BROOKLYN, NY- After extending their winning steak to a season-best three games on July 4th against the Hudson Valley Renegades,
the Brooklyn Cyclones continued to get great pitching from their staff and got just enough hitting to ensure another hard
fought victory, defeating the Staten Island Yankees 1-0.
After getting blown out by
the Yankees on opening day 18-0, the Cyclones pitching staff has put the pieces back together in grand style, managing a modest
3.74 ERA before tonight’s game in spite of the opening day massacre and has been the main reason for the team’s
recent success.
Jacob Ruckle would get the
start tonight for the Cyclones, who after throwing eight shutout innings in his last start, was on top of his game yet again
tonight, twirling a one-hit shutout through 8 2/3 innings, silencing the same Yankee attack that smothered Brooklyn's pitching
staff the last time the two teams faced off.
“I just try and throw
strikes, change speeds and locate pitches,” said Ruckle. “I did the same thing in St. Lucie and I’ll continue
to do the same thing wherever I go. [Tonight] I spotted my fastball and had command of my change up. To me, my change up is
my best pitch, so I went with my strength and located my fastball and threw all my pitches for strikes. I also had a very
good defense behind me.”
After an Elvis Cruz error in
the bottom of the ninth with two outs, Ruckle was replaced by Cyclones closer Joe Smith who struck out Yankees catcher Francisco
Cervelli to earn his second save of the season and end the game.
“I was disappointed to
take him out, but there was no hesitation on my part,” said Cyclones manager George Greer, in regards to why he didn’t
let Ruckle, who has yet to throw a complete game in his pro career, finish the game. “We have Joe Smith in the bullpen,
and the way the runner got on base, I didn’t want him [Ruckle] to have a mental lapse and leave a ball up. You get a
double down the third base line with their two, three and four hitters next and I didn’t want Jacob Ruckle to have a
no-decision; well, I didn’t want him to have a loss.”