Editor’s note: The Brooklyn Paper’s esteemed editor in chief Vince DiMiceli, who usually edits the world’s best Cyclones coverage, is on vacation, and deputy editor Nathan Tempey knows only slightly more than nothing about America’s pastime. Sure, he can tell a home run when he sees one, but mention a passed ball or a can of corn to him and you’ll get a blank stare. So bear with us as we weather this trying time, and navigate over to BrooklynPaper.com to let us know what we are doing wrong.
Solid pitching is giving the Cyclones a competitive edge this season.
Starting pitchers in particular have helped keep the Mini-Mets’ team ERA down to 2.74, the third-best in the New York–Penn League. The basic formula for Clones games so far this year has been: if the starting pitcher is on his A game, Clones win.
Right-handed pitcher Corey Oswalt, has seen early success as a fresh face on the field. In his first two starts for the Cyclones this year he pitched a combined 13 innings, gave up only 6 hits, and struck out 15 batters, walking only 1.
To say that Cyclones skipper Tom Gamboa is happy with the 20-year-old, who the Mets drafted in the seventh round in 2012, would be an understatement.
“Oswalt I’ve seen for three months down in Florida, and he his an all-the-time strike thrower,” Gamboa said. “He’s got probably better command of all his pitches than anyone here at this point.”
For his part, Oswalt is confident but not cocky. He knows he can only win games with team-members hitting runs in, especially early on.
“It’s important, right at the beginning of the game, that we just put those runs on the board,” Oswalt said. “It just gives everyone hope throughout the game.”
Marcos Molina is another right-hander enjoying success on the mound. He struck out more than five batters in each of his first three outings. During the June 27 game against the hated Staten Island Yankees, Molina struck out a career high of eight batters. Molina signed with the Mets as a non-drafted free agent in 2012 and has pitched for the Dominican Summer League Mets as well as The Gulf Coast League Mets.
The bullpen pitchers are no slouches, either.
Shane Bay has saved the Cyclones’ skin four of the six times he has been sent in. The 6-feet-2 22-year old from Tulsa, Oklahoma has only given up two runs and six hits so far this year. If he keeps throwing like this, he could easily become the Clones’ go-to close-out guy.
The Cyclones pitching is pretty, but for the team to claw its way back to the top of the heap, the batters need to start connecting again.
