The Cyclones used a familiar formula to move within one victory or one Batavia loss of clinching the New York-Penn League Wild Card during their 4-1 victory over visiting Lowell Monday night at MCU Park.
While the red-hot Muckdogs (44-30) were losing for the first time in 10 games, 5-3, to Auburn, the resilient Baby Bums (45-29) got just enough timely hitting and big-game pitching to hold off the upset-minded Spinners, shaving their magic number to secure a postseason spot for the fourth consecutive season to one.
Brooklyn starter Luis Cessa (5-4) limited Lowell to one run on six hits and a walk with two strikeouts over a season-high 8 2/3 innings before Cyclones closer Tyler Vanderheiden shut the door by getting Nick Moore to ground out with two runners on in the ninth for his team-high 12th save.
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Brooklyn’s own Kevin Heller, a graduate of Bay Ridge’s Poly Prep Country Day School, made his hometown pro debut as a member of the Spinners in Monday night’s series opener.
The 5-foot-10, 195-pound right fielder had hit safely in his first four games with Lowell, but went 0-for-3 with a strikeout against the Cyclones. Heller, who starred at Amherst College before being selected in June’s MLB Draft, is batting .259 with four doubles and three RBIs in his first 17 pro games between the Gulf Coast League Red Sox and Lowell.
Heller, who will turn 23 next Wednesday, should be back in the lineup for the final two games of the critical season-ending series.
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This, That and the Other Thing: CF Brandon Nimmo, a candidate for the Sterling Award as the best prospect at the Class A short-season level this summer, has cooled off a bit of late, hitting .158 over his last 10 games. However, the Mets’ first-round pick in the 2011 Draft has continued to produce, belting a pair of homers and driving in seven runs during the Cyclones’ late-season push toward the playoffs. … Opening Day starter Gabriel Ynoa (5-1, 2.26 ERA) can finish what he started on Coney Island back in June when he takes the ball Tuesday night against Lowell. Ynoa, who shut down Staten Island in the June 18 opener, will be opposed by Spinners started Justin Haley in the Cyclones’ first shot at clinching a playoff berth. If the Cyclones need a win on Wednesday to reach the postseason, staff ace Hansel Robles (6-1, 1.11 ERA) will likely get the call in a win-or-go-home scenario. Robles has not allowed an earned run over his last 33 innings, spanning his last five starts. He would be the logical choice to open the potential playoff series with Hudson Valley on Friday night in Brooklyn, but the Cyclones may need his mound mastery just to reach the postseason.
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