Ironbirds 5
Cyclones 2
June 28 at MCU Park
The Cyclones fell to the Aberdeen Ironbirds 5–2 at MCU Park on Thursday, thanks to a pitching staff that couldn’t find the plate.
The Ironbirds took a three-run lead in the second after Matthew Koch pitched himself into a jam by walking the first two batters, plunking a third, and giving up a single — a poor showing that led Skipper Rich Donnelly to pull Koch from the rubber and replace the righty with reliever Beck Wheeler.
But the agony contained: Cyclones reliever Julian Hilario hit an additional two batters and gave up a double in the fourth frame. He then threw a wild pitch in the fifth that allowed a runner to advance to scoring position before giving up the hit that sent the runner home.
Donnelly yanked his pitcher off the mound once again, replacing him with back-to-back relievers who kept the Junior Orioles at bay for the rest of the night.
Second baseman Juan Carlos Gamboa scored the first of the Clones’s two runs on a third-inning RBI single from third baseman Dimas Ponce. Shortstop Philip Evans picked up the other run in the fifth on a grounder by catcher Nelfi Zapata.
The Cyclones are home again at MCU Park [1904 Surf Ave. at W. 17th Street in Coney Island, (718) 4498497, www.brooklyncyclones.com] tonight at 7 pm as they take on the Aberdeen Ironbirds.
