Tri-City 5
Cyclones 4
Sept. 1 at Tri-City
The Cyclones overcame a four-run deficit, but the ValleyCats pulled out a 5–4 win, handing the slumping Cyclones the boys’ sixth defeat in seven games — and one in which the Clones struck out 15 times.
Raul Jacobson was hit hard in the first inning, as the ValleyCats scored three runs on four hits with a throwing error mixed in.
Tri-City took advantage of two Brooklyn errors in the third. With Alexander Mizell on second with one out, Alfredo Reyes botched a ground ball, putting runners on the corners. Mizell scored on a Zach Mathieu throwing error to make it 4–0. Brooklyn committed four errors in the game.
The Cyclones evened things up in the fourth. With one out, Vinny Siena walked and Jeff Diehl singled. After Mathieu struck out, Brandon Brosher singled to load the bases.
Desmond Lindsay’s double cleared the bases and cut the lead to 4–3. Hengelbert Rojas followed with a single to tie the game at four.
It remained that way until the bottom of the eighth, when Corey Taylor surrendered a leadoff single to Brooks Marlow, who advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt.
Kolbey Carpenter was then called out on strikes beforeTaylor walked pinch-hitter Anthony Hermelyn as Marlow advanced to third on a wild pitch.
Johnny Sewald came through with a two-out, run-scoring single to give Tri City a 5–4 lead.
Yeyfry Del Rosario struck out the side in the ninth to pick up the save.
The Cyclones’ Nos. 1 through 7 hitters all had one hit.
Scott Weathersby picked up the win with three scoreless innings.
The 31–38 Cyclones travel to Connecticut for a Wednesday doubleheader. If Brooklyn doesn’t win its last seven games, the team will have its first losing season in team history.
Tri-City 4
Cyclones 2
Aug. 31 at Tri-City
The Cyclones fell to the team’s low-water mark — six games under .500 — with a 4–2 loss to the ValleyCats on Monday, and it seems the season is slipping away for the last place Clones.
Brooklyn took a first inning lead as Alfredo Reyes led off with a single off Trent Thornton, advanced to second on a groundout, and scored on Jeff Diehl’s two-out single.
Gaby Almonte shutout the ValleyCats for five innings but was removed in the sixth as his pitch count increased.
Johnny Magliozzi took over with two runners on and one out.
Bobby Wernes singled to load the bases and Dexture McCall followed with a two-run single to give Tri-City a 2–1 lead.
With Wernes on third, Magliozzi uncorked a wild pitch allowing a run, and the ValleyCats took a 3–1 lead.
The Cyclones cut into the lead in the seventh. With Manuel Hilario on first, Reyes doubled to put runners on second and third.
Vinny Siena’s groundout scored Hilario to cut the lead to 3–2, but Matt Bower got David Thompson to fly out to end the inning.
Tri-City scored an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh when Keach Ballard single,d moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, and scored on Aaron Mizell’s two-out single
The Cyclones were held scoreless over the final two innings. Brooklyn finished with two runs on 11 hits.
Almonte fell to 6–7.
Alex Palsha struck out the side in the bottom of the eighth. Another bright spot was Alfredo Reyes who went three-for-three and raised his batting average to .230.
Tri-City 13
Cyclones 4
Aug. 30 at Tri-City
The Cyclones pitching staff was roughed up in a 13–4 loss to the ValleyCats.
Tri-City jumped on Kevin Canelon in the first when Johnny Sewald led off with a single, stole second, and advanced to third on catcher Vinny Siena’s fielding error on the throw from Jose Garcia. Sewald later scored on a groundout.
Cesar Carrasco hit a two-run homer off Canelon in the second and Aaron Mizell took the southpaw deep in the third to make it 4–0.
Alfredo Reyes led off the Brooklyn fourth with a single, moved to second on a groundout, and scored on David Thompson’s double to cut the lead to 4–1.
Jeff Diehl followed with a single to end Zac Person’s night.
With Kevin McCanna on the mound, Zach Mathieu hit a game-tying, three-run homer to right-center.
But the ValleyCats took the lead back in the bottom of the inning.
After Dexture McCall singled, Anthony Hermelyn hit a two-run homer to give Tri-City a 6–4 lead.
Hector Roa later added a two-run homer to make it 8–4.
Canelon gave up eight runs on nine hits in four innings. The lefty fell to 5–5.
Brandon Welch pitched a 1-2-3, fifth but was hit hard in the sixth, giving up four runs on five hits as Tri-City took a 12–4 lead.
Ruben Reyes pitched a 1-2-3 seventh before things got interesting in the eighth.
With one out, Reyes beaned Roa and was ejected by Jose Matamoros.
The benches and bullpens cleared and Matamoros also ejected Tri-City pitcher Juan Santos.
Tom Gamboa called on Pedro Perez, who walked two batters, including one with the bases loaded.
Brooklyn is now four games behind the Evil Empire of the New York-Penn League and the Hudson Valley Renegades.
Cyclones 10
Aberdeen 2
Aug. 29 at MCU Park
The Cyclones offense exploded for 10 runs and 15 hits in laugher over the IronBirds.
And as usual, manager Tom Gamboa didn’t mince words when sizing up his hitters’ performance.
“What was a pleasant surprise tonight is us getting, my god, 10 runs and 15 hits,” the skipper said. “That’s a week’s supply of both.”
Brooklyn trailed 1–0 in the bottom of the fourth with two outs and nobody on before rallying against Travis Seabrooke.
Jeff Diehl singled and moved to third on Zach Mathieu’s single.
With Desmond Lindsay at the plate, Seabrooke uncorked a wild pitch, scoring Diehl to tie the game.
After Lindsay drew a walk, Brandon Brosher came through with a double to deep right, scoring Mathieu and Lindsay and giving the Cyclones a 3–1 lead.
A struggling Seabrooke was removed after plunking Pedro Perez. Elias Pinales was greeted by a run-scoring single off the bat of Branden Kaupe to make it 4–1.
“Baseball’s a funny game,” Gamboa said. “Two outs and nobody on and we ended up scoring four. That was really something.”
Mathieu crushed a two-run homer off Pinales in the fifth to extend the lead to 6–1.
“He elevated a change-up and I was just fortunate enough to keep all my weight back and drive through the ball,” Mathieu said.
The IronBirds scored in the sixth as D.J. Stewart walked, advanced to second on a balk, and scored on a fielding error by third baseman Branden Kaupe.
Tyler Badamo got Steve Laurino on a liner to second to end the inning.
Badamo gave up two runs in six innings and improved to 4–6. The righty was removed because his groin tightened up.
The Cyclones broke the game open in the sixth. Brosher led off with a single, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on a Pedro Perez double.
Perez moved to third on Kaupe’s single and scored on a wild pitch to make it 8–2.
With Kaupe on second, Vinny Siena singled, ending Pinales’ night.
David Thompson greeted Yi-Hsiang Lin with a sacrifice fly, extending the lead to 9–2.
After Diehl singled, Mathieu doubled to left to score Siena.
In all, the Brooklyn offense exploded for 10 runs in three innings.
“I don’t know where this came from but we’re sure glad,” Gamboa said.
Mathieu went three-for-four with three runs batted in and two runs scored. The first baseman is now above the Mendoza Line with a .202 batting average.
“I wasn’t even aware of that but it’s pretty nice,” he said. “I’m not going to lie.”
Nicco Blank picked up his first save of the season, tossing three shutout innings.
“That was definitely Blank’s best outing of the whole season,” Gamboa said.
With 10 games remaining, the 31–35 Cyclones are three games behind the hated Staten Island Yankees and not as hated Hudson Valley Renegades for first place in the McNamara Division.
Aberdeen 5
Cyclones 2
Aug. 28 at MCU Park
The Cyclones were held to four hits against the Ironbirds.
Brooklyn’s pitching kept them in the game but, as usual, the bats came up short, forcing manager Tom Gamboa to repeat himself in the post-game interview.
“We could just Xerox our nightly conversation,” Tom Gamboa said.
Jean Cosme, who the skipper says was extremely hitable, was the winning pitcher for the IronBirds, giving up two runs in five innings.
“Just like last night, it was another pitcher with an ERA close to five, and yet we just make everybody look like a world beater when they throw against us,” Gamboa said.
Aberdeen took a 1–0 lead when Mike Odenwaelder led off the third with a home run off Eddie Villasmil.
The starter would fall to 0–2 even though Gamboa thought he pitched well.
“I even thought that the home run that the guy hit was on a good pitch. You gotta give the hitter credit once in awhile.”
Brooklyn tied the game in the fourth. Vinny Siena led off with a walk, advanced to third on David Thompson’s single, and scored on Jeff Diehl’s sacrifice fly.
The run was the first in 22 innings for the Cyclones.
Aberdden took the lead back in the fifth. Drew Turbin singled, stole second, advanced to third on a fly out and scored when Villasmil balked.
Brooklyn enjoyed scoring so much in the fourth that they did it again in the fifth.
Hengelbert Rojas singled with one out, advanced to second on a groundout and scored on a single from Alfredo Reyes to tie the game at two. That would be the last hit for the Cyclones.
For the second straight inning, Villasmil was not able to keep the game tied.
D.J. Stewart led off the Aberdeen sixth with a single, moved to third on Randy Gassaway’s double and scored on Steve Laurino’s sacrifice fly to give the IronBirds a 3-2 lead.
“Once somebody scored three it almost seems insurmountable,” Ganboa said.
Andrew Elliott threw two shutout innings, striking out four Cyclones.
After Raul Jacobson and P.J. Conlon each threw a scoreless inning for Brooklyn, Carlos Valdez gave up two runs in the ninth.
“That’s one of the few times Valdez has got hit,” Gamboa said.
Christian Turnipseed picked up the save with two scoreless innings.
The Cyclones are still four games behind the hated Staten Island Yankees with only 11 games to play.
Brooklyn is back in action against Aberdeen at 6 pm. The IronBirds are only half a game behind the Evil Empire of the New York-Penn League.
“We’re just trying to be spoiler now and try to see if we can beat these guys tomorrow,” Gamboa said.
Aberdeen 5
Cyclones 0
Aug. 27 at MCU Park
The Cyclones were shutout for the second game in a row as Brooklyn fell once again to the IronBirds.
Brooklyn has now been shutout a league-high eight times and has a paltry .216 team batting average, a fact manger Tom Gamboa can’t get around.
“The offensive numbers speak for themselves,” Tom Gamboa said. “It’s just a struggle for us to score a run.”
Jose Celas made the emergency start for the Cyclones in place of Andrew Church, and the righty walked two batters in the first before inducing a double-play ball on a 3–0 pitch.
Already on a short pitch count, Celas was removed after walking the bases loaded to open the third.
“He tries his heart out, he just can’t find the plate,” Gamboa said.
Craig Missigman came on and got out of the jam unscathed, recording two strikeouts and a groundout.
The reliever struggled in the fourth, giving up five runs, all with two outs.
With runners on the corners, Missigman threw a wild pitch, scoring Drew Turbin with the first run.
Cedric Mullins’ triple to right-center scored Alejandro Juvier to make it 2–0.
Another wild pitch scored Mullins from third to give Aberdeen a 3–0 lead.
Ricardo Andujar singled and scored on D.J. Stewart’s double to left. Chris Shaw followed with a run-scoring double to make it 5–0.
Missigman pitched two innings, giving up five runs on six hits, impressing his coach, who was surprised by the sudden turn of events.
“He pitched so good in the third, it was very strange how that happened so fast,” Gamboa said. “He was wild within the strike zone and that’s where all the damage was.”
Johnny Magliozzi and Ruben Reyes combined to hold Aberdeen scoreless over the final five innings.
The Cyclones offense was held to four hits and only got one runner to third base.
Zach Albin came into the night with an earned-run average near five but shutout the Cyclones for six innings.
Gamboa acknowledged that Albin pitched a good game although he was somewhat puzzled.
“This guy had an ERA of 4.80, he doesn’t strikeout anybody. He gets the ball over the plate and let’s the defense do the job. For him to shut us out? His ERA is almost five?”
Brooklyn is now four games behind the hated Staten Island Yankees, with hope sinking fast.
The 30–34 Cyclones will host Aberdeen at 7 pm.
Hudson Valley 4
Cyclones 0
Aug. 26 at MCU Park
The Cyclones were shutout on five hits in a loss to the Renegades, as All-Star Gaby Almonte fell to 6–6, giving up all four runs in the fifth.
Almonte had pitched in and out of trouble in three of the first four innings.
“It all happened in one inning but the while outing he was struggling with control,” manager Tom Gamboa said.
Michael Russell walked to leadoff the fifth, stole second and scored on Angel Moreno’s double.
After Matt Dacey struck out, Manny Sanchez’s run-scoring double gave the Renegades a 2–0 lead.
Nic Wilson struck out on a pitch in the dirt although Sanchez moved to third on the throw to first.
Alex Schmidt’s two-out, run-scoring triple into the right-center field gap put Hudson Valley up 3–0.
Jose Paez followed with a single to make it 4–0.
The Cyclones got the first two runners on in the sixth, but Zach Mathieu flew out and Hengelbert Rojas grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Brandon Welch pitched three shutout innings for the Cyclones.
“That was the best I’ve ever seen Brandon Welch pitch,” Gamboa said.
The skipper was thankful as Andrew Church will need a hip operation, causing him to miss tonight’s start.
Jose Celas will start and will be on a short pitch limit. Gamby will go to Johnny Magliozzi and Craig Missigman out of the bullpen.
Desmond Lindsay, the Mets first pick in the 2015 draft, made his Brooklyn debut.
The outfielder, who hit .304 in the Gulf Coast League, was surprised to hear the news that he was joining the big club.
“I was on the bus coming back from one of our games and my coach called me to the front of the bus,” he said. “I thought I was in trouble because I had never been called to the front before.”
Lindsay was hitless in four at-bats, striking out twice and reaching on an error.
The prospect is just out of high school and facing pitchers with college and pro experience.
“Lindsay has never seen breaking balls like he saw tonight so it’s gonna be an adjustment period for him but it’s going to be a great experience and we’re going to run him out there everyday,” Gamboa said.
Lindsay is used to waking up at 6:30 and night games are something new.
“This game is like halfway over and I was already used to sleeping by now,” Lindsay joked.
Gamboa is happy that his center fielder can get used to a big atmosphere.
“For him, this is like the first real pro ball, people in the stands, playing under the lights, so I’m glad the Mets sent him here for two weeks.”
Brooklyn is now three games behind the Staten Island Yankees, the Evil Empire of the New York-Penn League.
The 30–33 Cyclones will host the Aberdeen IronBirds at 7 pm.
UPS AND DOWNS
Fictional Met Sidd Finch was honored by the Cyclones on Wednesday. Joe Berton, who portrayed Finch in the iconic 1985 Sports Illustrated hoax, threw out the ceremonial first pitch and signed autographs during the game. Fans received Sidd Finch bobbleheads.
