BROOKLYN, NY– Staten Island rolled into Brooklyn to face the Cyclones for a match up that would be critical in determining whether or not the Yankees will be in the playoffs this fall. In order to try and snag a victory from the Wild Card leading Cyclones, the Yankees sent twenty one year old Matt Borens to the mound.
The Cyclones on the other hand would get some help in their quest for the NY-Penn League Wildcard in the form of Daisuke Matsuzaka who was making a rehab appearance with the Mets short season single A affiliate.
Matsuzaka showed why he is a major league pitcher though through his rehab start. Over the first four innings he managed to strike out seven batters and allowed no runs to score. His performance in the first half was exactly what Brooklyn needed coming off their defeat to the Yanks the previous day by a score of fourteen to four.
To Staten Island’s credit though, Matt Borens was not impotent on the mound. While he only struck out three during his first three innings of work, allowing just one hit. The game was shaping up to be a pitcher’s duel very early on.
As good as the starting pitching was for both sides, Staten Island’s bullpen did not have it in the them to hold the lead as Brooklyn took a two to nothing lead heading into the final three frames.
The Yankees’ Dillon McNamara surrendered an RBI double to Michael Bernal in the Bottom of the Fifth and then surrendered an RBI single in the Bottom of the Sixth to Tyler Moore. The Cyclones bullpen meanwhile managed to keep the game tight thanks to two Brad Wieck who continued the theme of K’s that Matsuzaka had set in the first few frames. Wieck struck out four over his two innings of work.
The Yankees could get nothing going against the Cyclones offensively thank in part to their top notch pitching in front of their home crowd. The Baby Bombers managed to only get an anemically low four hits through the game, while striking out thirteen times.
Matsuzaka picked up the win and Shane Bay came out of the bullpen in the Top of the Ninth to shut the door on the Yankees. With that Bay picked up his fourteenth save of the season. With the win the Cyclones gain back the game they lost in the Wild Card standings and the Yankees inch closer to not playing baseball come the fall.
- -Staten Island fell to an even record on the season with a mark of thirty-two and thirty-two.
- – With the loss Staten Island falls to three and a half games behind Brooklyn for the Wild Card with only eleven games left in the season.
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