Yankees 3
Cyclones 5
June 19 at MCU Park
The Cyclones took the rubber game of their opening weekend series against the hated Staten Island Yankees on a two RBI single by Javier Rodriguez and solid relief pitching — but the mini-Mets didn’t do much against major leaguer Phil Hughes, who made a rehab start for the Yankees.
The Baby Bombers got on the board first, putting up a two spot in the third, but the Cyclones stormed back, getting a run off Hughes in the fifth on Nelfi Zapata’s homer (a home run off a major leaguer — keep an eye on that guy).
Hughes was relieved after that, and in the sixth, the Cyclones tied up the score when Ismael Tijerina led off with a double and later scored on Richard Lucas’s SAC fly. The Cyclones added took the lead on Travis Taijeron’s RBI single.
The Yankees tied it up in the seventh, but the Cyclones answered back, scoring the game’s final two runs on Rodriguez’s single.
The Cyclones rapped out eight hits, but were struck out 10 times — for a total of 35 Ks in the weekend series. Hughes struck out seven Clones in just 4-1/3 innings.
The Cyclones are home this week vs. the Aberdeen Ironbirds at MCU Park [1904 Surf Ave. at W. 17th Street in Coney Island, (718) 449-8497], June 20-22, 7 pm. For info, visit www.brooklyncyclones.com.
