46 JULY 21 - JULY 27, 2017 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP
Cyclones still struggling in the win column
BY JIM DOLAN
Not since 2006, when they began
with a record of 6-13, have
the Brooklyn Cyclones had a
worse start. This season, the Cyclones
began with a 5-14 record and have only
improved to 7-19 at the beginning of
week number fi ve.
Oddly enough, a er its poor start,
the 2006 team recorded one of the
greatest minor league turnarounds,
winning 13 straight games (mostly
on the road) in the month of August
to capture a wild card playo spot to
fi nish with a winning record of 41-33.
However, this year’s team does not
look poised for a similar turnaround
as it takes one step forward and a few
steps back on a weekly basis.
One of those steps forward came
in the form of a tight game this past
Sunday, July 16, as the Cyclones closed
out with a 2-1 win over State College
a er being waxed by the Spikes 12-1
just the night before.
A er the team lost three games in
Niles, Ohio to the Mahoning Valley
Scrappers, and two home games to
the Spikes, fans were treated to a
classic pitching duel by Brooklyn’s
Gunnar Kines and State College’s Paul
Balestrieri.
Brooklyn’s Kines held State College
scoreless over six innings, giving up
just one hit and two walks and striking
out three, while Balestrieri gave
up only one run, two walks and six
hits with three strikeouts over the
same six innings.
A er State College tied the game
in the eighth inning at 1-1, Brooklyn
fans held their breath and crossed
their fi ngers with two out in the bottom
of ninth as the Cyclones had Matt
Winaker at second base in scoring
position with Jose Miguel Medina at
the plate.
Anxious to get the job done, Medina
jumped on the fi rst pitch, sending the
ball into the le fi eld corner for a double
to score Winaker for the 2-1 win.
Earning just their seventh win of
the season, the delirious Cyclones
mobbed Medina at second base, ripping
o his jersey while giving him
a water bucket shower. For Medina,
this game would be another o ensive
standout e ort that netted him two
doubles, a single, one RBI and a stolen
base on the day.
In Cyclones alumni news, New
York Mets outfi elder (Cyclones 2014)
Michael Conforto was the lone Met
All Star representative and went
one for two in the 2017 MLB All Star
Game.
Conforto’s former 2014 teammate,
shortstop Amed Rosario, playing at
Triple-A Las Vegas, was chosen for
the Minor League Futures Game along
with former 2013-14 Cyclones catcher
Tomas Nido who is currently playing
for Double-A Binghamton.
Crossword
Across
1. Long, narrow cuts
6. "Ick!"
11. Distilled liquors
13. Marine algae
15. One with little or
no material wealth
(hyph.)
16. Country surrounded
by foreign territory
17. Bauxite, e.g.
18. Ornamental work
in Gothic window
20. ___ green
21. Cleave
23. Chip away at
24. Source
25. Makes level,
square or balanced
27. "Don't give up!"
28. Onward
29. More vague and
dreamy as if by drugs
31. Celebrate
32. Being held in low
esteem
34. Broom made of
twigs
36. Extraction
39. Evening hour
40. Drivel
41. Stops in for a visit,
with "by"
43. Horse's gait
between a walk and a
cantor
44. Small shelters for
pigeons
46. Slam-dance
47. Abbr. after a
comma
48. Fastest land
animal
50. Conk out
51. Main body of an
algae or fungus
53. Subject to legal
proceedings
55. Surfeit
56. Near the beginning
(2 wds)
57. Bulrush, e.g.
58. She had "the
face that launched a
thousand ships"
Down
1. Those who use
without wasting
2. Energize (2 wds)
3. Anger
4. Hair colorer
5. Abundance
6. Romance, e.g.
7. R-rated, maybe
8. Hooter
9. Harbor accessible
to ocean vessels
10. LXX
11. Cheat, in a way
12. Not a substitute
13. Down at the heels
14. End
19. Place into mutual
or reciprocal relation
22. Fixed (2 wds)
24. Body part
between the elbow
and wrist
26. Grafting shoot
28. In the cards
30. An end to sex?
31. Bit of paronomasia
33. Lab tube
34. Wide, deep
capelike collars
35. Summon
37. Farewell (hyph.)
38. Fifth letter of
Greek alphabet
39. Nullifi es a
correction
40. Poem
42. Bishop ___, early
televangelist
44. Smokejumper's
need
45. Fergie, formally
48. Horsefl y
49. Bring on
52. Removable or
hinged cover
54. "Is that ___?"
Answers
Photo by Jim Dolan
Pitcher Joe Napolitano reaches out with a “high ve” of
encouragement before his teammates take the eld. One teammate
in particular, Jose Miguel Medina, #20, came through
on Sunday, July 16 with a winning RBI double to pull out a
2-1 win over the State College Spikes, breaking a ve-game
Brooklyn losing streak.