Brooklyn Cyclones: Yanks Invade Coney For Last Battle Between the Boroughs

From the desk of:   THE SURF AVENUE SLUGGERS

BATTLE OF THE BOROUGHS - IV

 

The Final Showdown

 

 

CYCLONES LEAD SERIES 2-0

I - BK 5; S.I. 1

II - BK 3; S.I. 2

III - Sunday

 

Cyclones Lead Season Series 8-5

 

 

 

 

BROOKLYN CYCLONES:  No Division Title For You.

 

CYCLONES AND MUCKDOGS FANS GUARANTEED A WILD FINISH

 

 

Facing a must win situation with only four games left in the regular season, the Seaside Sluggers defeated the Yankees 3-2 Saturday evening, thus maintaining their precarious one game Wild Card lead over the hard charging Batavia Muckdogs.  For Brooklyn, the Wild Card is the only race left.  Despite winning Saturday night, the Hudson Valley Renegades also won; defeating the Aberdeen Iron Birds; to finally outpace the Cyclones and clinch the 2012 McNamara Division pennant.

On a slightly different front, Brooklyn also gained victory Saturday night in the Battle of the Borough's last engagement on Richmond County soil.  The season's final contest between the Cyclones and Staten Island Yankees will be played today, Sunday afternoon, in Coney Island.  The greater city face-off however, is already won.  To the Cyclones, go the spoils.  In thirteen games played to date, the Brooks own an 8-5 record over their outer Borough rivals.


In the Ballpark at St. George, a crowd just shy of 5,000 watched their Bombers get shutout over eight innings.  Cyclones starter, Julian Hilario, completed 6.1 innings of stellar work.  He allowed four scattered hits and only issued one walk.  He struck out seven batters before handing the ball off to reliever Beck Wheeler with one out in the seventh inning.  Wheeler secured the last two outs without harm.  Replacing Beck Wheeler, Matthew Koch kept Staten Island scoreless in the eighth inning.


Brooklyn scored single runs in the third, sixth and seventh innings.  Brandon Nimmo crushed his sixth home run of the season; a solo shot; in the third.  With the bases loaded in the sixth, Kevin Plawecki scored from third base on a wild pitch.  Malkis De La Cruz led off the seventh inning with a double, and scored on Phillip Evans' RBI single, giving the Cyclones their 3-0 lead.


Into the ninth they went.  Matt Koch returned to the hill and immediately surrendered lead-off back to back doubles.  Confusion on the base paths kept runners at second and third however.  But that mattered not.  Matt Koch was pulled in favor of closer Tyler Vanderheiden.  The first batter Tyler faced, Daniel Lopez, singled to drive both base runners home, and get the Yankees within a run.  Vanderheiden then surrendered a second consecutive single.  Then out came Coach Donnelly; there went Tyler Vanderheiden; and in came John Mincone to put out the fire.  With the tying run at third base, Mincone struck out his first batter, and induced a pop-up from the last Yankees batter of the game.


John Mincone chalked up his sixth save of the season.  Starter Julian Hilario improved his won/loss record to a 4-4 mark.  Overall, Brooklyn pitching limited Staten Island to two hits in twelve at bats with runners in scoring position.  For the game, nine Staten Island hits equalled Brooklyn.


Including today, Brooklyn will have the benefit of playing their final four regular season games on  Steeplechase grounds.  After today's series finale against the Yankees, the Boardwalk Bums will end the season versus the Lowell Spinners.  Batavia will stay home to host the Auburn Doubledays for two games, then end the season with a pair of home and home contests versus the Jamestown Jammers.


To reiterate, Brooklyn has a one game lead over the Batavia Muckdogs in the Wild Card race, with only four games remaining in the regular season.  The race for the McNamara Division title is over.  Hudson Valley clinched.

Let's Go Cyclones!

** Yankees Graffiti; The Smart Crew - Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Mike.BTB

Brooklyn Cyclones: Take Series from Vermont Lake Monsters

From the desk of:   THE CONEY ISLAND NINE

BROOKLYN CYCLONES:  Take Rubber Game From Monsters.  Remain Three Games Back Of First Place; Wild Card Lead is Five Games.


Monday Night Baseball in Vermont - Contain yourselves.  In the rubber game between the Brooklyn Cyclones and the Lake Champlain Sea Monsters, Coney Island starter Julian Hilario continued a string of scoreless innings pitched, that effectively started Saturday night in the eighth inning of a 4-1 loss.  But in game two of this series played Sunday, Hansel Robles started on the hill, and four Cyclones relievers combined to shutout the Vermont Lake Monsters,, and limit them to three hits all game.


In Monday night's game, Julian Hilario kept the Monsters hitless through the first two innings, and scoreless through the first three innings.


Back in the second inning, Brooklyn staked Hilario to a 4-0 lead.  Juan Carlos Gamboa reached on a two base E-6 to open the doors.  Nelfi Zapata singled, sending Gamboa to third.  Batting ninth in the order, Eudy Pina then stepped in with one out, and crushed his fifth home run of the season.  Brandon Nimmo followed with a single, and was driven home with a two out RBI single by Phillip Evans.  And with that, Vermont's starter, Nolan Sanburn, was directed towards the showers.


In the fourth inning, Vermont managed their second hit off Julian Hilario.  And in the fifth, well..., Vermont's Tyler Vail, struck out the side....that's what happened.  But in the bottom of the fifth, the Monsters put together two hits, and had a runner from third base cut down at the plate on a play scored 5-3-2 to end the inning.  That play brought Julian Hilario's shutout effort to five innings, and Brooklyn's streak of scoreless innings pitched against Vermont this series, to fourteen.


After Brandon Nimmo drew a one-out walk in the sixth, Phillip Evans drove him home yet again with his third single of the game, giving Brooklyn a 5-0 lead.  Except for an inconsequential single, Julian Hilario retired Vermont quietly again in the bottom of the sixth inning.


In the seventh inning, the scoreless innings streak ended at 15.2 innings.  But that came against reliever Logan Taylor; not Julian Hilario.  Coach Donnelly decided the Cyclones' starter's night was through.  He pitched six full innings, allowing five scattered hits.  He walked three, and struck out four batters before giving way to the bullpen.


In the bottom of the seventh, Vermont scored after Phillip Evans committed a one-out error at shortstop.  Then a two out triple delivered that runner home.  Taylor Logan completed his second inning of work.  In all, he allowed two hits and an unearned run.  He walked one, and struck out four.


Against Vermont's fourth pitcher of the evening, Ryan Dull, the Coney Island Nine picked up an insurance run in the ninth.  Stefan Sabol connected on his fifth home run of the season, to give the Brooks a 6-1 lead.


In the Monster's last licks, they faced Brooklyn's Tyler Vanderheiden.  For a brief moment, things went awry.  Another E-6 by Phillip Evans was followed by consecutive wild pitches by Vanderheiden.  A single then drove home Vermont's second run of the game, but nothing more.  The Cyclones win the third game of the series by a 6-2 score, and take two of three from the Lake Monsters.


The Batavia Muckdogs and Hudson Valley Renegades were also winners tonight.  So we end the night as things were, when we started.  The Brooklyn Cyclones (37-23) trail the first place Hudson Valley Renegades (40-20) in the McNamara Division by three games.  In the Wild Card race, the Cyclones hold a five game lead over the Batavia Muckdogs.  Sixteen games remain in the Cyclones' regular season.


Next stop - Coney Island, where the Cyclones will host the top team in the circuit; the Stedler Division leading Tri City Valley Cats.




Mike.BTB

Brooklyn Cyclones: Fend Off Monsters For Second Straight Win

From the desk of:   THE SURF AVENUE SLUGGERS

BROOKLYN CYCLONES:

Coney Island Gains a Game on Hudson Valley.

Win Second Straight Over Vermont Lake Monsters.

AFTER MISSING FIVE GAMES, BRANDON NIMMO RETURNS TO ACTION

In game two of their weekend series, Brooklyn finally turned up the offensive production Saturday with six runs on nine hits against the Vermont Lake Monsters.  Four Brooklyn pitchers chipped in to keep the Monsters at bay.  Brandon Nimmo made his return to the line-up, and four Cyclones hitters had multi-hit games.  Ultimately, two unearned runs allowed by Vermont would send their game off in the wrong direction.



Making his seventh start, Brooklyn's Julian Hilario, pitched in search of his second win against three losses this season.  And he'd get it.  Julian left the game after five innings pitched, in which he allowed Vermont one earned run, on five hits.  He walked two and struck out five before leaving the game.  Matthew Kotch first out of Brooklyn's bullpen.  Vermont roughed him up though.  In one inning of work, he surrendered two runs, on four hits, and issued one walk.  But Brooklyn escaped the sixth inning still holding on to a 6-3 lead.



Beck Wheeler and Paul Seward pitched the final three innings.  In two innings of work, Wheeler allowed no hits, walked none, and struck out three Monsters.  Paul Sewald pitched the ninth to secure his fourth save of the season.  He surrendered one hit, and struck out two to close out the Cyclones' thirty-third win of the season.



The Brooks took an early lead in the first inning.  Brandon Nimmo led off Brooklyn's night by drawing a walk.  He advanced to third on Phillip Evans' single.  Then a balk called against Vermont's starter, Michael Ynoa, allowed Nimmo to score.  Phillip Evans later came around to score on an RBI single by Kevin Plawecki, to make the score 2-0 Cyclones.  In the fourth, Brooklyn struck for two more runs.  Brandon Nimmo had an RBI single, and came around to score on a Phillip Evans single, making it a 4-0 game at that point.



In the fifth, Kevin Plawecki led off the inning with his fourth home run of the season.  And in the very next inning, Eudy Pina led off the sixth with a solo home run as well, to give Brooklyn their six run total.  That was Eudy Pina's fourth home run of the season.  The pair of long balls brings Brooklyn's total up to twenty-nine, which still ranks them second in the league.



This was Brandon Nimmo's first game back after getting hit by a pitch on the shoulder, which caused him to miss five games with discomfort.  But Saturday night, he picked up where he left off, and  continues to thrive batting lead-off.  He was two for four at the plate in his return.  The day before being inserted into the lead-off spot on July 25th, he was hitting eighth in the order, and at a .228 clip.  Since then, he has raised his average to a .270 mark.  He is ninth in the league in runs scored; is sporting a .391 OBP; is third in the league in walks; and is tied for second among the circuit leaders in doubles.



Hudson Valley lost to the Lowell Spinners in thirteen innings up in Peekskill, N.Y.  That means Brooklyn gained a game on the Renegades.  The Brooks are now back to being two games behind Hudson Valley for the McNamara Division lead, with twenty-three games remaining in the regular season.  The Cyclones still maintain a five game lead over State College for the Wild Card.





Mike.BTB

BKN Cyclones ~ Brandon Nimmo Helps Knot Series Against Scrappers; Rubber Game Tonight

From the desk of:   THE CONEY ISLAND NINE

BROOKLYN CYCLONES:  The Surf Avenue Sluggers Are Back!  Three Home Runs Power Brooks Past Mahoning Valley.

Series Tied 1-1

I - M.V. 3; BKN 2

II - BKN 10; M.V. 5

III - TONIGHT

Game Recap: Travelling Brooks Drop Game One in Ohio

Ask and ye shall receive.  A day after pointing out some of the Cyclones offensive woes, the Surf Avenue Sluggers struck back with a "Take That!" response for me, your author.  Late Sunday afternoon, the Brooks smashed out sixteen hits, and scored ten runs in game two of their series against the Mahoning Valley Scrappers of Ohio.

Brooklyn took a 3-0 lead right away.  Brandon Nimmo led off the game with a single.  Batter number two; Jeff Reynolds; drew a base on balls.  Then Phillip Evans stepped in against Mahoning's starting pitcher; Ryan Merritt; and crushed his fourth home run of the season.  Two batters later, as quickly as Ryan Merritt's day started, was as quickly as it ended.  Before he could finish out the first inning, Merritt was lifted for Mahoning Valley's first relief pitcher of the game; Josh Martin.

In the second, Julio Concepcion and Brandon Nimmo hit a pair of two-out, back-to-back home runs, giving the Cyclones a 5-0 lead.  The Scrappers got a run back in the bottom of the second, and scored a second run in the third inning.

Brooklyn's starting pitcher; Julian Hilario; only pitched three full innings.  He allowed five hits and two earned runs.  He issued one walk and struck out four before leaving the game.  Beck Wheeler took over pitching duties for Brooklyn in the fourth, and pitched very well over three scoreless innings.  He walked two, and struck out six batters.

After loading the bases full of Cyclones in the fifth, an RBI sac-fly by Jayce Boyd ended Josh Martin's night.  In to pitch came Scrapper reliever number two; James Stokes.  Alexander Sanchez said hello to him with an RBI single to drive home Phillip Evans with Brooklyn's seventh run of the game.  In the sixth inning, the Cyclones pounded out another four consecutive hits, and scored two more runs off Stokes for a 9-2 lead.  They would scored one last run in the eighth inning on an RBI single by Jayce Boyd to make it a 10-2 game.

Out of the bullpen, Brooklyn's Timothy Peterson got roughed up for three runs in the home eighth.  Otherwise, Logan Taylor closed out the ninth inning for the Cyclones, securing a 10-5 win.  Julian Hilario was credited with a no-decision.  Beck Wheeler got the win for his three scoreless innings of work.


Coach Donnelly has been batting Brandon Nimmo in the lead-off spot during this current road trip through Batavia and Mahoning Valley.  While his .240 batting average this season indicates a struggle, his .368 OBP is something Coach Donnelly was looking to exploit at the top of the order.  But over the first four games of this trip, the results weren't so good.  He batted 3 for 17, with one double, and drew only one base on balls.  He then had a monster game on Sunday.  Against Mahoning Valley, Brandon Nimmo went 4 for 6, with a home run and a double.  That was Brandon Nimmo's third home run and eleventh double in 150 at-bats this season.


Mike.BTB

BKN Cyclones ~ Starting Pitching Continues to Shine

From the desk of:   THE SURF AVENUE SLUGGERS

BROOKLYN CYCLONES:  Kings County is No Place For a Raccoon.  Brooks Two-Hit Their Upstate Rivals.


After taking two of three games from the Iron Birds in Aberdeen, the Seaside Sluggers returned to Coney Island and hosted the Hudson Valley Renegades.  In an early season battle for first place, three Cyclones' pitchers hand-cuffed their upstate rivals.


Making his second start of the season, Luis Mateo pitched his second consecutive abbreviated 2-hitter.  In six full innings, he walked only one, while striking out seven batters.  Mateo lowered his ERA to 0.77, and collected his second win in as many starts.


In relief, Paul Sewald was first out of the pen for Brooklyn.  He pitched two innings of hitless, scoreless ball, and struck out three batters while issuing no walks.  Sewald was credited with his first hold.  Tyler Vanderheiden came in to pitch the ninth inning.  He walked one, and struck out two, in  recording his second save.


Hudson Valley's starting pitcher, Taylor Gerrieri, gave the Brooks a 1-0 lead in the second, when he balked home Cole Frenzel from third base.  Eudy Pina drove in two more Cyclones' runs in the eighth inning, on a bases loaded single to give Brooklyn a 3-0 lead, and an eventual final.


In eight games, Cyclones' pitching has limited their opponents to a .186 batting average, and have pitched to a combined 2.66 ERA.  They lead the lead in shutouts with two, and also lead the circuit with a stellar 0.96 WHIP.


The Cyclones are now making their second pass through the starting rotation.  In eight games, Coach Donnelly has used six starters.  The rotation shapes up like this:


1) - Gabriel Ynoa
2) - Luis Mateo
3) - Luis Cessa
4) - Hansel Robles
5) - Julian Hilario
6) - Rainy Lara


As a rotation, they are averaging 5.2 innings per appearance, while only allowing 3.4 hits per game.  They have yeilded a total of seven walks.  In 44.2 innings pitched, they have amassed forty-five strikeouts.  No starter has surrendered more than two runs in a start, and combined, the rotation sports a 1.42 ERA, allowing seven runs total so far.


The Cyclones are now 6-2, and lead the McNamara Division by a full game over the Renegades.  The series shifts to Peekskill, N.Y., for Game Two, before they return to Coney Island for Game Three on Wednesday.




Mike.BTB

BKN Cyclones ~ First Road Trip Starts With a Loss

From the desk of:   THE CONEY ISLAND NINE

BROOKLYN CYCLONES:  Welcome, to the First Losing Streak of the Season.


That's right, the Brooks have lost two in a row.  Making their first trip out of New York City, the Cyclones were reduced to a little swirl down in Aberdeen Friday night.

The rain came, delayed the start of the game, then left.  And after two innings, things were looking decently enough for Brooklyn after they jumped out to a 1-0 lead.  Alex Sanchez led off the second with a double, then advanced to third base on a passed ball.  He scored when Kevin Plawecki grounded into a fielder's choice.

In the third inning, Brandon Nimmo hit his second double of the season.  Unfortunately, that would be Brooklyn's last hit of the night.  Three Aberdeen pitchers combined on a two-hitter.

Aberdeen tied the game in the sixth inning off Cyclones' starter, Julian Hilario.  The Brooklyn starter pitched admirably.  In six full innings, he allowed five hits and one earned run.  He walked one batter and struck out six.

Aberdeen scored four times off Darwin Frias in the seventh to secure a Game One win.  The Iron Birds scored one more time in the eighth off John Mincone, for a 6-1 final.

This was the Cyclones' second consecutive loss, after having dropped the final game in their series against the Yankees on Thursday.

In tonight's game, Brooklyn will throw Rainy Lara at the Iron Birds.  Aberdeen will go with Cameron Coffey in the mound.



Mike.BTB