Brooklyn Cyclones host Staten Island in McNamara Division Showdown

From the desk of:  THE CONEY ISLAND NINE

Preview: Battle of the Boroughs - III

Cyclones lead series 2-0

I - BK 2; S.I. 1

II - BK 7; S.I. 0

III - TUESDAY

GAME THREE

Staten Island Yankees

vs.

Brooklyn Cyclones

FROM

Steeplechase Grounds

CONEY ISLAND

BROOKLYN CYCLONES: Back in Coney Island to host first place showdown versus Staten Island Yankees.

After suffering through 5 straight losses and relinquishing their 1st place standing, the Cyclones are back in business having just completed their second straight victory over the Yankees Monday evening in Staten Island.

It took Brooklyn six pitchers and 11 innings to resolve Sunday's series opener.  Getting on base wasn't necessarily Brooklyn's issue for a change.  They produced 11 hits and drew 5 walks, but went just 2 for 13 with runners in scoring position, and left 9 runners on base.

Vinny Siena finally delivered a clutch 1-out RBI single in overtime giving the Cyclones a slim 2-1 margin of victory, and for a night, moved them within 1.5 games in the standings behind Staten Island.

In Game 2 on Monday, the visiting Cyclones put forth perhaps their finest performance of the season.

Gaby Almonte climbed the hill in Richmond County grounds, and faced 28 batters en route to delivering 8+ stellar innings of work.  He threw an economical 104 pitches with 63 going for strikes, allowed no runs on just 2 hits, walked a pair, and fanned 7 batters.  Almonte earned his league leading 6th victory of the season against 3 losses, and lowered his ERA to a 3.22 mark.  He presently also leads the NYPL in games started and innings pitched.

Unlike Sunday's 11-inning low scoring affair, Brooklyn's beleaguered offense erupted for 7 runs on 11 hits, and drew 5 walks.   Five Cyclones batters enjoyed multiple hit games, while David Thompson, Vinny Seina, and Alfredo Reyes all hit for extra bases.  Lead-off hitter Tucker Tharp went 2 for 3, with 2 walks and 2 runs scored.  Jeff Diehl and David Thompson drove in a pair of runs each.

Monday's victory put the Cyclones one game back over the .500 mark, and got them within just one-half game of the 1st place Yankees.  The series now shifts to Coney Island for Tuesday's Game 3 finale with 1st place in the McNamara Division once again on the line.

Meanwhile, the 3rd place Aberdeen Ironbirds stayed hot on Brooklyn's tail with a 7-0 drubbing of Hudson Valley to remain 1.5 games out of first.  The Renegades fell 3.5 games behind the pace.

NEW YORK PENN LEAGUE ALL-STAR GAME: August 18 @ Aberdeen

Three players will represent the Brooklyn Cyclones in this year's New York Penn League All-Star Game: Gaby Almonte, Vinny Siena, and Alex Palsha.

As previously noted, Almonte leads the league in starts and innings pitched, and recently tied for most wins.  Second baseman Vinny Siena is Brooklyn's leading hitter.  Closer Alex Palsha leads the league with 11 saves, and has yet to yield a run over 18.2 innings pitched this season.




Mike

Brooklyn Cyclones Retake First Place of McNamara Division

From the desk of:  THE SURF AVENUE SLUGGERS

McNamara Division:

1) Brooklyn           20-17

2) Aberdeen          19-18

3) Hudson Valley  19-18

4) Staten Island    19-18

BROOKLYN CYCLONES: Look Who's Number One..., Again!

On Tuesday, the Coney Island Nine and Staten Island Yankees entered that night's action tied for 1st place, with the Aberdeen Ironbirds and Hudson Valley Renegades a mere game behind in the McNamara Division standings.

By Wednesday, all four McNamara teams were tied for 1st place with identical 19-17 records.

The square dance now seems to be breaking up - maybe.

Staten Island lost their second straight to the Batavia Muckdogs, Aberdeen lost to the Auburn Doubledays, while Brooklyn defeated the Hudson Valley Renegades to recapture sole possession of the 1st place.

Moreover, with Wednesday's 6-3 victory over the Renegades, the Cyclones became the fourth team in the circuit, and first team in their division to achieve 20 victories this season.

The McNamara remains the only division with all its members still playing .500 baseball or better.  

The Pinckney Division Williamsport Crosscutters, however, lead the New York Penn League with a 25-12 record.

7/29 - Renegades @ CYCLONES: Game 2

Brooklyn's Kevin Canelon made Wednesday's start at Coney Island Grounds, and was opposed by Hudson Valley's Roel Ramirez.

The Cyclones jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first.  Tucker Tharp and Vinny Siena led-off with back-to-back singles, then scored on Michael Bernal's triple to center field.  Bernal soon scored the third Cyclones' run on David Thompson's ground out to second.

Tucker Tharp led-off the bottom of the 5th with a home run to left, giving the Cyclones a 4-0 lead.

Hudson Valley ruined the shutout in the 6th, but Brooklyn stormed right back with a pair of runs in the 8th.  After DH Brandon Brosher received a 1-out walk, Jeff Diehl connected on a home run to left.

The Renegades scored 2 runs in the top of the 9th, charged to reliever Ruben Reyes to make it a 6-3 final score.

• Starter Kevin Canelon tossed 6 innings, allowed just one earned run on 4 hits, walked one and fanned 7 batters to earn his third victory of the season.  He is now 3-2 with a 3.82 ERA over 33 innings pitched.

Closer Alex Palsha recorded his league leading 8th save of the season.  He has yet to allow a run over 13 appearances and 15.2 innings pitched.  To date, he's allowed 7 hits, issued just 4 walks, and fanned 18 batters.

Now down to .220, the Cyclones team average keeps spiraling precipitously downwards towards the infamous Mendoza Line.  On a team level, I never thought that possible.  Whether they achieve that dubious distinction remains to be seen.

On this night, they managed 9 hits, while usually averaging 7.16 hits per game.  Their 6 runs were also somewhat of an outburst when compared to their 3.75 runs per game average over 37 games played.

Despite Wednesday's output, Brooklyn's team batting average is presently .220, and spiraling precipitously downwards towards the infamous Mendoza Line.  On a team level, I never thought that possible.  Whether they achieve that dubious distinction remains to be seen.

On the bright side, a pair of home runs gave the Cyclones 18 for the season, which ranks them 4th in the league.

Brooklyn, would then be well served by getting just a few more people on base.  They presently sport a league low .297 OBP, making them the only team below the .300 mark.  The Cyclones have drawn the 4th least walks, have the league's least amount of hits, and as you might guess, they trail the league in total bases.

The Renegades and Cyclones will play the rubber game of their series Thursday evening at Dutchess Stadium.



Mike

BK Cyclones vs. S.I. Yankees: Battle of the Boroughs - II

From the desk of:  THE SURF AVENUE SLUGGERS

BATTLE of the BOROUGHS - II

Cyclones lead season series 2-1

I - BKN 3; SIY 2

II - SIY 8; BKN 3

III - BKN 6; SIY 4

WEDNESDAY

Brooklyn Cyclones

vs.

Staten Island Yankees

FROM

Rotten Island

BROOKLYN CYCLONES: Richmond Bombers Host Series Opener 2 games back of 1st place Bums.

Baby Bums taking cue from parent club; 

contending with strong pitching, but with little hitting to speak of.

All four McNamara Division teams are playing above .500 baseball, led by the Brooklyn Cyclones.   The Coney Island Nine own a 2-game edge over the Staten Island Yankees, and a 3-game lead over the the Aberdeen Ironbirds and Hudson Valley Renegades, respectively.

The Cyclones (15-8) are in 1st place today based largely on the strength of their pitching.  Their 1.09 WHiP leads the league and their 2.47 ERA ranks second.  They are second in the league in strikeouts, allowed the second least hits and runs, and lead the circuit with 4 shutouts.

• After five starts and 31.1 innings pitched, Tyler Badamo is 1-2 with a 2.87 ERA, and a 0.93 WHiP.   He is fourth in the circuit with 26 strikeouts.  Team mate Matt Blackham leads the league with 30 strikeouts.  He is 2-0 with a 3.09 ERA, and a 0.99 WHiP.  Closer Alex Palsha has yet to surrender a run over 11.1 innings pitched, and leads the league with 5 saves.

The 2nd place Staten Island Yankees (13-10) rank fourth with a 3.41 ERA, a 1.25 WHiP; they're fourth in strikeouts, and have allowed the fourth least hits, and the sixth least runs.

• With a 3-1 record, right-hander Luis Cedeno is tied for the league lead (with team mate Derek Callahan) in victories, and owns a 1.37 ERA, and 0.99 WHiP over 26.1 innings pitched, with 18 strikeouts.

Staten Island owns a distinct edge at the plate.  They are second in the league in runs scored and fourth in hits.  They lead the circuit in OBP, and rank fifth in slugging and team average, and sixth in home runs.

• Outfielder Griffin Gordon leads the team with 6 doubles and a .342 average.  Jhalan Jackson leads the team with 4 home runs and 14 RBI.

The Cyclones on the other hand, are last in the New York Penn League in hits, team average, and OBP, rank twelfth in slugging, eleventh in runs scored, struck out the fourth most times and are tied for fourth in home runs.

• Vinny Siena is second in the league in hits, second with a .361 batting average, and sixth in OBP.  He is presently the Cyclones' lone .300 hitter.  Right fielder Michael Bernal leads the circuit in runs scored and is fifth in slugging.  He leads the team with 5 doubles, 3 home runs and 10 RBI.

The Cyclones will open the series in Richmond County, then host the Baby Bombers on Thursday.   The series will conclude on Friday back in Staten Island.



Mike

BK Cyclones: Boardwalk Bums Throw Away Chance at Sweep

From the desk of:  THE CONEY ISLAND NINE

14-6

First Place

McNamara Division

Cyclones win series 2-1

I - BKN 5; HVR 3

II - BKN 1; HVR 0

III - HVR 6; BKN 5

BROOKLYN CYCLONES: Coney Islanders err in bid to sweep Hudson Valley Renegades.

The Brooklyn Cyclones overcame a 5-2 deficit with 3 runs in the top of the 7th inning, forcing extra innings in Friday's series finale against the Hudson Valley Renegades.

They might even have come within a David Thompson throw of completing a 3-game sweep.

Matt Blackham started for Brooklyn, and got touched up for all 5 Hudson Valley runs.  All runs were earned, on 4 hits and 4 walks, and he fanned 5 batters upon departing after 4.2 innings of work.

Four Brooklyn relievers then combined on 6.1 scoreless innings through the 11th, allowing 7 hits and striking out 9 batters.

After the Renegades jumped out to a 1st inning 1-0 lead, Brooklyn tied it in the top of the 2nd on left fielder Oswald Caraballo's sac fly scoring third baseman David Thompson.

The Cyclones went ahead 2-1 in the 3rd.  Catcher Jose Garcia led-off with a double, and later scored on a wild pitch.

The 'Gades tied it in the bottom of the 3rd, and scored 3 runs in the 5th for a 5-2 lead.

DH Zach Mathieu then homered in the top of the 7th, and a 2-RBI single by center fielder Tucker Tharp tied the game at five.

That's the way things stayed till the 12th.

With reliever Nicco Blank pitching for Brooklyn, a throwing error by David Thompson on a sacrifice attempt allowed the winning run to score from second base.

Blank suffered his second loss of the season.

Thursday: Game Two

• Final: Renegades 0; CYCLONES 1

Pitchers Blake Taylor, Andrew Church, and Carlos Valdez combined on 7 scoreless innings, in the Cyclones 1-0 abbreviated game victory over the Hudson Valley Renegades.  They combined to allow just 3 hits and one walk, and fanned 9 batters.

Tucker Tharp drove in the lone run of the game with a double in the 3rd.

Wednesday: Game One

• Final: Cyclones 5; RENEGADES 3

Starter Gaby Almonte improved his record to 2-1, as the Cyclones bested the Renegades by a 5-3 margin.

Third baseman David Thompson went 4 for 5, and Michael Bernal went 3 for 5, accounting for 7 of the Cyclones 10 hits.

Closer Alex Palsha earned his 4th save of the season.

3B- David Thompson

Third baseman David Thompson, 21, was selected in the 4th round (119th overall) of the recent amateur draft.  He reported to Brooklyn after helping the University of Miami reach the College World Series.  Thompson led the nation (Division-I) in RBI and tied for the lead in home runs this season as a junior.  He was a 2015 All-America First Team, and 2015 All-ACC First Team.

• 2015 season at University of Miami: 67 games, 253 at-bats, 83 hits, .328 batting average, 18 doubles, 19 home runs (3 grand slams), .640 slugging average, 90 RBI, 20-game hitting streak.

Next up, the Cyclones will host a series against the Aberdeen Ironbirds.

Mike