Cyclones 5
Lowell 1
Aug. 14 at MCU Park
A strong pitching performance from Corey Oswalt and a home run by Jhoan Urena left the Spinners spinning as Cyclones took two of a three-game set.
The Cyclones offense got right work in the first, scoring two runs on a Tomas Nido single with the bases loaded that plated John Mora and Amed Rosario.
That was all Oswalt (6–1) would need as the hurler tossed six innings of four-hit ball, giving up just one unearned run with four strikeouts.
The Cyclones struck again in the bottom of the fifth with the help of some small ball and balk that allowed Adrien Abreu to come home after reaching on a walk and advancing to third failed pick off. The Clones extended the lead in sixth when Urena hit a bomb over the left field wall to also bring home Michael Conforto, who reached on a single.
The win gives the Cyclones sole possession of the wild card spot, one game ahead of Connecticut, and a game-and-a-half above the surging — and hated — Staten Island Yankees, which have won four in a row.
The Cyclones go on the road again for a three game series and in Vermont before six members of the Cyclones return home to play in the All-Star Game at MCU Park on Tuesday.
Ups and downs
Free baseball: Wednesday night’s extra-inning game was the eighth this season for the Cyclones, tied for second-most in the league behind the Jamestown Jammers, which have gone into overtime 10 times.
Triples on triples: Shortstop Amed Rosario has a hit in 22 of his last 26 games. The teenager leads the New York-Penn League with five triples and is second in the league in hits with 60.
Happy birthday, Gil!: The Cyclones celebrated Gil Hodges’ 90th birthday during Thursday night’s game. Since it was Jersday Thursday at the ballpark, throwback Hodges jerseys were given to the first three thousand fans. Hodges was a beloved Brooklyn Dodgers first baseman who lived in Marine Park and later led the 1969 Miracle Mets to a World Series Championship. He died in 1972.
