It’s been 1,091 days since Mamondies Park saw playoff baseball. Despite the layoff, the Cyclones seemed ready for the moment. They struck early and never relinquished the lead, securing a spot in the South Atlantic League Championship for the first time, sweeping the Greensboro Grasshoppers with a decisive 4-0 victory.

In Game 2 of the SAL North Division Championship, fans poured into the gorgeous Maimondies Park, its horizon adorned with colorful roller coasters and a shining blue sea. On the far skyline, two distinct, yet visible, beams protruded from the neighboring Manhattan borough, a reminder that the game fell on the 24th anniversary of 9/11. A moment of silence was held pre-game to honor the victims.

In the first, Yonatan Henriquez kicked off the Mets’ offense with a shot into left-center, stretching his single into a one-out double. Despite producing a tepid .697 OPS at home in 2025, Brooklyn had Grasshopper starter Hung-Leng Chang on the ropes early

A double-steal followed Matt Rudick‘s hit by pitch. For Rudick, this was the speedster’s first venture in Single-A baseball since 2022. The 27-year-old outfielder toured the Mets’ minor-league system throughout the last three seasons, appearing in a game for every full-season minor-league affiliate. He’s currently with Brooklyn on a rehab assignment.

After backstop Ronald Hernandez drew a walk, right-fielder Yohairo Cuevas lofted a sacrifice fly into left field to drive in Henriquez. Chang frequently fell behind hitters in the first, topping out at 92 mph. Despite the traffic, Cheng retired 3B Colin Houck on a pop-up to end the frame.

The Cyclones doubled their lead in the third. Marco Vargas parlayed a one-out error by Grasshoppers’ 1B Callan Moss into Brooklyn’s second score. After Vargas reached third on a grounder, the Grasshoppers’ infield crept in, hoping for a ground-ball and a play at the plate. Though a wormburner to second-sacker Keider boded promise for Greensboro, Vargas was able to dash home, aggressively sliding under the tag of backstop Easton Carmichael.

Aggressive baserunning was a theme of the Cyclones in 2025, and their clincher was no exception. The team nabbed 257 bases through the 2025 season, easily surpassing its previous record of 181. The club totaled five stolen bags, with their double-steal in the first directly contributing to the team’s first-inning score. Consistently, runners eked out the extra base as if it were a directive.

A walk to Ronald Hernandez, his second of the night, consigned Chang to an early departure to the showers.

On the mound, in his biggest start in the Brooklyn uniform, Joel Diaz shone. At a time when five innings is considered a luxurious result for a Mets’ starting pitcher, Diaz hurled six and two-thirds effective frames of no-run ball.

The Dominican-born right-hander elicited a bevy of weak contact throughout the night against a dangerous Greensboro lineup, generating ten ground-ball outs. Even though Greensboro’s lineup contained several of the top 30 prospects in the Pirates system, Diaz held them in check. The hurler didn’t allow a hit until the fifth, a solidly-struck line drive to left field off the bat of Titus Dumitru. Dumitru was quickly erased on a double-play.

Diaz mixed and matched through the night, reaching as high as 92 mph, blending in a variety of offspeed offerings. He inducted seven whiffs and recorded two strikeouts. Pitching in the seventh inning for only the second time all season, he quickly retired the first two hitters before a Callan Moss single ended his outing at 71 pitches.

Righty Hoss Brewer came in relief of Diaz and, despite loading the bases with a pair of walks, caught left-fielder Ivan Brethowr looking for the final out. Given the runners on base and the score, Brewer’s strikeout was the most mathematically impactful event of the game.

Brooklyn added some insurance in the bottom half of the frame. The center fielder Henriquez sparked another rally. He beat out an infield single, stole second, and came home on Rudick’s single. Rudick would later score on a Cuervas knock.

With the crowd abuzz, sensing a clincher soon approaching, Dakota Hawkins mowed down the Grasshoppers 1-2-3 in the eighth. Hawkins gave up a loud, run-scoring double in the ninth, but recovered to strike out Jose Castillo for the final out.

The Brooklyn Cyclones have swept the Greensboro Greenhoppers, advancing to their first-ever SALLY Championship!

Final: GBO 0 | BRK 4 pic.twitter.com/B6UJYNeV49

— MetsMinors.Net (@Mets_Minors) September 12, 2025

The Cyclones will face the winner of a three-game set between the Bowling Green Hot Rods and Hub City Spartanburgers. First pitch is scheduled for Sunday at Maimondies Park at 2:10 pm. Starting pitchers have not yet been announced.