BROOKLYN, NY- After taking two out of three from Tri-City this week and keeping their playoff hopes alive, the Cyclones were unable to cope with the bats of Manny Arambarris and Mike Jones, who combined for seven RBI’s, lifting the Spinners to a 9-6 win over Brooklyn.

Despite a 3.15 ERA in 68.2 innings this year, Cyclones right-hander Nelson Portillo has been a victim of poor run support and inconsistency, witnessed by a 3-4 record. Looking to get his first win since July 30 against Aberdeen, the 20-year-old Venezuelan got off to a rocky start, giving up a solo bomb off the bat of Manny Arambarris, giving Lowell an early 1-0 lead.

Portillo would continue to get into trouble in the third, giving up two runs off RBI hits from Arambarris and Chih-Hsien Chiang and would later surrender two more runs off a homer from Mike Jones, giving Lowell a 5-0 lead after just three innings.

“He wasn’t effective with his secondary pitches,” said Cyclones manager George Greer. “He doesn’t have an overpowering fastball, so if he doesn’t have his secondary pitches going, he’s going to get in trouble.”

Jeremy Mizell would replace Portillo in the third with one out and would continue to be the unsung hero of the Brooklyn bullpen this season, getting the Cyclones out of the inning without giving up any more runs.

Unfortunately for Brooklyn, Lowell starter Felix Doubrant would keep the Cyclones in check through the first few innings of play, despite giving up a Jesus Gamero solo-home run in the fourth that put the Mets Single-A Affiliate down 5-1.

Unable to keep the Spinners off the board, Mizell would give up a run after a single from Arambarris, his third RBI of the day, giving Lowell a 6-1 lead. Soon after, Mizell was replaced by Grady Hinchman, who would get a double play to end the top of the fifth inning, keeping Brooklyn down five runs.

With Brooklyn desperate to score in the fifth with only one out, the Cyclones would load the bases on an Ivan Naccarata triple, Elvis Cruz walk and D.J Wabick hit by pitch. Finally getting Doubrant’s number, the Mets Single-A Affiliate would score three runs on a Luis Rivera fielder’s choice and a Dustin Martin double, cutting Lowell’s lead to 6-4.

“To get a clutch hit like that, when the team down was big,” said Martin. “I just wished we could have pulled one out tonight.”

Hinchman unfortunately wouldn’t be able to keep the Cyclones in the game, as Jones would hit a two-run single with the bases loaded, forcing Greer to use his fourth pitcher of the game, bringing in Jonathan Castillo with the score at 8-4.

Fortunately for Brooklyn, Castillo would keep the Spinners in check the rest of the game, allowing just one run in 2.2 innings. The offense however, wouldn’t be able to come up with the six runs against the Lowell bullpen they needed in order to win, losing 9-6 after pinch hit RBI’s from Tim Grogan and Joe Holden in the eighth.

Now two games back in the wild card and virtually eliminated from catching the Yankees for the division lead, Greer still feels the team has a chance to make the playoffs and was proud of the resiliency they showed tonight.

“I don’t feel good, but we did come back,” said Greer. “I’m really proud of the way we came back from being down 5-0, we had to climb out of a big hole. It’s not impossible [for the team to make the playoffs] and we have to focus on winning one game at a time.”