Brooklyn Cyclones Game Notes - Wednesday, May 6 - at Bowling Green (12:05 PM ET)
SAL Brooklyn Cyclones

Brooklyn Cyclones Game Notes - Wednesday, May 6 - at Bowling Green (12:05 PM ET)

Published on May 6, 2026 under South Atlantic League (SAL)
Brooklyn Cyclones News Release


After Tuesday's rainout, the Brooklyn Cyclones (7-19, 7-19) open a two-week road trip with a six-game series against the Bowling Green Hot Rods (17-10, 17-10) - the High-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays - on Wednesday afternoon at 12:05 p.m. ET from Bowling Green Ballpark in Bowling Green, Ky.

RHP Joel Diaz (0-4, 8.68) is expected to make the start for the Cyclones. The Hot Rods are slated to counter with RHP Jack Kartsonas (NR), who is making his High-A debut.

Live coverage on the Cyclones Radio Network, Bally Sports Live, and MiLB.tv will begin at 11:50 a.m. ET.

LAST TIME OUT: Looking to earn a split in the series, the Cyclones dropped the finale with Frederick, 4-1, on Sunday afternoon...Three Keys pitchers held the Brooklyn bats to just two hits, as LHP Carson Dorsey threw the final 6.0 innings out of the bullpen while holding the Cyclones to just one hit...Frederick got out to an early lead on an RBI groundout from C Colin Tuft in the 1st and a home run from RF Elis Cuevas in the 2nd...The Cyclones' lone run came in the bottom of the 2nd on a bases-loaded walk from 3B Yonatan Henriquez, the fourth walk of the inning for the 'Clones...DH Ronald Hernandez and SS Colin Houck picked up Brooklyn's two hits...The Cyclones were held to two or fewer runs in all six games of the series and seven straight contests dating back to Game 2 of a doubleheader on April 26 at Hudson Valley...Brooklyn has dropped all five series to start the 2026 campaign.

25th ANNIVERSARY: The Cyclones celebrate their 25th anniversary season in 2026...Since the inaugural 2001 campaign, Brooklyn has captured 3 league titles...The Cyclones shared the New York-Penn League crown with the Williamsport Crosscutters in their first season before taking home the final NYPL title in 2019...Brooklyn captured its first full-season championship in 2025, going 4-0 in the postseason against Greensboro and Hub City...Entering play on Wednesday, the Cyclones hold a record of 1,125-974 (.536) in the regular season...Wednesday will also mark the 2,100th game in franchise history.

RAIN, RAIN GO AWAY: The Cyclones and Hot Rods were rained out on Tuesday night...The contest will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Saturday, May 9, starting at 5:05 p.m. ET...Both games will be seven innings in length with a 35-45 minute break in between...The twinbill will be Brooklyn's second of the season...The Cyclones split a doubleheader on Sunday, April 26, at Hudson Valley...Brooklyn won the opener, 6-2, before dropping the finale, 7-2...Brooklyn and Hudson Valley will play another double-dip on Thursday, May 21, on Coney Island to make up for a rainout on Sunday, April 5.

I'M JUST A TRAVELLER: The Cyclones embark on their longest road trip of the 2026 season over the next two weeks...Brooklyn opens a six-game series at Bowling Green on Tuesday before concluding the 12-game road swing with six games at Rome...The two six-game sets will mark the Cyclones' first visit to both ballparks since May 2024...Brooklyn is slated to travel 2,014 miles between Coney Island, Bowling Green, Rome, and back...The Cyclones will endure just one more two-week road trip in 2026...Brooklyn will play six games in Asheville from August 18-23 before heading back north to conclude the road schedule at Hudson Valley from August 25-30.

MY OLD KENTUCKY HOME: Brooklyn's six-game set in Bowling Green will be a homecoming of sorts for 1B Trace Willhoite...The 25-year-old calls Georgetown, Ky., home and attended Scott County High School in Georgetown...Willhoite's high school is located approximately 159 miles and a two and a half hour drive northeast of Bowling Green...Additionally, the Kentucky native attended Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tenn...Willhoite's alma mater is roughly 73 miles and an 80-minute drive southwest of Bowling Green Ballpark...The second-year pro is expected to have friends and family from both his hometown and university at the ballpark throughout the week.

ROSTER MOVES: The Cyclones made a trio of roster moves ahead of Tuesday's series opener in Bowling Green...INF Kevin Villavicencio was transferred to Double-A Binghamton, RHP Jack Weisenburger was transferred to Triple-A Syracuse, and LHP Nate Lavender returned to Syracuse after his rehab assignment concluded...Villavicencio joined Brooklyn from Single-A St. Lucie on April 7 and hit .203/.230/.390/.620 for the Cyclones in 18 games, adding six extra-base hits, two home runs, and nine RBI...Weisenbuger never appeared in a game for Brooklyn after signing with the New York Mets as a minor league free agent last Friday...The 28-year-old joined the organization after making two starts for El Águila de Veracruz of the Independent Mexican League, going 1-1 with a 5.79 ERA (6 ER in 9.1 IP) and 12 strikeouts...Lavender made three rehab appearances with the Cyclones last week vs. Frederick...The 26-year-old allowed just one run on three hits in 3.0 innings, walking one and striking out six.

TIME TO MAKE THE DONUTS: The Cyclones collected their first shutout of the season in Saturday's 2-0 victory vs. Frederick...RHPs Channing Austin (5.2 IP), Juan Arnaud (1.1), Hoss Brewer (1.0), and Hunter Hodges (1.0) combined on a one-hitter in Brooklyn's triumph...The shutout was the first for the Cyclones since a 3-0 victory at Aberdeen on August 22, 2025...RHPs Joel Díaz (7.0 IP, 1 H) and Josh Blum (2.0, 0) united on a one-hitter against the IronBirds...The shutout was Brooklyn's first at Maimonides Park since a 3-0 triumph vs. Hub City on August 12, 2025...RHP Will Watson (4.0 IP, 3 H), RHP Austin Troesser (1.0, 0), LHP Gregori Louis (2.0, 1), and RHP Hunter Hodges (2.0, 0) twirled a four-hit blanking of the Spartanburgers, combining to strike out 15...The one-hitter marked the first time Brooklyn had allowed one or fewer hits in a game on Coney Island since four arms united on the first nine-inning no-hitter in franchise history during a 3-0 victory vs. Aberdeen...RHPs Dakota Hawkins (5.0 IP), Joey Lancellotti (1.0), and Joshua Cornielly (3.0) faced just three batters over the minimum, walking three and hitting one batter, in the no-no.

BALL MAGNETS: The Cyclones have worn their fair share of pitches to start the 2026 season...Entering play on Wednesday, Brooklyn has been hit by 27 pitches this season, which is tied for fourth in the South Atlantic League...The 27 hit-by-pitches are tied for 10th in Minor League Baseball...OF John Bay (8) and C Daiverson Gutiérrez (8) are tied for second in the SAL in HBPs, behind only Hudson Valley C Eric Genther (11)...Bay and Gutiérrez are tied for third in MiLB for hit-by-pitches.

AUSTIN POWERS: RHP Channing Austin is off to a marvelous start to 2026...After 4.1 shutout frames last Sunday, Austin was equally as dominant on Saturday against Frederick, firing 5.2 scoreless innings, permitting just one hit while walking two and striking out seven...Austin has not allowed a run in any of his last three appearances (15.0 IP)...On Tuesday of last week, the 24-year-old pitched 5.0 shutout innings, allowing just three hits and one walk while striking out eight...The eight strikeouts fell one shy of his previous career high...Austin whiffed 9 batters over 4.0 innings on June 26, 2025, at Jupiter...Austin enters play on Wednesday ranked third in the South Atlantic League in ERA (1.21) and batting average against (.143), and ninth in WHIP (1.16)...Austin is the only Brooklyn starter this year to record an out in the 6th inning.

ROCKIN' RONNY: C Ronald Hernandez has been consistent at the plate recently for Brooklyn...The Venezuela native clobbered a go-ahead home run to break a scoreless tie in Saturday's win over Frederick...Hernandez also drew three walks in last Wednesday's loss to Frederick...For the year, Hernandez is tied for 9th in the league with 20 free passes drawn - eight more than anyone else on Brooklyn's roster...The Venezuela native has also reached base safely in 18 of 22 games he's played in 2026 and has walked (20) more than he's struck out (19).

HALL OF FAME: RHP Noah Hall continued to climb the Cyclones' all-time pitching leaderboard in his start on Sunday afternoon to close the series...The 25-year-old has 154 Ks in his Brooklyn career, having passed RHP Garrison Bryant (135) and LHP Felipe De La Cruz (133) for second and third, respectively, on the all-time list in early April at Jersey Shore...The Charlotte, N.C. native now trails only RHP Jaison Vilera (173) on Brooklyn's career strikeout list...Hall is also second on the all-time starts list by Brooklyn pitchers with 31 and innings pitched with 150.2, having just passed Bryant (143.1)...In 2025, Hall ranked second in the South Atlantic League in ERA (2.72) and batting average against (.200)...He also finished fifth in strikeouts (115), tied for fifth in double plays induced (9), sixth in innings (112.2), ninth in WHIP (1.27), and tied for 10th in starts (21)...Hall became the first player in franchise history to start multiple Opening Days in 2025 and started his third-straight Opening Day in 2026.

TERRA-COTA WARRIOR: RHP Irving Cota has been particularly dominant to start his 2026 campaign...The righty lowered his ERA to 0.96 in Thursday's win over Frederick...Cota tossed 5.0 shutout innings against the Keys, while giving up just two hits, striking out three, and walking only two...The Los Mochis, Mexico, native has logged scoreless efforts in four of his first five outings this young season...Among South Atlantic League pitchers with at least 18.0 innings of work, Cota is third in the league in ERA (0.96) and tied for 10th in WHIP (0.91).

MONEY MITCH: INF Mitch Voit has found his stride at the plate...The former Michigan Wolverine finished with a multi-hit, multi-stolen base day in Wednesday's loss to Frederick...The 21-year-old saw his seven-game on-base streak come to an end on Friday night...Since April 11, Voit is slashing .246/.358/.439/.797...During that time, the first-rounder has whacked three home runs, scored 10 runs, and added nine steals...This season, Voit is 10-for-11 on stolen-base attempts...Voit stole 20 bases in just 22 games with Single-A St. Lucie down the stretch of last season.

COREY KEEPS CRUSHING: 1B Corey Collins launched his second home run of last week in Game 2 on Sunday against Hudson Valley...Collins had his best game of the young season last Thursday night, facing six-time All-Star RHP Gerrit Cole...The Suwanee, Ga. native slugged his first home run of the season and picked up his third double of the season in his two at-bats against the Yankees' star, finishing 2-for-4 on the night...Over his last 11 games, Collins is 10-for-34 (.294) at the plate with a .294/.444/.559/1.003 slashline...The 24-year-old has added seven runs scored, three doubles, two home runs, four RBI, and nine walks to eight strikeouts in that stretch.

BAY WATCH: OF John Bay has been on a tear to start the year...The Austin Peay State product collected his 6th double of the year in Saturday's win over Frederick...Bay has an .813 OPS through his first 23 games...Bay's wRC+ of 133 ranks fifth amongst all New York Mets' full-season minor leaguers...Bay also tied a South Atlantic League single-game record, getting plunked by three pitches, on April 9 at Jersey Shore...The 24-year-old is the first SAL player to be drilled three times in one game since Bay was hit 3 times on September 7, 2025, at Jersey Shore...In 202 career plate appearances, the Shattuck, Okla., native has been hit 16 times (7.92%).

GRAB SOME PINE: Brooklyn pitchers struck out 18 hitters in last Friday's loss to Greensboro, already the second time this year the staff has accomplished the feat and the first time doing so in a 9-inning game...Last Friday, RHPs Wyatt Hudepohl (6), Bryce Jenkins (2), Hoss Brewer (3), Joe Charles (4), and Juan Arnaud (3) were stupendous, striking out 18 while walking only three...The last time Brooklyn arms whiffed 18 over 9.0 innings was in a 6-1 win at Aberdeen on June 18, 2025...The franchise record for punchouts is 22, set in a 20-inning contest on June 17, 2016, vs. Staten Island...Cyclones' pitching has whiffed 256 batters this season, which is tied for 7th in the South Atlantic League with Greensboro.

EXTRA! EXTRA!: Brooklyn has already played four extra-inning games this year...The Cyclones are 2-2 in such contests...The first three came in back-to-back-to-back games at Jersey Shore from April 9-11...During that stretch, the 'Clones secured their second-straight extra-inning victory in their 6-3 triumph in 10 frames at Jersey Shore on April 11...The extra-inning wins were Brooklyn's first two since their 11-inning, 6-5 triumph vs. Hub City on August 17, 2025...LF Nick Roselli provided the walk-off RBI single in that contest...The victory was Brooklyn's first in extra frames on the road since a 6-3 win in 10 innings at Rome on May 10, 2024...The three consecutive extra-inning contests marked the first time that had happened since June 26-28, 2019, at Aberdeen and vs. Lowell...The Cyclones won all three of those games, 2-1 in 10 innings at Aberdeen on June 26, 4-3 in 10 innings at Aberdeen on June 27, and 5-4 in 11 frames on June 28 vs. Lowell...2B Luke Ritter capped a five-hit game on June 28 with the walk-off RBI single.

2025 IN REVIEW: A memorable 2025 saw the Cyclones capture their first-ever South Atlantic League Championship...Brooklyn swept their way through the postseason, compiling a perfect 4-0 record with two-game sweeps over Greensboro in the North Division Finals and Hub City in the South Atlantic League Championship Series...It was just the second time Brooklyn inked a playoff spot as a full-season affiliate, joining the 2022 squad...The Cyclones' first-half record of 46-20 was good enough to earn them the first-half crown...Brooklyn was 26-39 in the 2nd half before running the table in the postseason.

PUT IT IN THE (HISTORY) BOOKS!: Last year's Cyclones squad set a new single-season franchise record for wins with 72...The 2022 club (70-54) is the only other team in Brooklyn history to register 70 or more wins...The Cyclones' 72 wins and .550 winning percentage were the franchise's best at the full-season level...The inaugural 2001 team holds the organizational high-water mark for winning percentage (.684).

NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN: Eduardo Núñez grabs the reins as Brooklyn's manager for 2026, serving as the 16th skipper in franchise history...Núñez takes over after serving as Brooklyn's hitting coach in 2024 and bench coach for the 2025 championship-winning squad...The 40-year-old replaces Gilbert Gómez, who joined the Mets coaching staff as New York's first base and outfield coach for 2026...Núñez joined the Mets organization before the 2021 campaign, and previously held positions in the organization with St. Lucie and in both the Florida Complex League and Dominican Summer League...He also worked on Team Puerto Rico's staff in the 2023 and 2026 World Baseball Classic.

THIS DATE IN CYCLONES HISTORY: On May 6, 2013, after six months of renovations following the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, then-MCU Park reopened for baseball again with a brand new, state-of-the-art FieldTurf playing surface...The College of Staten Island would defeat John Jay College in 12 innings, 3-2, in the CUNYAC Baseball Championship.

BROOKLYN TO THE BIGS: After 14 former Cyclones made their Major League debuts in 2025, 3 alumni have already accomplished the feat early in 2026...RHP Cameron Foster made his debut for the Baltimore Orioles on April 16 at Cleveland...A member of the 2023 squad, Foster worked 1.2 scoreless frames out of Baltimore's bullpen...OF Carson Benge, who started last season with Brooklyn, started for the Mets in right field on Opening Day in Queens just 12 months later...Benge was a force to be reckoned with during his time in High-A, logging a near .900 OPS across his 60 games in the South Atlantic League, earning SAL Post-Season All-Star honors...Additionally, from last year's team, RHP Anthony Nunez, who was traded for OF Cedric Mullins at last year's deadline, made his debut with the Orioles on March 28 after making Baltimore's Opening Day roster...In Brooklyn last season, Nunez pitched to a sub-1.00 ERA (0.63) across 10 games out of the bullpen...Last year's 14 debuts in a single season set a new single-season franchise record.

AMAZIN' STARTS HERE: According to MLB Pipeline, the Cyclones hold 4 of the Mets' Top 30 prospects...Those are INF Mitch Voit (7), and INF Antonio Jimenez (16), and C Daiverson Gutiérrez (25)...All 3 are also considered Top 30 prospects according to Baseball America and SNY...BA has Voit at 8, Jimenez at 19, and Gutiérrez at 23, while SNY lists Voit at 10, Jimenez at 20, and Gutiérrez at 27...Baseball America also ranked INF Colin Houck as the organization's No. 35 farmhand entering 2026.

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South Atlantic League Stories from May 6, 2026


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