Cyclones 4
Vermont 1
Aug. 15 at MCU Park
Brooklyn hurler Jose Butto earned his first win, allowing three hits over six innings, striking out five, and giving up just one as the Clones slew the Lake Monsters in their fifth-straight victory — the team’s longest winning streak this season.
Manager Edgardo Alfonzo said Butto’s resolve on the mound helped put the Cyclones on top.
“He showed some courage and guts there,” Alfonzo said following the game. “He looks more comfortable.”
Our boys got in front in the first when Walter “Rabbi” Rasquin hit a groundout that knocked in Ross Adolph, who had walked, before stealing second and advancing to third on a grounder.
The Clones scored two more in the second, with Hayden Senger doubling to plate Brian Sharp, who had walked and stolen second, before Adolph singled to left, driving in Senger.
The Lake Monsters put one on the board in the fifth, but Brooklyn scored again in the eighth when Anthony Dirocie cracked a base hit to right field that sent “Iron” Brian Sharp home from first, after he was walked.
Tommy Wilson replaced Butto in the seventh, before Ezequiel Zabaleta took the mound in the ninth, and both relievers kept Vermont’s bats at bay to seal the win.
The teams face off again tonight at MCU Park at 7 pm.
Game notes
The Cyclones broke two franchise records last night: Sharp was walked four times, the most any individual Cyclone has ever been walked, and the team collectively stole seven bases, another high.
Ups and downs
Adolph, one of six Cyclones sent to Pennsylvania for the New York-Penn League All-Star Game on Tuesday, earned the title of the game’s most-valuable player for helping to carry his South All-Star squad to its 7–1 victory by going two for three with a triple, a home run, three runs batted in, and two runs scored — an honor his fellow Clones won’t let him forget, he said.
“Let me tell you, I’ve probably heard ‘New York-Penn League All Star MVP’ enough in the past day, especially from my teammates,” the outfielder from Ohio said. “But hey, it’s positive. It feels really good.”
Adolph, who last night went one for three with a RBI and pulled off a dramatic sliding catch in the second, said his hot streak has helped him relax and play confidently.
“Once you find that comfort level, you try to bottle it up,” he said. “That’s baseball.”
