BROOKLYN, NY – The Frederick Keys fell to the Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets) in game four of the six-game series Friday night, losing by a score of 13-4 at Maimonides Park.
The Cyclones took the lead in the first inning and never looked back, as the Keys head into Saturday with a half game lead of first place in the South Atlantic League North Division standings with five games left to go in first half play.
Brooklyn struck first with an RBI double in the bottom of the first, but a throw out from Ike Irish in right field got the runner out at third and kept it a 1-0 game heading into the second.
The Cyclones put up four runs in the bottom of the second thanks to several RBI base hits, putting the home team ahead by five through the first two innings at Maimonides Park.
In the bottom of the third, the game entered a brief weather delay, but following the delay the Cyclones added another run on an RBI single, pushing their advantage to 6-0 approaching the fourth in Coney Island.
After both sides went scoreless in the fourth, the Cyclones added to their lead with a five-run bottom of the fifth, increasing the lead to 11-0 entering the sixth inning Friday night.
Following the Keys and Cyclones going off the board in the sixth thanks to three straight strikeouts from Keys reliever Todd Kniebbe, he retired all three he faced in the frame, keeping it an 11-0 game going into the eighth in game four of the series.
Ike Irish hit a three-run homer down the left-field line to get the Keys on the board, but two solo homers in the bottom frame but Brooklyn back up by 10 heading into the ninth in the Big Apple.
Alfredo Velasquez drilled an RBI triple in the top of the ninth to make it a 13-4 game, but the Cyclones finished the night strong and picked up the victory by a score of 13-4, evening up the series at two games apiece.
The Keys and Cyclones meet for game five of the six-game series Saturday night, with first pitch from Maimonides Park set for 6 p.m. in Coney Island.