BROOKLYN, NY (April 7, 2023) – The Comeback ‘Clones lived up to their moniker on Opening Day, as they rallied for a walk-off win over the Jersey Shore Blue Claws by the score of 9-8 in 11 innings. Joe Suozzi went 3-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI while Cesar Berbesi added a 2-for-4 effort with three RBI to pace the Brooklyn bats. RHP Wilkin Ramos (1-0) got the win after tossing a scoreless top of the 11th for Brooklyn.
Jersey Shore jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the top of the first to chase Brooklyn starter Raimon Gomez after just 0.2 of an inning. Casey Martin had a two-out RBI single, coupled with a Cyclones error, that led to three runs and gave the ‘Claws the early advantage.
The Brooklyn bats got going in the bottom of the second after Jaylen Palmer singled to start the frame, stole second, and came home on an RBI single from Cesar Berbesi. Later in the inning, Kevin Kendall tacked on an RBI knock to score Chase Estep and trim the deficit to 4-2.
In the bottom of the third, Brooklyn pulled back to even. Kevin Parada got the rally going with his first hit with the Cyclones and moved into scoring position when Jaylen Palmer walked. Then, with two outs and two on, Berbesi roped a triple into the right center-field gap to score the pair and knot things up at 4-4.
That’s how it would stay until the top of the sixth when Jersey Shore would claw back in front courtesy of a two-out double from Leandro Pineda that put the Cyclones in a 5-4 hole.
The see-saw scoring continued in the eighth as Brooklyn pulled back even with Jaylen Palmer at the heart of the rally yet again. The Brooklyn native worked a one-out walk and stole second before advancing to third on a throwing error. Then with Berbesi at the dish, Tommy McCollum uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Palmer to scamper home with the tying run.
But in the top of the ninth, Jersey Shore grabbed the lead right back when Jared Carr lofted a fly ball to shallow left field that seemed destined to be the final out of the inning. But Omar De Los Santos couldn’t squeeze it, and Nick Ward scored the go-ahead run. De Los Santos was able to limit the damage though, as he quickly collected the ball and threw out Casey Martin at the plate to end the inning with Brooklyn trailing by just a run.
In the bottom of the ninth, Joe Suozzi laced a single to center field on the first pitch of the frame to jump-start a rally. After Kevin Parada worked a one-out walk, Alex Ramirez reached to load the bases with one out. Stanley Consuegra then struck out for out number two, followed by Jaylen Palmer, who had a nine-pitch at-bat that resulted in his fourth walk of the game to force home the game-tying run.
Both teams scored a pair of runs in the 10th, with Brooklyn getting even on a De Los Santos RBI double and Joe Suozzi’s game-tying single that pushed the game to the eleventh inning
In the final frame, Jersey Shore had a runner on third with one out for Jared Carr who roped a liner to third that Jaylen Palmer snagged on a fly while falling on top of the third base bag to double up the runner and end the frame.
In the bottom of the inning, the Cyclones used three walks – capped by Chase Estep’s four-pitch free pass – to force home the game-winning run and give Brooklyn its first win of the season.
The Cyclones will take on the Blue Claws in the middle game of a three-game set to open the 2023 season on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 PM. RHP Dylan Tebrake will take the mound for the Cyclones and will be opposed by RHP Gunner Mayer for Jersey Shore.
Did you know the Mets have a minor league lefty with 36 minor league batting HRs to his credit? Quinn Brodey in relief for Brooklyn today went 2.1 innings, 2 hits, a run, a walk, and 2 Ks. 34 pitches.
ReplyDeleteBrodey was followed by converted SS Manny Rodriguez, who tossed 1.2 scoreless innings.
ReplyDeleteI like it - if you cannot hit at a major league level, why not try pitching?