Taylor completes Manatees' first cycle

It only took five innings for Tyrone Taylor to make history on Tuesday night.

The Brewers' No. 2 prospect completed the first cycle in franchise history as Class A Advanced Brevard County routed Clearwater, 20-0, at Bright House Field.

Taylor, who finished 5-for-5, singled in the first inning, hit a standup triple in the third, doubled in the fourth and slugged a solo homer in the fifth. He walked in the eighth, singled again in the ninth, scored five runs and drove in three.

"Honestly, I think it was just everybody hitting the ball," Taylor said. "It's contagious. When you're seeing the ball well, it makes it a lot easier for you.

I was trying hard not to think about [the cycle] because my teammates were messing with me, telling me that was all I needed for the cycle. I tried to stay within myself. It's pretty exciting, especially on my mom's birthday."

In addition to being the first cycle in the club's history -- and the fourth in the Minor Leagues this season -- it was the first five-hit game by a member of the Manatees since D'Vontrey Richardson had one on May 17, 2011. Taylor also went 5-for-5 last Aug. 20 for Class A Wisconsin.

"I have no idea, but that's obviously a cool thing to happen and I'm excited about it," the 20-year-old outfielder said of the first Florida State League cycle since Gustavo Pierre recorded one for Dunedin last Aug. 10.

The perfect night raised Taylor's batting average 41 points to .263. He has three homers and an .822 OPS and believes his historic night can provide a boost, not just to him but to a club that's next-to-last in the Florida State League with a .233 batting average.

"Definitely," the California native said. "I think as a team we got 22 hits for the first time since 2011 and also three of us had the first three home runs of the year. Hopefully, it gets things going as a team."

Orlando Arcia, Milwaukee's third-ranked prospect, was 4-for-7 with three runs scored, while Michael Reed, Cameron Garfield and Michael Garza contributed three RBIs apiece for the Manatees. Brevard County established season highs in runs and hits.

"It's fun, to a certain extent," Taylor said. "After awhile, it gets a little long. We had a lot of fun out there and just went out there and did everything right. It was a good night for us."

Manatees starter Hobbs Johnson (2-3) cruised with all that run support, limiting the Threshers to five hits while striking out six over six innings.

Clearwater's Ethan Stewart (1-2) went 3 1/3 innings and was charged with eight runs -- seven earned -- on seven hits and three walks.