BROOKLYN, NY- After winning the first game of a day-night
double header against Lowell, the Cyclones gave their fans a performance eerily
similar to today’s earlier win, getting clutch hitting from D.J. Wabick and solid pitching from Todd Privett, defeating
the Spinners 3-2 in their last at-bat in extra innings.
“We refuse to lose,” said Cyclones manager George Greer.
“That’s our mindset.”
Getting the start for the Mets
Single-A Affiliate tonight was Todd Privett, who despite pitching his heart out for the Cyclones, having a 2.41 ERA in 41
innings, has only one win in seven starts this season. A victim of poor run support and horrible luck, Privett was out to
get a victory in this must win game for Brooklyn.
After a solid first, Privett
would run into trouble, giving up a run after surrendering two hits and being a victim of a Luis Rivera throwing error, giving
Lowell an early 1-0 lead. Privett’s bad luck would continue going into the
third, as an Ivan Naccarata error would make it possible for another run to score, this time on a Paul Smyth sacrifice fly,
giving the Spinners a 2-0 lead after just three innings.
If the Cyclones inferior early-inning
defense wasn’t enough, Lowell starter J.T. Zink was extremely effective
as well, twirling a perfect game through 3.2 innings. Zink, however did manage to hit a bump in the road in fourth and fifth,
as Dan Murphy’s sacrifice fly would put the boys from Brooklyn down 2-1
after four innings while Emmanuel Garcia fielder’s choice would bring Naccarata home, tying the score at
2-2 in the fifth.
“It took me a little
while to get warmed up today,” said Privett. “I gave up a lot of lead off hits, but I focused when I had to. I
threw a lot of changeups today and they’ve been coming through for me a lot lately.”
Privett would continue to pitch
for Brooklyn into the sixth and would keep the score at 2-2, while the 7,003 fans in attendance wondered
if the Cyclones could sweep today’s double header and keep their playoff hopes alive. Jose
De La Torre would pitch the seventh for Brooklyn and would keep the score at 2-2, giving the Mets Single-A
Affiliate an ample opportunity to win the game in the bottom of the seventh with Jordan Craft, who replaced Zink, coming in
to pitch for Lowell.
Unfortunately, the Cyclones
couldn’t score a run in bottom of seventh off Craft, forcing the game into extra innings.
The game would remain 2-2 through eight and a half innings until D.J. Wabick ended the game in the bottom
of the ninth with an RBI double, scoring Jesus Gamero who singled earlier, giving Brooklyn a hard earned
3-2 win that puts them only a game and a half behind Aberdeen for the wild
card with only three games remaining. With their final three games at home against the 22-50 Vermont Lake Monsters, the Cyclones
feel confident their playoff hopes are still alive.
“We got a little low
after the All-Star break, but the character of this team has really shown through,” said Greer. “We have a lot
of character and spunk on this team.”
“It feels great,” said Gamero, regarding tonight’s victory. “We’re one step
closer to the playoffs.”
