The Staten Island Yankees got off to a good start after the All-Star Break. They posted a 9-5 win at Aberdeen Thursday night to improve to 31-22 and pull a game ahead of Vermont, who lost to Lowell.

They also remained a game and a half up on Mahoning Valley who were victorious at Jamestown.

Designated hitter Isaiah Howes had two hits and three RBI’s including a go-ahead two-run home run in the fourth which gave Staten Island starter Ryan Pope the lead for good.

The 21 year-old righthander from Bradenton Florida went the first five giving up two runs (1 ER) on three hits while walking one and striking out three to pickup his first victory of the season.

After his last inning of work, he got some more support from Howes and Austin Krum who each had RBI doubles in the sixth which made it 6-2.

The Bombers tacked on a couple of more the following inning thanks to an RBI double from right fielder David Williams and an RBI groundout from backstop Jose Gil.

They added an unearned run in the eighth taking advantage of one of six Aberdeen miscues on the night to go up seven before the Birds closed out the scoring with the last three.

Notes: Middle reliever Nick Chigges tossed two scoreless frames fanning five to lower his ERA to 2.72. … The trio of Howes, Krum and Williams each finished with multi-hit nights combining to go 6-for-14 with three doubles, a homer, four runs scored while knocking in six of the club’s nine runs. … The Bombers aim for a sweep of the two-game series before traveling to Brooklyn for a big four-game series starting Saturday.