American League All-Stars 4
National League All-Stars 3
Aug. 13 at Connecticut
It’s Brooklyn’s fault!
Cyclone’s closer John Mincone gave up a lead-off tater, threw a wild pitch, and was tagged with his first blown saved of the year on the New York-Penn League’s second-biggest stage, as the American League came back to defeat the National League during the All-Star Game in Connecticut on Monday night.
Up 3–2 thanks to two runs in the bottom of the eighth, National League management put the fate of the game in the hands of Brooklyn’s most consistent closer, who promptly gave up a blast to left-center field by Vermont’s Ryan Huck to tie the game. Ben Verlander, brother of Detroit Tiger flamethrower Justin Verlander, then singled to left before Claudio Bautista reached on an error by shortstop Cesar Valera. Mincone then uncorked a wild pitch that allowed the runners to move up.
Third baseman Zach Green then gunned down Verlander at home, setting the stage for Oscar Hernandez’s one-out walk-off fielder’s choice, beating Cyclones’ second baseman L.J. Mazzilli’s throw to first that would have preserved the tie.
Instead, Baustita scored, and the team the Cylcones played for in this year’ late-mid-summer classic, lost.
The game appeared to be headed toward a happy ending just a half inning before.
Down 2—1 in the eighth, Mazzilli reached first base on a fielding error by Bautista, then went to second and third on two consecutive wild pitches by Stefan Lopez of the hated Staten Island Yankees.
Lopez then walked Harold Ramirez of Jamestown before uncorking another wild pitch that brought home Mazzilli. The NL All-Stars took the lead in the same inning on an RBI single by Batavia’s Felix Munoz that scored Ramirez.
Cyclones’ hurler Miller Diaz got the start, striking out one batter and allowing two hits and one run in his only inning of work. Rob “Not-so-silent G” Gsellman struck out two players in the fifth inning, and John Gant did not play because he is scheduled to start on Sunday for Cyclones.
The Cyclones return to the last stretch of the season as they take on division foe Hudson Valley tonight at 7 pm.
Brooklyn Cyclones at MCU Park (Surf Avenue and W. 16th Street in Coney Island, www.brooklyncyclones.com) on Aug. 14 at 7 pm.
Follow the Cyclones all season long at brooklynpaper.com/sections/sports/cyclones/
