Closer for Dogs attacking batters ‘Cla’ making a name for himself

PORTLAND – It’s pronounced “Clay,” but it looks like there’s a consonant missing in his first name.

Say hello to Olise Claiborne “Cla” Meredith III, the sidearm closer on a Portland Sea Dogs pitching staff full of them.

“My dad’s name is Cla as well and growing up I was called Cla Boy or Bubba or whatever. It’s my first name, but it’s a nickname,” explained the 6-foot-1 righthander. “A lot of my friends call me Olise as a nickname, which is actually my real name.”

Just about everyone agrees on the best ID to give the man of many names as a pitcher: good. If you’re looking for two names? Really good.

“He has a closer’s mentality. He wants the ball,” said Sea Dogs manager Todd Claus. “Most people know what he’s going to throw, but he just rears back and says, ‘Here it is. Try to hit it.'”

Meredith got his second season of pro ball off to a great start by working a 1-2-3 ninth for his first save in Portland’s season opener Thursday night. He threw only 12 pitches, and 10 of them were that pitch almost everyone knows is coming. Friday night, he threw 10 of 15 pitches for strikes in 1 1/3 hitless innings of relief for his second save. He now has two strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings.

“He throws a sinker that’s about 91 miles an hour and it just drops and disappears,” said Claus. “He pitched in one of the scrimmages in spring training and a lot of the Red Sox coaches took notice.”

Last year, Meredith notched 12 saves with Sarasota after getting six with Augusta, Ga. He struck out 34 batters in 31 2/3 innings.

“Having that sinker, it’s a great weapon to have. I throw it 90 percent of the time,” Meredith said. “It’s just something I’ve developed naturally. I’ve only been pitching three or four years. I pretty much started from a three-quarters arm slot and I’ve slowly worked it down to sidearm and even submarine.

“I guess the ball comes out of my hand and just naturally sinks when it gets out there. The older I’ve gotten, the more comfortable I’ve gotten and the sink has gotten more consistent and better.”

The 21-year-old Virginia native wasn’t fazed at all by the stage he stood on Thursday: Season opener of his first full professional season, two-run lead, and the first chance to close for a team that has at least four other potential closers.

“Last week, I was fortunate enough to throw in some big league exhibition games, so – not to make this sound like it’s not anything – but after doing something like that, it puts a different perspective on things,” Meredith said. “So when you go out here, it’s like ‘This is easy,’ you know?”

The way Meredith breaks things down to their simplest components, it seems easy.

“I’m a real attack mode guy, especially when there’s no runners on base,” he said. “I’m not a guy to go up there and shake off 15 pitches or anything. It’s not really a secret what I’m gonna throw out there.

“Some may be straight, some may sink a little more and others may run a little more, but nine times out of 10, even if they do get a hold of it, they’re going to hit it into the ground, and that’s what you want.”