County Manatees have had a lot of tough losses in the 2016 season and Tuesday’s loss in the series finale at Tampa ranks up toward the top. Vicente Conde, who was the Manatees worst enemy  in a doubleheader sweep  on Monday, put the icing on the cake Tuesday, with a walk-off grand slam against Jon Olczak, leading Tampa to a 5-2 win at George M. Steinbrenner Field.  With the win, Tampa swept the three-game series and improved to 4-2 in the second half and 46-29 overall. The Manatees looked primed to win their first game of the second half and snap a 10-game losing streak. It was not meant to be, as they watched a 2-1 lead disappear with one swing of the bat. The loss erased a good start by Jon Perrin and a great relief appearance by Kender Villegas. Offensively,  Dustin DeMuth reached base all four times for the Manatees but in the end, it didn't matter.  Tampa took the lead in the bottom of the third when Conde, Wes Wi...

Malik Collymore The Tampa Yankees got dominating pitching performances from  Josh Rogers  and  Domingo Acevedo  on Monday, as the two fired back-to-back 2-0 complete game shutouts against the visiting Brevard County Manatees at George M. Steinbrenner Field, completing a doubleheader sweep for the home nine. Rogers allowed three infield singles to the Brevard County in game one, it was his second complete game shutout of the season. He was very economical, boosting his record to 5-3. He struck out six over his seven innings of shutout baseball. He hit a batter in the seventh, but didn’t allow a walk and struck out six, throwing 88 pitches, 63 for strikes in a game that lasted one hour 21 minutes. Game two was 10 minutes longer. Of the three hits Rogers allowed, two came in the fourth inning and Brandon Diaz was the only Brevard County player to reach second base. After sending the first nine down in order, Rogers allowed a bunt single to Malik Collymore...

Luis Severino New York Yankees right-hander  Luis Severino  made a rehab start at Space Coast Stadium Sunday, pitching three innings of two-hit baseball and helping the Tampa Yankees  toa 6-4 win  and a series sweep. Severino, who made four starts in the Florida State League back in 2014, was back for an encore performance Sunday and he did not disappoint. A sampling of his fastball included 95, 97, 98 and 99.4. Those were all in the first inning. He consistently kept it in the low-to-mid 90’s throughout his time on the mound.  Severino, who is recovering from a right-triceps strain looked good in his first outing. He is 0-6 with the Yankees so far this season and  reports out of New York  this season are that he has lost command, but he seemed well on his way to regaining it in this outing. Obviously, pitching against Advanced-A talent is much different from facing Major League hitters, but his speeds will not vary much from what he th...

Luis Severino The Brevard County Manatees wrapped up a six-game homestand on Sunday, with the series finale against the Tampa Yankees. Tampa used the long ball again Sunday, as Jake Skole took Manatees hurler Bubba Derby deep twice, carrying the Yankees to a 6-4 victory and the sweep. Saturday, Miguel Andujar did the Manatees in with his two homers against Eric Hanhold and Sunday it was Skole, who started the scoring in the third with a solo blast to start the inning. When the ball left the bat, it didn’t seem like it had enough to get out, but Manatees’ right fielder Clint Coulter, who looked to have it in his sights, watched it sail up and out, giving the Yankees a 1-0 lead. The Manatees did have nine hits in the game, but most of those came in the middle and late innings. Early on, they had to face Major League rehabber, Luis Severino who’s been on the DL since May 14, with a right triceps strain. His road back to the Big Apple, started at Space Coast Stadium.  ...

Tampa Yankees third baseman  Miguel Andujar  hit two home runs and racked up five RBIs Saturday, leading his team to a 9-6 win over the Brevard County Manatees as 1,293 fans were treated to quite an offensive show. The two teams combined for 24 hits in a game that took three hours and one minute. Manatees’ starter Eric Hanhold was on the receiving end of the wrath of Andujar, which took flight in the second inning. Santiago Nessy got Tampa on the board with a two-run double and Jorge Mateo followed with an RBI double of his own, making it 3-0. Mateo then took off for third and Manatees catcher Adam Weisenburger’s throw went into left field, making it 4-0. After a walk to Abiatal Avelino, Hanhold gave up a 397-ft blast to Andujar. With that, the Manatees found themselves down 6-0. Ian Clarkin , the Yankees number 10 prospect was on the mound for Tampa and he did give the Manatees their chances, including in the bottom of the second. He walked Weisenburger and Fidel...

Angel Ortega The Tampa Yankees exploded for five runs in the top of the ninth inning Friday, taking game one of a weekend series from the Brevard County Manatees in front of 1,539 fans at Space Coast Stadium. The big inning turned a 2-2 game, into a lopsided 7-2 victory for the T-Yanks. Kodi Medeiros started the game for the Manatees and struggled a bit with his command, but he only allowed one run on three hits in his five innings of work. He overcame five walks and Manatees manager Joe Ayrault liked what he saw. “Medeiros was much better today,” he said. “Hopefully that carries over into his next outing.” The biggest issue Friday for the Manatees’ hurler was the five walks he allowed. The Yankees first run was a direct result of free passes. Medeiros walked Thairo Estrada to start the second inning. After striking out Michael O’Neill, Medeiros gave up a single to Zach Zehner. Vicente Conde struck out for the second out, but Santiago Nessy drew another walk, loading th...