Brooklyn Boro

Cyclones slide into second place behind Staten Island

Fall Half-Game Back of Yankees After Loss in Lowell

August 5, 2015 By John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Brandon Brosher and the rest of the Cyclones just can't seem to put the bat on the ball when it matters most, as evidenced by their 1-for-11 performance with runners in scoring position Tuesday night in Lowell. Eagle photo by Jeff Melnik
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For the first time in over a month, the Brooklyn Cyclones are looking up in the standings.

Making matters worse, the arch-rival Staten Island Yankees are now the team to beat in the McNamara Division.

Brooklyn slipped one-half game behind the first-place Baby Bombers following Tuesday night’s ugly 5-1 loss to Lowell in front of 2,504 fans at Edward A. LeLacheur Park.

After kicking off their eight-game road trip with a 7-6 win at Lowell on Monday, the Baby Bums (23-20) went a dismal 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position and committed three errors Tuesday en route to their third loss in four games.

Coupled with Staten Island’s 3-2 win in Vermont, the Cyclones now find themselves trailing in the tightly packed McNamara race for the first time since late June, when the season was just over a week old.

Starter Tyler Badamo (2-5) took the loss against the Spinners, yielding two runs – one earned – on three hits while striking out six over just 2 2/3 innings.

But it wasn’t Brooklyn’s league-best pitching staff that cost the Cyclones in this one, but rather the season-long malaise of the offense and defense.

The Bums left a staggering 12 runners on base, and appeared incapable of limiting the Spinners to three outs per inning.

Right fielder Michael Bernal, a New York-Penn League All-Star in 2014, misplayed a fly ball in the third inning, second baseman Vinny Siena booted a potential inning-ending grounder in the fourth and center fielder Enmanuel Zabala dropped another fly ball in the fifth to give Lowell a 5-1 cushion.

Only one of the Spinners’ five runs was earned, and Brooklyn’s league-worst batting average slipped to .221 after the Cyclones continued to make the very least of their scoring opportunities.

Second-year manager Tom Gamboa called his lineup “arguably the worst hitting team in all of professional baseball,” last week, and the strong words haven’t come close to shaking Brooklyn out of its slumber at the plate.

On Wednesday, the Cyclones scored their lone run of the inning via an out as David Thompson’s sacrifice fly in the fourth drew them within a run of the Spinners.

But they gave two back in the bottom of the frame as southpaw reliever Ruben Reyes hit a pair of batters, catcher Brandon Brosher allowed a passed ball and Siena couldn’t handle a routine grounder, making it 4-1.

Brooklyn has now lost seven of its last nine road contests and has gone a dismal 9-15 since charging out of the gate with a league-best 14-5 mark.

Right-hander Gaby Almonte (5-2) was hoping to stop the skid Wednesday night in Lowell before Brooklyn continues its extended trek with a three-game set in Vermont beginning Thursday.

After that, the Cyclones will visit Staten Island (23-19) for a pair of games before hosting the Yankees at MCU Park next Tuesday to kick off a four-game homestand.

This, That and the Other Thing: Almonte is a good candidate to stop Brooklyn’s slide, having won his last three starts while allowing one earned run or fewer in six of his last seven outings. The 22-year-old right-hander has also gone at least six innings in each of his last four starts, and has lowered his season ERA to a staff-best 2.27, despite surrendering six earned runs in his season debut against the Yankees at MCU Park on June 20. … 2B Siena, once challenging for the NY-Penn batting title, has also fallen off of late at the plate, hitting a meager .216 over his last 10 games. … Brooklyn’s 2.77 team ERA is nearly a half-run better than its closest competitor, Staten Island (3.17) in the league rankings. But the Cyclones trail Hudson Valley (.239) by 18 points in the hunt to avoid having the worst batting average on the circuit. … The Cyclones are making a special offer to fans who attend next Tuesday’s showdown against Staten Island at MCU Park. From 10 a.m. Wednesday to 10 a.m. Thursday, fans can purchase tickets to the league’s top rivalry in Minor League baseball while receiving a free voucher for Brooklyn-S.I. Games on Sept. 5 and 6, two contests that may decide the division title early next month.

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