Cyclones 7
Aberdeen 2
July 23 at MCU Park
The Cyclones hit three home rus and the Brooklyn pitchers combined for 18 strikeouts en route to a 7 –2 victory over the IronBirds at MCU Park on Saturday night.
First-round pick Justin Dunn threw three scoreless innings in his first professional start. The righty wasn’t at his best in the first, but got better as the game progressed.
“His adrenaline was almost over-amped because that’s the first time we’ve seen him pitch behind the count in the first inning and that was a case of him rushing a little bit,” Brooklyn manager Tom Gamboa said. “Billy Bryk talked to him between innings and the second inning, I thought, was absolutely fantastic.”
The Cyclones got on the board in the bottom of the third. With Nick Sergakis on second and two outs, Pete Alonso took Aberdeen starter Alexander Wells over the right-field wall for an opposite-field home run, giving the Cyclones a 2–0 lead. That kind of hit is usually tough to come by at MCU Park – with the wind blowing in off the beach – but there wasn’t even a breeze on a hot night in Brooklyn.
“I didn’t think I would ever see a right-handed hitter hit an opposite-field home run in this park, and he did it easy,” Gamboa said. “It shows what kind of strength he’s got.”
Kyle Regnault – who is on a rehab assignment with the Clones – pitched a scoreless fourth for Brooklyn, and picked up the win.
The Cyclones padded the lead in the bottom of the fourth. Desmond Lindsay – in his first game with Brooklyn after being hampered by a hamstring injury earlier this summer – announced his arrival with a solo home run off Aberdeen’s Steven Klimek.
“It felt great,” Lindsay said of seeing the ball going over the wall. “I was just trying to hit something hard and I just happened to hit it out which was a plus. I was just happy to be able to jump back into a game right away and start hitting.”
Lindsay’s hamstring felt fine as he circled the bases.
The Cyclones put the game out of reach in the eighth. Alonso led off with a single, moved to third on an Ali Sanchez single, and scored on Jacob Zanon’s single – the last of Zanon’s three hits on the night. Two batters later, Darryl Knight crushed a three-run homer to make it 7–0.
Nabil Crismatt was dominant in relief, shutting out the IronBirds from the fifth through eighth. Mike Odenwaelder’s two-run homer in the ninth spoiled the shutout, but it was too little too late. Crismatt picked up the save as 11 of his 15 outs came via strikeout.
“Crismatt was masterful in a five-inning long relief outing as the no walks and 11 strikeouts show,” Gamboa said.
The 16–19 Cyclones will take on the hated Staten Island Yankees at 4 pm on Sunday. Fans will be let in at 1:00 to watch Mike Piazza’s Hall of Fame induction on the video board.
UPS AND DOWNS
Justin Dunn is the highest-drafted pitcher to play for the Cyclones since Scott Kazmir made five starts in 2002. Mets fans will be quick to point out that Kazmir was traded for Victor Zambrano in a moment best forgotten.