The Cyclones have been streaky at best this season and this week was no different.
Brooklyn hit the .500 mark on July 13, wrapping up a series victory at Aberdeen with a fourth-straight win and a boost of confidence. That feeling didn’t last long.
The Clones followed up the win-streak with a four-game skid — including three losses at MCU Park and a pair of shutouts — as the lineup showed less-than-ideal flashes of last season’s miscues.
Here’s the roundup this week’s up-and-down moments on the diamond:
Michael Paez made his pro debut in Aberdeen on July 13. The fourth-round pick joined the squad after making history at Coastal Carolina this spring, leading the Chanticleers to the program’s first-ever College World Series championship. Paez finished the year with a .276 batting average, 80 hits and 15 home runs. …
As of July 14, the Cyclones’ late-week woes continued. Brooklyn’s loss to Lowell in the series opener at MCU Park dropped the squad’s Wednesday to Saturday record to 2–13. …
Gene Cone missed the Cyclones’ game on July 16, working his way back from a thumb injury. “When you get jammed with a wooden bat, you get a bond bruise on your thumb that you don’t ever experience with aluminum,” Brooklyn skipper Tom Gamboa said. “Gene got jammed a number of times and got a real deep set bruise to the point where, he’s a gamer, and he had to come out of a game at Batavia.” …
Brooklyn has a distinct lack of home-field advantage this year. During the first 16 home games, a Cyclones starting pitcher has recorded a victory just once. …
Cyclones starter Joel Huertas hasn’t exactly gotten off on the right foot this summer. The Puerto Rico native, who was selected in the 16th round by the Mets in this year’s draft, is 2–3 on the mound with an 8.03 earned-run average. …
Pete Alonso proved it’s sometimes better not to listen while running the base paths. The Brooklyn first baseman hit a double at Hudson Valley on July 18 and heard Renegades’ public address announcer Rick Zolzer yell “foul!” Alonso ignored him — the ball was officially ruled fair — and advanced to third. …
The Cyclones lineup finally got back into the swing of things on July 17, but the sixth-inning outburst was held one run short. With Alonso on first, Blake Tiberi hit one into the left field corner which looked like it would tie the game. Instead the ball bounced between bullpen gates that had failed to close and went for a ground-rule double. When the Cyclones scored four runs, the grounds-rule double became a footnote. …
He got his start in Brooklyn — or at least his re-start. Former Cyclone Jose Reyes — who played two games in Brooklyn after resigning with the Mets earlier this year — picked up his 100th triple as a Met on July 19 at Wrigley Field against the Cubs.
