Brooklyn Cyclones Ninth-Inning Meltdown Gives Jersey Shore Blue Claws Series Lead

From the desk: THE SURF AVENUE SLUGGERS

20th ANNIVERSARY SEASON

REGULAR-SEASON FINALE

JERSEY SHORE @ BROOKLYN

I - BK 5; JS 2

II - JS 4; BK 3

III - JS 8; BK 6

Late Comeback Goes For Naught as Bullpen Implodes in Ninth

Game three features Jersey Shore right-hander Griff McGarry toeing the slab against Oscar Rojas for Brooklyn.

A single and a triple give the Blue Claws an early 1-0 lead in the visitor's first.  The Cyclones draw three consecutive walks leading off the second, and right fielder Raul Beracierta's sac-fly to right field ties the game at one.

Jersey Shore retakes a one-run lead in the fourth.  With runners on the corners, Francisco Alvarez's errant throw on an attempted theft of second permits the runner from third to score.  

The score remains unchanged through the sixth.

Starter Oscar Rojas allows two runs (one earned) on seven hits and two walks with five strikeouts through six innings pitched.  Facing Brooklyn's Luis Montas in the seventh, center fielder Johan Rojas triples home a run and scores.  

Second baseman Wilmer Reyes who continues to do nothing but shine since returning to the Cyclones, drives home a run in the home seventh, pulling Brooklyn with two. 

Luis Montas tosses a scoreless top half of the eighth.  Facing Blue Claw reliever Gabriel Yanez, the Cyclones tally three times on runs batted in from Raul Beracierta, Branden Fryman, and Wilmer Reyes, giving Brooklyn a 5-4 lead.

But it does not last.  Facing Michel Otanez in the visitor's ninth, Jersey Shore loads the bases and scores the tying run on a wild pitch.  A subsequent two-out base hit gives Jersey Shore the lead, and a run-scoring double and some other bad stuff provides the Blue Claws insurance.  

Manager Blankmeyer finally removes Michel Otanez, but it's too late.  Or should I say the manager recognized too late?  Opening a ninth-inning yielding a single and a walk should have been his first indication of trouble.  After another hit to load the bases, Blankmeyer still made no move.  Two more hits and a Wilmer Reyes ejection later, Blankmeyer finally acts with the Cyclones down by three.

The Cyclones recover one run in the home ninth to no avail.

Making his sixth start for Brooklyn, Oscar Rojas escapes with a no-decision, while Manager Blankmeyer Michel Otanez blows his third save and takes the loss.

Since returning to the Cyclones, Wilmer Reyes has batted .435 with seven RBI through six games and 23 at-bats.  BOXSCORE

Brooklyn Cyclones Suffer Crushing Defeat at Hudson Valley as Passive Manager Blankmeyer Looks On

From the desk: THE CONEY ISLAND NINE

BROOKLYN vs. HUDSON VALLEY; 1-2

I - HVR 3; BRK 2

II - BRK 11; HVR 7

III - HVR 6; BRK 5

Cyclone Skipper Draws a "Blank"

Trailing 5-4 Entering the Home Ninth, 

Hudson Valley Hits Two-Run Walkoff Home Run

In match number three between New York City's rival affiliates, the Renegades serve with single runs in the first and third innings.  Brooklyn return serves with a run in the fifth and four aces in the sixth.  But the Renegades volley with a run in the bottom of the sixth and two more in the seventh, tying the game at five.

Hudson Valley starter Edgar Barclay is knocked out of the box with two outs in the top of the sixth, but not before surrendering four runs on four hits and a walk with five strikeouts through 5.2 innings pitched.  Making his fifth start for the Cyclones, J.T. Ginn allows three runs on three hits and one walk with three strikeouts through six full innings pitched while exiting on the winning side of a 5-3 affair.

Facing Brooklyn's Connor O'Neil in the home seventh, Hudson Valley is helped to a pair of runs.  O'Neil surrenders a leadoff hit, then advances the runner with an errant pickoff attempt.  The Renegades then score on a fielder's choice.  Afterwhich, Connor O'Neil issues four consecutive bases on balls forcing in a second run and tying the game at five.  Manager Blankmeyer finally removes O'Neil in favor of Evy Ruibal, who closes out the seventh without further damage.

Hudson Valley's Charlie Ruegger and Evy Ruibal then pitched a scoreless eighth inning.

Leading off the ninth, second baseman Luke Ritter doubles, and Jose Mena singles putting runners on the corners with one out.  Ritter then scores on Antoine Duplantis' fielder's choice to second, but Jose Mena is thrown out at second base on the continuation to end the inning, not before the Cyclones take a 6-5 lead.

Evy Rubial is sent blackout for the home half of the ninth and promptly yields a leadoff single.  That right there usually serves as a red flag, but an unconcerned manager Blankmeyer makes no move.  His ambivalence proves unfortunate, if not costly.  Because the very next batter, designated hitter Anthony Volpe launches a game-winning two-run home run over the left-field wall.

A deflating loss, for sure.  I'm left with little choice but to call manager Ed Blankmeyer on the carpet over this one.  Back in the seventh, Conner O'Neil clearly lacked effectiveness/control and perhaps was left in the game too long.  Insofar as Evy Rubial, he did his job in the seventh and again in the eighth.  Sending him out again for the ninth was already a questionable move.  But blame for not removing Rubial once the leadoff hitter singled safely falls squarely on the manager.

Luke Ritter finishes 2 for 4 with two runs batted in, and with one hit Ronny Mauricio also drives home two runs giving him 52 RBI in 84 games to date.  Third baseman Jose Peroza goes 2 for 4 with a double and one run batted in.

BOXSCORE

Brooklyn Cyclones Win Season Opener at Historic McCormick Field

From the desk: THE SURF AVENUE SLUGGERS

2001 ~ Twentieth Anniversary ~ 2021

BROOKLYN CYCLONES

New York-Penn League Champions

2019

It's been a long 508 days since the Brooklyn Cyclones last took the field.  On Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019, they defeated the Lowell Spinners to capture their second-ever championship.  Afterwhich, baseball and society came to a grinding halt due to the COVID pandemic.  Major League Baseball then overhauled and realigned all of MiLB during the most recent off-season, completely changing the landscape.  Unless the league is restarted in the future, the Brooklyn Cyclones go down as the last New York Penn League champion.

• ROSTER: 2021 Brooklyn Cyclones

Brooklyn is now a long-season high-A affiliate.  One of the benefits, as a fan, is the higher level of competition and, of course, more games - 120 games to be exact.  Sadly, the days of Brooklyn versus Staten Island are over.  The Hudson Valley Renegades are now a New York Yankees affiliate, making the Dutchess County club Brooklyn's newest and biggest rival.  That is if you haven't already singled out as a next rival, the newly rebranded Jersey Shore Blue Claws (formerly Lakewood).  Joining Brooklyn and Hudson Valley from the former New York Penn League is the Aberdeen Ironbirds. 

HIGH-A EAST North Division:

• Brooklyn Cyclones (New York-Penn League)
• Hudson Valley Renegades (New York-Penn League)
• Aberdeen Ironbirds (New York-Penn League)
• Wilmington Blue Rocks (Carolina League)
• Jersey Shore Blue Claws (South-Atlantic League)

HIGH-A EAST South Division:

• Ashville Tourists (South-Atlantic League)
• Greensboro Grasshoppers (South-Atlantic League)
• Hickory Crawdads (South-Atlantic League)
• Rome Braves (South-Atlantic League)
• Greenville Drive (Carolina League)
• Winston-Salem Dash (Carolina League)
• Bowling Green Hot Rods (Midwest League)

Due to COVID, this year's travel schedule is being limited to Hudson Valley, Jerse Shore, Aberdeen, Asheville, Greenville, and Wilmington.

SEASON OPENER

Tuesday, May 4, 2021

Brooklyn Cyclones vs. ASHEVILLE TOURISTS

McCormick Field

North Carlina

Lefty Josh Walker Hurls a Gem

With Brooklyn staked to a 6-0 lead, Asheville finally connects for its base first hit in the sixth.  

So starts the 2021 regular season at the historic near-century old McCormick Field, the third-oldest minor league ballpark in America.

Receiving the privilege of making the season-opening start, Brooklyn manager Ed Blankmeyer hands the ball to southpaw Josh Walker who yields no hits through five innings pitched while walking only one and fanning eight.  Right-hander Eric Orze throws a scoreless sixth in relief of Walker but in the seventh, yields a lead-off home run to shortstop Freudis Nova.  

Third baseman Bret Baty spearheads the charge.  His first-inning single delivers home two runs.  But it's catcher Hayden Senger who strikes the mighty blow, a second-inning home run giving Brooklyn a 3-0 lead.  Center fielder Scott Ota's base hit in the third drives home second baseman Luke Ritter; then, with Senger at the plate and Ota standing at third, a balk is called, giving the Cyclones a five-run advantage.  Bret Baty follows with a double in the fourth driving in his third run of the game.

The Ashville Tourists finally get on the board on first baseman Scott Schreiber's seventh-inning home run against reliever Mitch Ragan.  However, in the top of the eighth, Tourists' reliever Yeremi Ceballos unleashes consecutive wild pitches allowing two more Brooklyn base runners to score.  But in the bottom of the eighth, Mitch Ragan surrenders a home run to left fielder Colin Barber.  Mitch Ragan pitches himself into more trouble in the ninth by loading the bases.  But he regroups to strike out the side, the last Asheville batter being Colin Barber.

Starter Josh Walker earns the victory.  Shortstop Ronny Mauricio is 2 for 4 with a double and two runs scored.  Brooklyn batters amass eleven hits while three Cyclones pitchers join to strike out 15 batters.

• BOXSCORE
  
• 5/4/21 - Hudson Valley 2; JERSEY SHORE 6