The Brooklyn Cyclones entered the final week of the SAL season in first place and are showing no signs of giving up the top spot in their division. Led by back-to-back home runs from JT Schwartz and Jose Peroza, the Cyclones beat Winston-Salem 5-2.

Meanwhile, the Syracuse Mets exploded for an eight-run third inning, and Tylor Megill would pitch an inning of scoreless relief in the first Triple-A appearance of his rehab stint, but it wasn’t enough to stop a 15-8 loss in Rochester.

Joey Lucchesi would struggle during his rehab appearance with Binghamton in a 4-2 loss to Portland.

Syracuse Mets (53-78) 8 vs. Rochester Red Wings (58-73) 15   BOX SCORE

• 3B Mark Vientos: 1-for-4, R, BB, .279/.357/.872
• LF Jake Mangum: 2-for-4, R, 2B, 3 RBI, SB, .283/.349/.747
• C Nick Dini: 2-for-4, R, HR (9), 4 RBI, .241/.330/.773

The Mets would score all their runs in this game in just one inning. After falling behind 5-0 in the top of the third, Syracuse would answer with an eight-run offensive barrage of their own.

The inning was highlighted by a three-run double off the bat of Jake Mangum, and then Nick Dini topped the inning off with a two-out grand slam as the Mets sent 11 men to the plate in the inning. Unfortunately for Syracuse, the Red Wings would almost double them up on the scoreboard and beat the Mets 15-8.

Also worth noting, Travis Jankowski went 2-for-3 with two walks, and Dominic Smith would struggle in this one putting up an 0-for-5 night.

• RHP Connor Grey: 2.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 5.76 ERA
• LHP Locke St. John: (L,2-5) 1.1 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, SO, 6.14 ERA
• RHP Tylor Megill: 1 IP, 0 H,0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, SO, 2.70 ERA (Overall MiLB stats)

After cruising through two scoreless innings, the third inning would be just the opposite for Connor Grey. Grey only recorded one out in the inning and would surrender four runs before he would exit.

Locke St. John wouldn’t fare much better as he was tagged for six runs, and even after the Syracuse offense handed him an 8-5 lead, he’d give it right back in the next half inning.

Fan favorite, Nate Fisher, would also struggle in this one and gave up four runs in his two innings of work as the Red Wings ran away with the game 15-8.

It wasn’t all bad news on the mound for Syracuse. Tylor Megill took a big step in his rehab assignment by firing off a perfect inning of relief.

A perfect 10-pitch 6th inning for Tylor Megill in Syracuse! pic.twitter.com/9JTOnecZFH

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) September 8, 2022

Megill had his fastball topping out at 97 mph and retired the side in order on just ten pitches.

Binghamton Rumble Ponies 2 (51-75) vs. Portland Sea Dogs (67-61) 4   BOX SCORE

• LF Carlos Cortes: 1-for-4, R, HR (9), RBI, .224/.295/.655
• SS Ronny Mauricio: 1-for-4, .251/.285/.744
• C Hayden Senger: 2-for-3, RBI, BB, .247/.318/.683

The Rumble Ponies offense and defense would fall flat in this one. Binghamton would only collect five hits, and their defense would commit four errors.

Hayden Senger would give Binghamton an early 1-0 lead on an RBI-single in the second inning, part of a two-hit performance.

Carlos Cortes would hit his ninth home run of the season to cut the Portland lead to two in the eighth, but Binghamton was unable to rally back, despite the Rumble Ponies tallying six walks overall.

• RHP David Griffin: 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 5 BB, 4 SO, 5.09 ERA
• LHP Joey Lucchesi: (L,0-1) 1 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 2 ER, BB, SO, 3.00 ERA (Overall MiLB stats)
• RHP Michael Krauza: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, SO, 0.00 ERA

Starting pitcher David Griffin would work around five walks to throw five innings of scoreless and hitless baseball. Griffin would have to leave his no-hitter after five as his pitch count had swelled to 88.

Joey Lucchesi, making his first start in Double-A on his rehab assignment, would not only give up the no-hitter but also the lead. Lucchesi would struggle through his inning of work, allowing two hits, two earned runs, and would commit two errors in the field. He faced seven batters and threw 20 pitches before he was pulled in the seventh inning.

Brooklyn Cyclones (68-60) 5 vs. Winston-Salem Dash (56-71) 2   BOX SCORE

• CF Alex Ramirez: 1-for-5, R, 2B, RBI, .279/.345/.437
• 1B JT Schwartz: 1-for-3, R, HR (6), 2 RBI, BB, .278/.358/.767
• 2B Jose Peroza: 1-for-4, R, HR (8), RBI,.258/.345/.731

The Cyclones continued their march to a potential playoff spot by winning their fourth game in a row and eighth victory in their last ten games. Brooklyn would fall behind early as the Dash put up two runs in the first inning. In the third inning, the Cyclones would put together an impressive two-out rally.

Matt Rudick got the scoring started with an RBI triple. Alex Ramirez would drive him in with an RBI-double, and then JT Schwartz and Jose Peroza would hit back-to-back home runs to put the Cyclones up 5-2. That was all the offense Brooklyn would need as they won by the same score of 5-2.

https://twitter.com/BKCyclones/status/1567613915365871616

JT Schwartz and Jose Peroza have been carrying the Brooklyn offense through their playoff push. Peroza had a scorching hot August, batting .376 with an OPS of 1.016, and Schwartz has been tearing up the league, batting .400 over his last 15 games.

• RHP Luis Moreno: (W,4-7) 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, BB, 5 SO, 2.92 ERA
• RHP Franklin Sanchez: 1 IP, H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO, 4.15 ERA
• RHP Dylan Hall: (SV,4) 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, SO, 4.84 ERA

Luis Moreno is getting hot at the right time for the Cyclones as he put together his second straight seven-inning start. After a rocky first inning, Moreno would settle down and not allow the Dash to get back on the scoreboard. At one point, he would retire 14 straight batters and had command of all his pitches, allowing just one walk and striking out five. 

Franklin Sanchez would run into a bit of trouble in the eighth when he allowed the first two batters to reach base, but he would slam the door on any hopes of a Winston-Salem rally by striking out the next three batters.

Dylan Hall would lock up the win and earn himself the save on just 11 pitches.

St. Lucie Mets (71-54) vs. Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (67-57) PPD

The St. Lucie Mets were rained out in Fort Myers. The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader on September 8.