BROOKLYN, N.Y. - Behind four scoreless frames from LHP Daviel Hurtado in his Cyclones debut, the Cyclones pieced together their second straight shutout in a 6-0 win over Wilmington on Tuesday night. The win marks Brooklyn’s fifth shutout on the year. The Cyclones staff has now thrown 17 straight scoreless innings.
Hurtado, RHP Joe Jacques, RHP Ryan Dollar, RHP Garrett Stratton and RHP Cristofer Gomez combined to hold Wilmington to just four hits on the day, while striking out 10 and walking only one. The victory marks the first time this season the Cyclones have rattled off three consecutive victories.
Offensively, RF John Bay hit a laser beam two-run homer to left field, good for his 6th long ball of the campaign. Meanwhile, LF Sam Biller finished with a multi-hit, multi-RBI day. The UConn product was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk and two RBI.
Biller got the scoring started, when he grounded a ball through the middle of the infield with two outs to score the game’s first run. An inning later, Bay’s two-run shot pushed the ‘Clones lead to 3-0.
The Cyclones tacked on another in the 4th. With a runner on 2nd and two down, Biller whacked his fourth double of the year, plating 1B Trace Willhoite to make it a 4-0 ballgame.
In the 7th, Brooklyn utilized a two out rally to add some insurance. After DH Corey Collins and C Ronald Hernandez both drew walks, CF Yonatan Henríquez dunked a ball into right field to score the ‘Clones fifth run of the night. An inning later, Brooklyn plated a sixth run on an RBI base hit from SS Mitch Voit on a line drive to left.
The Cyclones and Blue Rocks return to action on Wednesday evening at Maimonides Park at 6:00 p.m. Brooklyn has yet to name a probable starter, while Wilmington projects to counter with LHP Gavin Bruni (2-2, 6.23 ERA).