Brooklyn Cyclones Drop Rubber Game To Staten Island And Continue Losing Grip On Wild Card

The Brooklyn Cyclones are in trouble.  In the end, their early season flirtation with first place was just a tease.  With the 2012 regular season winding down, the Brooks no longer have a real shot at winning the division flag.  Their chances were slim to begin with.  After Sunday evening’s loss to the Staten Island Yankees, coupled with a Renegades win over the Aberdeen Ironbirds, Brooklyn fell seven games out of first place.  Only ten games remain in the regular season.  So basically, Hudson Valley has all but clinched the McNamara Division title with their ninth victory in their last ten games.

If the Seaside Sluggers want to participate in the post-season, they must hold on to the Wild Card they currently possess.  Their precarious lead has now dwindled down to a mere two games over the Batavia Muckdogs.  Sunday evening, the Dogs defeated the Williamsport Crosscutters rather handily, by a 7-1 final score.  In early August, Batavia leapfrogged over the State College Spikes to position themselves behind Brooklyn for a chance at the Wild Card.  Like Hudson Valley, the Muckdogs are also in the midsts of their best baseball of the season.  They are winneres of eight of their last ten games.  Compared to Batavia and Hudson Valley, the Cyclones have been very inconsitent over the same stretch, playing to a 5-5 record.

Sunday evening, the Bums and Bombers bused it over the Verrazano Bridge again, as the rubber match in the Battle of the Boroughs series shifted back to Richmond County.  Both teams enjoyed victories on their respective home turf.  Sunday’s game three was no exception.  But the Baby Bombers didn’t just defeat the Boardwalk Bums in the series clincher. They demoralized them.  Staten Island jumped the Cyclones with seven runs in the first inning alone.  By the time they were through, the Cyclones fell by a 12-2 final score.

Brooklyn’s starting pitcher, Julian Hilario, never made it out of the first inning.  He managed to secure just one out before getting the hook from Coach Donnelly.  Hilario surrendered eight hits, and seven runs; five earned.  Timothy Peterson and Paul Sewald pitched a combined 6.1 innings in relief.  Between them, they allowed another nine hits and five more runs; all earned.  There’s no bright side in a game like this.  But the two relievers did combine to stikeout seven batters.  The Cyclones’ fourth pitcher of the evening, David Wynn, was the only Cyclones hurler to put forth a scoreless effort in the eighth.

The Cyclones lone offensive highlight came in the fifth inning.  After Jeff Reynolds reached safely on a single, Brandon Nimmo crushed his fifth home run of the season.  But that only turned the game into a 10-2 affair.  In fact, the Brooks only managed four hits all game.

The Yankees effectively put an end to Brooklyn’s night with two more runs in the seventh inning.

Monday, the Cyclones will take to the road and visit the Aberdeen Ironbirds for two games.  They will then play Hudson Valley in a two-game home and home.  A three game series against the Yankees and another three game set versus the Lowell Spinners finishes out the schedule.