Cyclones 8
Staten Island 2
June 14 at MCU Park
Tomas Nido went 2-for-3 with a triple, two runs batted in, and a walk and three Cyclones pitchers combined to five-hit the hated Staten Island Yankees during the season opener Saturday night at MCU Park.
Nido, the third-year pro out of Florida who hit just .185 for the Clones last season, led the charge, sparking a two-run second inning with a lead-off walk before blasting a long drive to center for a triple that scored two in the third, giving the Mini-Mets a comfortably four-run lead over the Evil Empire of the New York-Penn League.
Starter.
The squad added two more in the fourth thanks to some sloppy play by the Yankees, including a wild pick-off attempt and a wild pitch that brought a run home.
Starting pitcher Octavio Acosta cruised through four innings before running into trouble in the fifth.
A single, two walks, and a hit-batsman led to the first Yankee run, and the first call to the bullpen by new manager Tom Gamboa — who was instantly nicknamed “Captain Hook” for not giving Acosta a chance to earn the win with such a big lead.
Instead, the spoils of the Cyclones offense went to Brandon Welch, who got out of the fifth and struck out two in 2.1 innings of work.
Shane Bay closed the game out with two innings of one-run ball.
The Cyclones and Yankees will go head-to-head again today in an old-school single entry double header on the Rock (and by “old-school,” we mean two seven-inning games). Casey Meisner will get the start in the first game and Carlos Valdez will take the mound in the second. Gates open at 4 pm. Staten Island is accessible by a free ferry from Manhattan that drops fans right near the ball park, or by a very expensive bridge.
