Brooklyn 3, Lowell 2

L.J. Mazzilli’s ninth inning double scored Ismael Tijerina with the go-ahed run as the Cyclones defeated Lowell, 3-2. Brooklyn starter Dario Alvarez did not factor in the decision on Wednesday afternoon, but he was the story for the Cyclones, striking out 12 over 6.0 innings. The lefthander became only the 10th pitcher in franchise history to strike out a dozen or more, and the first since Collin McHugh on August 8, 2009 vs. Jamestown.

After loading the bases but failing to score in the first inning, the Cyclones were able to break through in the top of the second. James Roche and Tomas Nido started the frame with back-to-back walks before Patrick Biondi’s RBI single chased home Roche to give the Cyclones a 1-0 advantage.

That seemed like that would be all the offense that Brooklyn would need with Dario Alvarez mowing down the opposition. The southpaw tossed 6.0 shutout frames, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out 12. But as soon as he left the game, the Spinners offense woke up. With Dawrin Frias on the mound in the seventh, Lowell rightfielder Forrest Allday led off the seventh with a triple and came home on a sacrifice fly from Kevin Mager to knot the score at 1-1.

The Cyclones responded quickly, regaining the lead in their next turn at-bat thanks to a two-out rally. Matt Oberste and James Roche had back-to-back singles to put a pair of runners aboard for Tomas Nido lined a single to left field, scoring Oberste, and giving the Cyclones a 2-1 advantage.

The lead was short-lived however because in the bottom of the eighth Lowell drew even with a two-out rally of their own, with Tzu-Wei Lin scoring Celeuluis Rondon to knot the game at 2-2 after eight.

The Cyclones kept the see-saw scoring going in the top of the ninth. Ismael Tijerinaworked a leadoff walk and came around to score when L.J. Mazzilli laced a double down the left field line, giving Brooklyn a 3-2 advantage.

Johnny Magliozzi struck out the side in the ninth to collect his first professional save after being selected in the 17th round of the 2013 MLB Draft.

Key Stats

L.J. Mazzilli: 3-for-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI

Tomas Nido: 2-for-3, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 RBI

Patrick Biondi: 1-for-4, 1 BB, 1 RBI

Dario Alvarez: 6.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 ER, 12 K

Darwin Frias: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 0 BB, 2 ER, 2 K

Johnny Magliozzi: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K

(Team Report)