Yankees, Cyclones combine for 10 errors in Staten Island win

The Staten Island Yankees (32-31) returned to Richmond County Bank Ballpark following the two-day All-Star break to take on rival the Brooklyn Cyclones (35-29) in a game featuring sloppy defensive play as the Yankees win, 14-4.

The Cyclones looked to be on the right track in the second inning as second baseman Tyler Moore got Brooklyn on the board with his first home run of the season. Pedro Perez then reached as Staten Island starting pitcher Sean Carley made a throwing error that allowed Perez to reach scoring position. Adrian Abreu followed by plating Perez with a single to center field, giving the Cyclones a 2-0 lead.

The Baby Bombers answered with runs of their own in the third inning. Jose Javier started the inning with a single to left field, followed by a double by Luis Torrens to right field, giving Staten Island their first run of the game. Ty McFarland then drove in Torrens with a single to right field to tie the game.

As the fourth inning rolled around, defense for both sides fell apart. Austin Aune singled to begin the inning, and then Chris Breen drew a walk. Vicente Conde was next with a single to left field driving in Aune, while Breen and Conde both advanced on an error by Brooklyn's Michael Conforto. Nathan Mikolas was next to reach on an error by Abreu that loaded the bases for Torrens. Brooklyn made their third error of the inning as Moore misplayed a ball at second that allowed Javier to reach and Breen to cross the plate. Torrens came up big again for the Baby Bombers as the All-Star catcher drove in two more runs with a single to right field. Fellow All-Star McFarland then cranked a double to center field to bring home yet another pair of runs. With McFarland in scoring position, Isaias Tejeda drove in the seventh run of game with a double to left field, making the score 9-2.

The scoring continued in the bottom of the fifth for Staten Island. Conde reached to start the inning as he drew a walk from Cyclones reliever Luis Rengel. Mikolas was next up with a single to center field followed by a Torrens pop up that was dropped, allowing both Conde and Mikolas to score with two outs. McFarland collected his third hit of the ball game, then Tejeda joined the two on base by drawing a walk. With the bases loaded, Aune hit a single to plate Torrens and McFarland. The Cyclones replaced Rengel on the mound with reliever Brandon Welch, but the Baby Bombers continued to score. With Breen at the plate, Welch threw a wild pitch that allowed Tejeda to score for the fifth run of the inning and a 14-2 lead.

However, the Cyclones did not go quietly. In the top of the sixth inning, Tomas Nido singled to center field and later scored on an Abreu single to left field to make the score 14-3.

Brooklyn added to their run total in the eighth inning as well. Perez singled to center field, the Abreu reached on an error by Breen at first base. Brooklyn center fielder John Mora brought home the fourth run of the game for the Cyclones as he hit a ball to newly added Staten Island third baseman Billy Fleming. Fleming made two errors on the play, allowing Perez to score for a final score of 14-4.

Jordan Cote (W, 3-3) picked up the win for Staten Island as Sam Agnew-Wieland (S, 1) picked up his first save of the season.

The two team switch venues on Thursday night as Daisuke Matsuzaka takes the mound in a rehab appearance with the Brooklyn Cyclones at MCU Park. Thursday's game will be broadcast on SNY.